Nashville Public Library Richland Park Branch — Attraction in Nashville-Davidson

I went with my two special needs toddlers a couple of days ago and though the toddler play area was nice, an interaction with one of the librarians left a bad taste in my mouth.

This was my children's first visit to the library, and since they're so young they were eager to explore and connect with people there. They stayed near me in the toddler area for the most part, but one time my son ran off. He's speech delayed and doesn't understand things receptively just yet, so although I told him to "come back" he didn't understand.

I quickly got my daughter situated, then ran after him after 3 seconds. As I was on my way, the librarian loudly says "He was ALL the way on the other side of the library. Can you PLEASE keep an eye on him." I was taken aback since this was only his first time running away, but her stating that I need to keep an eye on him implied that I wasn't watching him, which is very untrue. I'd understand more if she pulled me to the side to speak about it, but her loudly stating in front of everyone that I need to keep an eye on my toddler who had only ran away moments before was a bit much.

This was our first time visiting, so naturally he wanted to explore, but of course I'm aware that a child should know to stay in the area, so he would eventually learn the rules after a few visits of me helping him understand. As his speech improves he gets better with following directions, and I'm always always always very vigilant about keeping tabs on where my kids are, trying my best to keep them quiet, and I'm very very attentive to them at all times. I could have explained all of that to her had she pulled me aside to chat.

Instead of a private convo to support, she assumed I wasn't watching my babies, simply because my kid's legs move faster than mine (and also because I have another child I'm juggling).

All in all, I would have brushed it off had she politely and privately spoken to me, but her publicly chastising me instead of being curious did not invite for discussion and understanding. It felt very unwelcoming to have a negative spotlight added to an already stressful situation as a mom trying her best two manage two wiggling toddlers.

Having courtesy goes a long way, and hopefully future visitors are treated with more compassion and consideration than I...

I stopped in at this location a few weeks ago as I was running errands and needed to stop somewhere and work remotely for a bit. It's a library, so you know it should be a quiet place to get some work done, but if you're needing to plugin a laptop and get online, sometimes you're not sure about availability of a good place to setup, power plug proximity and wifi speeds. This location had everything I needed and I'll definitely keep it at the fore front of my memory as a great place to stop in the future for some focused screen work time.

And... it will also make me think of my local public libraries as potential workplace opportunities in the future! Stop by your favorite coffee shop, restaurant or convenience store for a cup of coffee and...

Almost everything you would expect from a neighborhood library. Of note, Nashville does not have a loan program for out of state, but you can use a local work address with a work id. Table areas are comfortable for spreading out but electrical outlets are limited. Obviously on a bus line to downtown, but not an overwhelming homeless presence and the security guard presence was a pleasant older lady, mostly for show as there didn’t seem to be any need. The kids section was opposite the adult section separated by bathrooms and a large central desk, with many flyers for...