Waltham Public Library

Very friendly staff. I spent most of the time in the children’s helping my son look for books for his school project. What that means is I look for the books while he plays on the computer and iPad. I was walking around and looking at all they have to offer, at least in the children’s room anyway, and I must say things definitely changed since I was a kid at the library. There were story time corners, music CDs, computers for homework as well as computers for games, and iPads and tables for kids to do their work. It’s a great place for kids to go after school and get their work done. As for the rest of the library, it was clean and spacious. But there were a lot of empty shelves. One in particular was the Stephen King section. I was looking for a book book and to my surprise, there were only 8 King books. I find this to be quite odd since he has over 50 books under his name. And I figured they would a couple of copies of the «classics». That’s just one. There were several shelves like this around the library, where large gaps exists. Its best to check the library’s website and check the catalog to see if they book you’re looking for exists.

Newly renovated, clean, big, and friendly staff. They even have a nice sitting area out front.

My second room. I have been using the library since I move to Waltham a while ago.
most of the time I go there because it is a quiet place to work on school assignments. Even though I have internet home, it feel always great to be there to study or to do homework. For university student, I think its worth a visit if you haven’t been there yet. They have a great selection of book on different subjects and lot of movie for rental in the lower level.

I love this library — not only for me — but especially for my dear nana. She recently bought a kindle and had no idea how to use it in conjunction with her library books she loves. The very kind people here showed her how to use it and how to rent library books with it and she couldn’t be happier! She has trouble reading smaller print and now she is able to rent any book and make it larger with her kindle fire. Thank you for being so kind to her — you all have been so great to me but her treatment makes you extra special.

Waltham library is a solid library. When i think of smaller branch libraries (comparing size to the main Boston library) i feel like sometimes they don’t cut the mustard. Too small, not enough study/​quiet areas, not a lot of selection, etc. Not here. I am the mentor for a high school student and we have come here a handful of times to do homework. Sometimes she needs the computer and it hasn’t been a problem to snag a spot for an hour. when she doesn’t need the Internet we typically either find a study room or work desk.
you can rent movies from here and get discount passes too! A fellow mentor got a great deal on ICA admission (better than my Groupon!)
Just remember that a library is more than dusty books.
parking lot is free after 6pm, too!

I use the library for borrowing books to listen to in my car. The selection is a bit limited, but I’ve recently started ordering the books I want from the Minuteman Network and that works well. The service aspect of the library, on-​line access to my account, email notifications and super friendly staff lessen my (mild) annoyance of the limited selection.
Keep up the good work Waltham Public Library.

Yay for libraries to borrow books and CDs.
And DVDs for $ 1…
Libraries used to be my way to watch movies for free, but now I use Redbox and Blockbuster Express promo codes to get a limited selection of movies for free.
I wish I lived in one of the surrounding cities so that I could once again make full use of the library. Maybe, I’m being a little spoiled or –uh cheap, but I’d rather have less access to recent movies for free than pay $ 1 for each movie to get the latest and greatest films available.
They do have book sales once in awhile where you can buy cheap books, but I bet you could get them at flea markets and thrift stores for the same price if not cheaper.
Yeah, yeah. The building’s old and has a ton of books and you can get even more through their Minuteman network.
I wonder if the other libraries in the network charge for DVDs.
Hrmph.

Beautiful old library. I haven’t spent much time here — I usually reserve books online and pick up at the front desk. Great selection. Never had a problem with parking — plenty of street parking and a lot behind the library. Friendly people at the desk. I love that I can check out things like Rosetta Stone!

A great
place for
a book
The Waltham Library sure has grown and changed a lot over the years. The first library in the town started way back in 1865 and the present building was built in 1915. It had many different additions over the years and in 1994 the extensive renovations doubled the size of the building. The folks who built the original building probably wouldn’t even recognize it.
As with most old buildings that have additions, the library is a rambling collection of different sized and shaped rooms. I find that this adds to the aesthetics and charm of the edifice but first time users might find it somewhat disorientating. I like the fact that you can always find a little corner or nook to sit and read or do research. A lot nicer than just endless rows of tables that you find in the more modern, larger libraries.
Of course the people working at a library a library are probably at least as important as the tomes and fortunately the people working here are friendly and pleasant. One of the women working at the desk patiently answered my dumb questions about the library’s history and seemed to have a plethora of information right off the top of her head.
She told me that the facility had over 155,000 books, 400 magazines and periodicals and 30 Internet stations. Also gave me lots of other numbers, facts and figures that I quickly forgot. Didn’t expect such a quick shock and awe assault of statistics. but it was impressive and very cool.
Sure the parking is difficult around the library but you can always find something if you don’t mind walking a bit. And the organization of the different materials can be confusing at first but this is common in older libraries that have expanded over the years. Besides the very helpful and pleasant staff will always assist you.
The Waltham Library is a somewhat eccentric library that retains the charm of older building while still having the modern amenities and information a newer facility. Like most unusual or atypical things, whether it’s people or buildings, you have to make a few compromises, but in the end it’s worth the effort.

I spent some time debating between the kindle or continuing to buy books at Costco, but then I realized that the public library really isn’t as bad as I imagined. I was used to the Copley BPL that smelled like the inside of a T station on a humid day, but the Waltham library is actually quite nice inside. Sure the books are fairly disorganized, but the online system is great and you can simply request/​reserve books online and they’ll email you when you can pick them up. This even works for brand new books, but you may have to wait a few weeks before they are available.

An excellent library! Even though I work at a university library and run an interlibrary loan department, I find myself visiting Waltham’s library about once a week.
Their selection of DVDs, current popular reading and graphic novels is impressive. All staff members are friendly, courteous and very, very helpful.

I LOVE this library! I come from a small town in New Hampshire which had an equally tiny library. The Waltham Public Library is phenomenal!
*When you register you will receive a library card (per usual) — only with THIS account, you can access the Library online. Just enter your password and you can search for a book, movie (VCR, DVD, or BluRay!), CD’s, etc and then request them. You get an email when the book is available for pickup AND when you’re closing in on the drop-​off date (VERY helpful!). DVD’s cost $ 1 each for a one-​week «rental.» CD’s and books can usually be out for three weeks.
*Facility is CLEAN! Modern and well maintained. I love this building. Handicapped accessible to the max.
*Several groups meet — calendars of these events available on all levels.
*Staff is VERY friendly!!!
*You can purchase the Waltham Cookbook as well as tote bags and «A History of Waltham» are available for purchase at the Registration desk (LOVE the cookbook).
*Every month there is a new, themed selection of books (near the Main Registration desk).
*Parking can be a hastle. There is a small lot behind the Library and street parking on both side streets. Generally it isn’t the parking LOT that frustrates me… but the people IN the parking lot ATTEMPTING to park.
Great for if you need to study, if you want a quiet place to escape and read a bit, or if you just want to swing by and pick up your requested items!

Just FYI: for a long time I (and I’m sure many others) ignored the parking meters, since they are incredibly over-​priced if you’re just running in to pick something up. However, when I was there yesterday I saw a meter maid ticketing lots of cars in the parking lot. I don’t know if I just happened to be there when they were ticketing or if they’ve amped up their parking enforcement, but it was the first time I’ve ever seen that.

Unfortunately, unlike other Unilocalers, I actually DON’T like the Waltham library. And actually, up until this year I haven’t used my card in a few years, since 2005 to be exact and was actually only used twice until now.
Reasons Why:
1. No free parking lot. It’s metered and Waltham still finds a way to make money off of you.
2. The organization in this library is all over the place! Seriously 2 separate check-​out desks where if you reserved something you have to go all the way upstairs to find it because that is where the «Adult» section is. WTF!
3. Again with the organization — why are your books all over the place? I understand having a new sections section, but does it have to be in a completely different room from the rest of the other books? There’s one specific room for the fiction — right dab in the middle of the 2^nd floor between the reference desk and the circ desk. Upstairs is the non-​fiction. But… wait… they have a separate room for both in their new books room. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO KNOW WHAT IS NEW AND WHAT IS OLD?! Shouldn’t this all be based on the Dewey decimal system?
4. You’ve got SEVERAL rooms for DVDs/​CDs/​Other Media — WTF?! Why should I have to run all over the place trying to figure out what category a DVD is suppose to be in and what if I have to pick up several DVD’s run all over the library to find each one?!
5. Oh yeh and WTF is up with charging $ 1 per DVD? When did this become a Blockbuster? Even old movies they charge you $ 1 for a week and .25/​per day late charge. I have NEVER in my life heard of a library charging you to take out a DVD until I came here in 2004. Never again did I come back to take out a DVD. Where are all the tax payers money going to?! Oh yeh and they’re not renewable either. I understand the late fee, but really to checkout a video — we should not have to pay for it.
6. They don’t allow food/​drink other than the AV Annex room. WHY?! Most people study and work with food. Even my library back on LI allows you to do this, not just the university I work at.
So I can’t knock this library entirely… they did receive 2 stars from me. The reason, the staff here are really nice and helpful especially when trying to locate something esp for someone who has NO IDEA where anything is in this library. And since they are part of the Minuteman network, I get reminder e-​mails to let me know when my books are due so that I don’t get charged any late fees.
Now… I would go to you more often, if you got rid of the meters in your small parking lot and allow drinks/​snacks while studying in the library.
And you do have a beautiful building, it’s too bad the rooms/​books are all organized all over the place.

The library is one of the best looking buildings in Waltham. I love walking there if the weather is nice. Driving can sometimes be a bit difficult, since the parking lot in the back is a little small, but if you catch it on an off hour it’s pretty easy to snag a spot. They also give you a free 10 (or is it 15?) minutes on the meter if you push the button on the meters in the 1 hour parking area, which is especially nice if you know what you want and you can just run in and grab it.
I’m a fan of the music collection, but I wish they didn’t charge $ 1 for movies. Because of this, my boyfriend and I tend to stick to documentaries (which are free!), but really, you can only watch Michael Moore and Spellbound so many times before you’re ready to explode. What’s nice is that it forces me to watch things I normally wouldn’t pick up, just to save $ 1, which actually sounds a bit silly, because I’ll visit Blockbuster at least once a month to rent a movie for $ 3.99 for a couple nights. Hmmm…

My boyfriend lives in Waltham so I frequent this library quite often. It’s the best public library I’ve ever been to, actually – the building is gorgeous, the grounds are well maintained, the a/​c is great during the summer, and I really llike their free internet reservation system. When you use their online computer reservation system, once the computer is availabe, you are the only person that can log on for the first five minutes the computer is free. It’s great because it means somebody can’t cut in front of you.
They have a HUGE selection of books too. And the DVDs for rent have a pretty wide variety.

The library ROCKS. The thing I like best, besides the AC and the free WIFI, is their website
. You can reserve books online and they’ll email you when the arrive. See a good author on Colbert/​The Daily show? Boom, it’s reserved from my couch. Overdue books also trigger an email.
They also have a large selection of audiobooks.
How hip are they? They have a twitter feed —
Ride your bike here and lock up out back… feeding the meters out back is a pain.

A fine public library housed in a beautiful building. Open Sundays and computers for Internet use.
My only complaint is that they charge $ 1 for video rentals. I assumed this was standard public library until I rented from Watertown and Weston. I was told by the librarian in Watertown that Waltham received a grant and the video fee was to pay off the grant.
The next time I was at Waltham, I asked how soon until the grant would be paid off and videos would be free. I was told that Waltham will always charge $ 1.
They even charge for movies they don’t have and get from other Minuteman libraries!
Maybe the charge is to pay for the extensive landscaping.

This library is part of the Minuteman Library network that serves a lot of libraries outside of Boston (such as Brookline, Waltham, Woborn etc. you can see the full list at
) and since they are all connected you can pretty much get any book you want for free delivered to the library of your choice. It’s a good way to try and get your hands one some newly released books that you don’t want to pay for if you’re willing to wait a bit. For older books the service is pretty quick, I once got a book in 3 days.
It’s easy to find and there is some parking, though it is metered. Their personal selection is totally decent and the staff are very helpful. While the Brandeis library can provide your research paper needs, sometimes you may want a book to read for fun.

I can’t say much for the selection of books but since it’s linked to the Middleman network of libraries across the greater Boston area, you’ll eventually track down what you’re looking for. I love how old, big, and beautiful this place is. I forget how old New England is and how even a crappy town like Waltham can have a wonderfully grand library in its midst.
I came here on one occasion to track down a book that the Brandeis library didn’t have. I was unsuccessful but taking a tour around made me happy to see little kids reading and old people milling around on computers. The staff is very friendly and helpful and there’s a little room with flyers and newsletters from local groups and organizations so you can keep up to par on Waltham’s buzzing social scene.
Where I’m from, most of the libraries are huge and modern with glass and brushed steel. There’s something attractively academic in the traditional set up and architecture of the Waltham Public Library… even if there is a sketchy homeless dude sleeping on the front steps. Oh Waltham.