BECPL Audubon Branch - Amherst Public Library — Attraction in Town of Amherst

The library and facilities are very nice: WiFi, large selection, with a beautiful seating and table area. However, this location seems to function more as a social community center than a library. I think community centers are great, and it's clear that Amherst needs one to bring people together and socialize. But if you're looking for a quiet library to read, peruse books, or do some work on a computer, then I'd gently suggest going elsewhere.

The librarians were the loudest librarians I've ever heard, literally could hear every word they basically seemed to shout when interacting with every patron. No matter where I was in the library, I could hear them. Then there was a language learning group at one of the tables as well, and kids running around screaming with no attempt by their parents to do anything about it.

I'm clearly not their main patron, so I'll show myself out and live and let live with those folks who are clearly enjoying their library/community center. I just wanted to give others a heads up what to expect here, since this was not a normal library experience, having have been to A LOT of libraries both in the Buffalo area and across...

Applied for a library card probably 3 times because I never received mine in the mail. First time they lost it in the mail. This is absolutely ridiculous and so frustrating. The last time I applied for a library card I had email them wondering why it was taking so long. They said it was mailed to me on October 2nd, which it wasn’t. “The card typically arrive within one week after being in the mail” lies. They also said they would keep an eye out if the card has been returned to them or not. I know for a fact they aren’t keeping an eye out. Even though I can place a hold on books online, it’s still nice to have an actual PHYSICAL...

Many years back, myself and other family members had problems with books we returned. They were not being counted back into the librarys system and other patrons would borrow them, so the library was basically losing track of the books and blaming us for it. After multiple occasions of this happening one of my folks got ahold of some big boss and they fixed the problem. Still we avoided borrowing books for a long time. Anyways, we have finally started renting books again and have not run into any of those problems again. So I would say this branch...