Germantown Library — Attraction in Germantown

I am in town visiting my mother because my father passed away. I have a 3 year old daughter who has been stir-crazy through our visit. I finally decided to go visit the library to play with some new toys and get a change of scene. MY GOD. This is nothing like our library in Lavale, MD. Every single person I was “helped” by was incredibly rude. It absolutely blew my mind.

For one- everything in the children’s area is under lock and key. Even the bathroom. So when my toddler told me she needed to pee, I had to go wait in a line to ask for someone to come and unlock the door. And if you have a small child who needs to pee, you know how unreasonable that is. You can’t trust children and their parents to use the restroom? Shame on you. This isn’t a gas station.

Next, I asked about the play rooms (our library simply has all the toys in an open space so children can play TOGETHER and moms and sit and chat and oversee). When I asked the woman working in the children’s section about it her first words were “I’m not a librarian”. Okay. Confusing. Do you work here?? She told me to go ask at the desk outside. I did. They told me to go upstairs and reserve a time to use the toys at a later date. So I carried my child back up 3 flights of stairs and asked “can you help me reserve a play room?” The first words out of the woman’s mouth were “I GUESS I can but someone else is going to have to unlock it for you”. Again, rude. Just say “sure, but someone downstairs will need to unlock it”. Anyway, I reserved it for the following day at 4 pm.

So I came back the next day and got to the library at 4:10. Some children were playing in there and when I told them we reserved it and were coming in to play a little girl said “oh, I’m sorry we’re not going to let you play”. I told her I’d go check to make sure I had the right room (figuring a HELPFUL librarian could help clear this up). I took my toddler all the way back upstairs and explained the situation. The woman (ANOTHER woman, mind you. They were literally ALL SO RUDE) told me “well, since you’re here so late [it’s 4:15 now], you forfeit your hour”. So I reserved it for an entire hour and was told I could not go play anymore because I was 10 minutes late and spent 5 minutes looking for someone to help us.

I am seeeeeething. This is literally all I’ve taken my daughter to go do in the 2 weeks we’ve been in town helping my mother. The library has always been a place of comfort for us and an EASY place to go play and lighten the mood. Well, NOT THIS LIBRARY. And in a world where libraries are under fire, I’d expect a smile and some actual help. So if you’re looking for books, sure. Enjoy. But if you’re looking for community, GO...

Love this library! Has so many programs for babies, totts, kids, teens, adults, and seniors. I used to come here with my daughter to Baby Story time when she was an infant. They also have Toddler Story time. Its free and you don't need to register or sign up. Just show up on time and have fun with your baby. They also have a huge study room which is perfect to host a small class session or for school group projects. However if you want those rooms, you have to call the library in advance to book the room. They have a kids and baby section on the bottom floor, teenage section on the middle floor, and adults section at the top floor. The top floor has a lot of computers, desks, and quiet study rooms. If you need to print paper here, you better have your wallet since it does cost a few cents. The top floor also has some homeless people that come by just to stay until it closes, so be careful where you sit and keep hand sanitizer with you. There's also a lady who seems deaf at the front desk since she talks like she's learning to speak. It's really hard to...

Pros: This is a nice library in general. I like the children’s area in particular. There are a variety of children’s books and lots of events.

The two discovery rooms have lots of toys. The toys are being updated.

There is a corner with some toys to attract kids.

Cons: Staff sometimes are very IMPATIENT and IMPOLITE. For example, they eagerly want you to leave at closing time. My kid had to finish something (you know, kids have a reputation for not obeying rules) at closing time. Two staff came to tell me “You HAVE TO leave” at different times. When we left, it was TWO MINUTES past closing time.

The rules about discovery room are too strict. My reservation was cancelled just several minutes after the starting time of my reserved hour.

Staff can be gone from their desk for a LONG time. You may have to wait for 20 minutes to ask a very simple question. And, there is no sign to tell you when they...