Georgetown Public Library

What an amazing library, I was pleasantly surprised. The library sits atop a hill that overlooks Arlington which is a great spot to have a sandwich from one of the nearby restaurants when taking a break from reading. There are plenty of good coffee shops nearby as well, Dolcezza being one of them if you need some fuel to keep going.
As for the library itself, there are really nice reading rooms with comfortable chairs for you to sink in and read. There are nice tables and chairs to write on or work on your laptop. There are plenty of computers as well. The interior of the library is just fantastic, it looks so nice I want to just take pictures whenever I go there. The staff are always helpful and pleasant.
There’s several floors, the bottom floor has children’s books and the highest has some artifacts which I haven’t had the chance to look at yet.
This is my favorite library.

A true gem library located in a very charming location next to a lovely park. Once in, I immediately loved the place, which felt spacious, clean, and very peaceful. While not in my neighborhood, I shall find excuses to go and visit and would encourage others to do so. Won’t regret it if you’re a fan of charming libraries!

Great neighborhood amenity with a variety of places to study ranging from private rooms to expansive desks. The facility is beautifully restored and the adjacent Book Hill Park provides wonderful outdoor space, as well as a short glute workout if you walk up from Wisconsin. Everyone who works here is extremely helpful. Personally I only use my DC library card for electronic materials, but there seems to a wide variety of books available as well.
I’m a little surprised that many of the reviews here cite the limited number of transients and other characters who use it as a day time hangout. I find that on most occasions there are a significant number such individuals on the computers upstairs or sleeping in the chairs near the books. While not a deterrent to using the facilities, its certainly the reason for the lost star.

Beautiful interior and park right outside. You need to bring a cushion for the chairs, which are not padded.
There is the lovely Book Hill right outside. You could go to Simply Banh Mi, buy a sandwich, and come eat it on this hill. Then go inside for a day of reading!

Nice library and mostly friendly staff. The computer area could be a bit more private as six people are in a row and can look at one is typing. When I go there, some of the users just stare at what I am typing. Not really cool. Besides that, very charming library.

A cute library with old charm.
– Children’s music and story hour is Thursday at 2pm weekly.
– The Peabody Room which holds some historical Georgetown significance is open Monday and Wednesdays only with select hours and one Saturday a month.
– The library has 3 stories with the 2^nd and 1^st story being open to the general public daily.
– Parking is limited. You will result to street parking more than parking lot parking.
– They have a designated computer area with newer computers to be used at your disposal.

I love old worldly charm libraries. This is one of them. My friend Shazia and I got a bit lost trying to find Dumbarton Oaks and decided to step inside here. In us being lost, we found this gem. If I lived in DC this would be my go to library. The librarians are nice and helpful. I have seen other libraries where they do not even want to help you try to find a book. Here they were giving us directions plus providing us information of this library.
I really like the way the library is set up. It would be a good place to read, research and study etc. They have cute stairs to lead to the second floor however we didn’t get to go there.
They only have parallel street parking however, being two hours people were moving their cars etc and we were able to find parking for it being a Saturday. If you are looking for a good place to read or just do your work in peace, this is the place.~

In response to «E.S» of Washington, DC’s disparaging remarks about me:

A good library, and many resources are inside. Hours are good. The only cold unfriendly part is to accidentally go to the top floor, special collection. The elderly man there is aggressive about asking you what you want, — the exact moment you enter is floor. It is clear he does not want anyone using his section (top floor) collection of the library. He seems angry and clearly dislikes any patrons who want to just sit (and read) in his section of the facilities. This attitude is a dramatic difference from all the other staff in the building– who are Welcoming

This is one of my favorite libraries in the world. It is large, but not so large that I feel overwhelmed. Everyone is so friendly and nice. It may have been they thought I was a tourist by the way I was looking at the inside. The outside looks like an old fashioned building but the inside is completely modern.

This is about as nice as a public library gets. I was at a presentation where a senior DC Library executive said something to the effect of, «I know I’m not supposed to cheer when giant fires burn down our buildings, but without that insurance settlement we wouldn’t have been able to put that kind of money into building something in Georgetown.»
The library crowns a high hill with a magnificent view over the river. Inside, it’s as stately as you’d expect of the neighborhood. Super-​special bonus: it’s the only branch library I’ve seen that has semi-​private cubes (upstairs) for individual reading.
The collection is, well, what you’d expect of a public library branch, although there’s also a special collection of local history. Hours are also standard, but DCPL is extending hours systemwide starting in October 2013.

What a cool place! While out walking in Georgetown last week I decided to stop in. Wonderful people working there and I felt safe. Many libraries have become the day time hangout for transients and that’s a bit scary for me. None of that here.
It felt reverent, safe and exactly what a library should be –full of books and resources.
Terrific magazine selection.

The best library in dc
The wifi is working and good
Quit library

It’s a small library with limited selections, but it is also very quiet and as a more… how should I say it… ‘Georgetown class of people’? I think this place was just redone a few years ago and it still seems pretty new and clean. I wish they had more space to lounge about and read, but what they do have is pretty nice.

Not much space to sit and chill. Isn’t that the point of libraries? The kids section is about half the size of the place and therefore lots of loud toddlers. I’m glad I brought my headphones otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten any work done. It felt messy and dirty too– stains on the floor and ok furniture. Nice staff but too small and noisy to be worth more than 2 stars. Hopefully they’ll make some improvements!

A really nice, newly built library with a pleasant atmosphere. Spacious tables have outlets and the upper floor has a nice view. Definitely recommend it as a quiet place to read/​study.

Unlike other DC libraries, there is a scarcity here of bums and eccentrics, those special people who make the library interesting. Last time I was here it was nothing but attractive young Georgetown coeds… BORING. Instead of the pungent body odor of homeless library-​men, all I smelled was Dolce & Gabana perfume… ok, so it wasn’t that bad. I was sitting in a pleasing, high-​ceilinged reading room with sunny windows facing to the south and all of Georgetown below… this place is built on a hill with a terrific little park outside and a vista of the city.
Anyway, as I was reading a Rolling Stone interview with Snoop Dogg, not a single emphesymic cough nor schizoid monologue issued forth… then I walked outside, and that’s where I found all the usual suspects, on smoke break, unrolling their sleeping bags on the lawn and enjoying the sunny day.
Really this is a nice, nice library, and a good place to get work done… it’s just in an out of the way place, and you have to climb a hill to get there. But it’s worth the effort.