Whittier Public Library — Attraction in Whittier

I firmly believe that libraries are the backbone of the US society. I think it’s so important to support this institution, however the woman running the passport office (today 6/16/25) was really condescending and rude. I asked a few questions because honestly how often does an average person deal with passport renewal? (Answer: every 10 years or so.) My questions were met with rude and unconcise answers. 10 years ago I had a great experience here renewing my passport. I won’t be back here for a passport renewal when I have to renew again. Getting a new passport is sort of an exciting experience, but this was exactly the opposite.

The two women at the checkout book counter were also not very pleasant either. I get it ICE was here a week ago so maybe tensions are high? Idk

I think one of the reasons I was met with so much unpleasantness was I forgot to fill out the form. That I will take responsibility for, but they did have that application already printed ready to go for me to fill out.

All of this to say, if you are getting a passport print the document maybe you’ll have a better experience than I did. Or might I suggest the branch library? Idk if you want...

This is a great library. I have a lot of nostalgia visiting this place in my childhood with my mother or my grandmother. I got a lot of books for the Book It! program back in the day. You can only check out 2 items the first time you use your library card, but every subsequent time you visit you can check out up to 40 items! All the books you would ever need for a report or research! As an adult, I have used this library to help print stuff out when the printer at home is acting up...it's really saved my bacon a few times. It does cost a bit to print each page, but sometimes that beats the alternative of having an uncooperative printer. I've also been checking out a lot of CDs, which is nice. All in all, this is a great library. Please come visit it: the staff is very helpful, and the selection...

I didn’t stay long here, but the library itself is quite spacious, including the 2nd floor. The high ceiling definitely makes it feel quite big, however, you would think that the floor to ceiling (almost 2-story) windows will let a lot of light in, but not really. A bunch of florescent lights in the ceiling (and there are probably a lot of them due to high ceiling) are necessary to light this place. The restroom is quite small. Their WiFi is quite slow.

One thing to note is that the parking is only for 2 hours. I wonder if there’s anyone who wants to stay more than 2 hours... the street parking in front of the library also allows...