Ridgedale Library - Hennepin County Library — Attraction in Minnetonka

It's Saturday morning 10:30, I just stepped into the children's area and let two of my older children went to hang up they own jackets and allowed them to look for books in the children's section While I was trying to carry my heavy backpack and my 1 1/2 year old daughter at the same time, and trying to take off her jacket, a lady caught me unprepared and said my daughter can't cry like that , or we will have to leave. I think that's really inconsiderate and rude, since I just got here and I have no intention to break any rules in the library. As I was trying to calm my baby down. This lady talked to another lady at the children's section and they both looked at me from time to time ( it s pretty annoying personally). Then the lady at the children's section kept staring at me. So I asked if I can help her with anything. She repeated the same thing that the previous lady said, which I also considered pretty rude: so the two adults think that me, also as a adult don't have the ability to discipline my children. She also displayed more disrespectful behavior towards me later, which made me think enough is enough. I finally decided I just have to leave this place, because these two ladies that worked at the library don't seem to have respect to parents with children/ they don't have children themselves. I really would like to see some improvements about this issue because we visit this library quite often and never ever have been treated like this. I wonder if those two ladies need to have more experience in working with parents and children so that they don't act and speak in ways that upsets parents.

Updates: Sep 7, 2021 I just noticed a reply from this library today. I don't have any comment since we stopped visiting this library after this incident. We live closer to a different library - that's part of the reason why we don't visit the Ridgedale Library. But I do hope that the service...

My entire family has loved this library for the past ten years. We were sad that it was closed for so long for the renovation, but were excited to return this week. We arrived mid morning with the plan of my 8th and 5th grader doing their schoolwork while the youngest and I hung out in the children's area. The children's area was such a let down. The children's librarian is no longer there. These lovely ladies were always so patient to help budding readers find books that interested them. I'm sure they are still there somewhere, but they really need to be back in the children's area so young readers have access to them. The seating is mostly cushions on the floor, and there are far fewer play areas. Also the whole area is wide open. Instead of the inviting cozy play areas there is just one large LOUD room. The study area was not much better for my older children. They both took to the desks behind the librarians. It was 10:30am on a weekday, but after just an hour they begged to leave because it was too loud for them to get any school work done. They had each been using headphones, the few people around them were all talking normally or quietly, but the new design seemed to magnify the noise to the point that it was just not bearable. We had planned to stay for three hours, but after just an hour the preschooler was tired of the one, large, loud room and wanted a small cozy place to read, the school kids couldn't work cause it was too loud, and I also was disappointed and wanted to leave. I really hope that the noise levels can be addressed with some sound dampening measures. Also, please, please rethink the children's area lay out and also bring back the...

(1) I have waited up to six months for an approved suggestion for purchase to arrive on a library shelf for years now.

Weekly and monthly magazines arrive on the library shelves in a timely way. So the waits I have endured for suggestions for purchases to arrive on the shelves are incomprehensible.

Asking accessible library staff about this wait has been a waste of my time.

Accessible library staff have responded to this and other questions as if they knew the answer when they were ignorant of the answer.

(2) When I asked a manager why this library needs a security guard, he claimed people in the building for court appearances enter the library. Weekend and evening security guards are not needed by this manager's rationale. I expect few people will visit the library on a court date. This manager's rationale for security guards at a library sounds like a reason to use a different library.

(2024 Update): Security guards are reportedly at some libraries only for incident reports at those libraries. You can look for a library with few incidents and no security guard.

I don't need a security guard at a library. I don't need library employees at a library during my visits either.

(3) The user area of this library should have been put on the first floor of the building.

(4) Every copy in this library system of many recent titles is checked out -- often with a waiting list in addition.

Fewer library and security employees and more copies of new books may serve the public better.

(5) At each of several branches, one or more items listed as available in the catalog have not been on the shelf at the branch.

First posted January, 2021 --...