Baltimore County Public Library – White Marsh Branch

Not a very large library, but seems to have all the standard stuff.
I don’t particularly like how the desks with outlets are set up. Outlets imply you have something to charge, most likely a laptop if you’re at the library. However, desks are oriented such that other people can look over your shoulder. I’m not doing anything shady or looking up weird things on the internet, but it is nevertheless an uncomfortable feeling for me.
They do have a quiet study room, which some people seem to take pretty seriously. A guy dropped his drink can into the waste basket, and it made noise as it usually does. He actually apologized for it, haha. I didn’t think it was a problem. It’s nice if you’re one of those people who gets easily distracted by noise, though, since a lot of libraries nowadays tend to be louder than I remember them being back in the day. That said, either the walls and/​or ceilings are kind of thin, or somebody was on a microphone; at one point, I overheard whatever was going on in the next room over. (Edit: Never mind. One guy had no problem talking. It’s not that he was talking constantly, but he did talk more than was necessary, i.e., made small talk with people I don’t think he even knew, and he did it in a booming voice. He apparently missed the multiple signs saying that this was a quiet study area, and that there was no talking.)
Parking is free. This is something I’ve come to appreciate in the Baltimore area, since a lot of places make you pay. (That was totally not a thing for me where I grew up.) In fact, I was at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Roland Park yesterday, and I thought it was kind of goofy how the library itself felt the need to proclaim that it was free, but had parking meters in front of it.

Albeit small, this branch has everything one could wish for in a library. As a lifelong Towson Branch user, I am accustomed to having to park in a large garage and pay an ever-​increasing price for trips to the library. At White Marsh, the only thing you have to spend is five minutes to park in their small free lot. Inside this location, you will find all of the essentials: books for all ages, music, videos, computers, and helpful staff around every corner. Although it is impossible for this branch to keep everything on the shelves, they are able to transfer items from any other location in the Baltimore County Public Library system and have it waiting for your visit. There will always be a place in my heart for large, spacious libraries like the Towson Branch but I have come to love and appreciate this cozy little book nook in White Marsh.