Clinton Hill Library — Attraction in New York

I love this library, the staff are truly fantastic; when I moved to the US 6 years ago I joined this library within my first week here…they made me feel so welcomed and gave me a lot of advice. The review mentioning only one member of staff isn’t correct…there’s usually at least 4 staff…some are working in the office sorting orders and returns. It’s extremely kid/nanny friendly with regular reading events for children…I love that it’s such a community inclusive space for everyone, that’s what these places should be. Great selection of books; I’ve borrowed fiction, biography, travel literature and lots of travel guides as well as cookery cooks and language learning materials. Outdoor seating is a bonus too sitting on a lovely street of brownstones. Get a library card and the library app and you can order anything from the library network and go pick it up. Set up the Libby app and you can download from thousands of digital titles. They have a bigger digital selection than NYPL. And it’s ALL FREE. Vote every year to stop them cutting funding and closing these...

Loudest library I’ve ever been to, kids in the kids’ reading hour I can understand, but the staff here was loud and when I asked them if they could talk a little quieter, I was told, “libraries aren’t like they were when we were kids, they’re coworkers do they’re talking to each other about work.” When I asked them if they could ask the man watching tv on his phone without headphones if they could ask him to turn it off, they said that this is a public space and we can’t ask him to put headphones on if he doesn’t have any.” Which is true, but you can tell him it’s not the place to watch tv. And there were the people having actual phone conversations in the “quiet” area. I was told to just go to a different library where there was more space. Or the staff could respect and enforce the library rules. I might as well just study in a coffee shop. Who needs a library...

I'll come right out and say if you're not into lots of children, this might not be the best branch for you. HOWEVER if you learn to avoid the programming that brings in the strollers hoards it is a lovely and quiet place to read work etc. They always have a killer selection of media of all kinds despite it's relatively small size. The staff is always super friendly and helpful. The space is clean and bright and has ample work space, ie tables and outlets and computers. I often come in just for the flyers about community events. They show relevant current movies for free and have lots of other good programming including exercise class! I saw Moonlight here the year it came out, what! The check out system is super slick and easy to get thru. There are benches out front on a lovely street and tons of bike racks. Highly recommend. Except don't...