Elmwood Park | Detroit Public Library — Attraction in Detroit

Upon entrance, I was greeted by the front desk clerk and security guard. They were extremely welcoming and friendly. I told them i'm visiting for the holidays and wanted to check out a few books. The clerk said, "sure, enjoy."

Less than 30 seconds later, the librarian asked if I was looking for the restroom. I said, "ummm, no sir, i'm just going to check out some books". Then he said: "cause if you did need to use the restroom, you would need to see the security guard for the key." I smiled and said "okay great." At this point, i'm extremely confused as I haven't had a chance to walk down a book aisle..

So I attempted to walk away from the librarian to find some intriguing books. Unfortunately, the librarian interrupted me again, saying, "well, I am the guy you need to see if you need to look for books." Now, i'm like "what the heck?" to myself. I simply wanted to check out random books as I like to read various topics. Secondly, I had no idea the library required visitors to speak to a librarian prior to reading a book. But to appease the guy, I told him i'm searching for Digital animation books. 20 seconds later, he goes "Nope, we don't have those here. Anything else?"

I'm empathetic, and understand context matters. The branch location was in downtown detroit. I was wearing a hoodie, and hadn't shaven for 3 weeks. He probably assumed I was a homeless guy. Either way, it does not feel good to get profiled. I left without picking up a book. Overall, horrible experience. I DO...

The staff here have been consistently friendly and helpful. A wealth of programming for young children is planned each season, and often when we stop by, my kids are kindly offered a treat when we leave. While this is a smaller library branch, they are happy to transfer any book from another branch that you are looking for. This is a safe space and street parking is free and easy to find, for people who...

I'm touring the local libraries and their kids section. The staff here today were so nice. The kid section although small it was mighty with 2 mini tables, learning toys, legos, kitchen set, and two smaller computers with children games on them. The location is cool because it's walkable to the greenway, other cool spots like valade park, DNR and...