Swiss Cottage Library — Attraction in London

The library itself isn’t the issue—it’s the staff. I had an extremely frustrating experience with one of the employees. Unfortunately, she wasn’t wearing a visible name tag; her lanyard was facing backward, and when I asked for her name, she didn’t give it. All I can do is describe her: short, Asian descent (possibly Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese), glasses, black hair.

Every question I asked was met with “I don’t know,” and there was no effort to be helpful. She seemed completely uninterested and miserable to be there. How are patrons supposed to get support if staff don’t have even basic knowledge or the willingness to assist?

Really disappointing experience. Staff should be approachable, identifiable, and at the very least, willing to help.

Not ebeough staff around to help...

Great library. Not only a really good selection of books, but also a fantastic place if you want to study or work. If you don't need a printer and don't have any calls to take, this library is just as good as many paid co-working spaces. There is always enough space, they have comfortable chairs and despite the fact that there is a children's library on the 1st floor, it is very quiet and a good environment if you need to work on something that requires you to be concentrated. There is free WiFi, but it is not very fast. Good enough for working, but probably not satisfying if you need to download larger files.

As others have pointed out, the only downside is that there are only 3 toilets in the whole building and those toilets are not...

Housed in a Grade II listed building the the library has an extensive range of books especially the art section and reserve stock. The building itself is a landmark modernist building which architecture students from around the world visit. Worthy of note are the arts + crafts influenced touches within the interior such as the navigational scale and subtle range of materials. At a time when libraries are closing it's wonderful to see this one so well used, the service is complemented by staff who are knowledgable and...