The Public Library of Brookline

Fellow Unilocalers, an injustice has occurred within the storied shelves of The Public Library of Brookline that must be righted.
I can personally be found in this shrine to the written word nearly every weekend and assure my fellow Unilocal reviewers, Elite Unilocalers, and casual Unilocal consumers alike that the single 3-​star, 2-​star, and 1-​star reviews of this library are at best extreme circumstances and at worst ignorant rants that have no business being posted on Unilocal.
Suppose for a second that there was even the slightest sliver of truth to the noise complaints on the main floor near the circulation and help desks, what these reviewers fail to mention is the plethora of «quiet study» space located elsewhere throughout the entirety of the library. Erudite and experienced library learners happily call this place home on a daily basis and in all my hours spent here I’ve never once been so bothered by the noise level that I couldn’t 1) move elsewhere, or 2) act like an adult and kindly ask someone to lower their voice.
The greatness of this library is self-​evident to all who enter. You can’t help but want to spend an afternoon here. As a final tip, this library now loans board games to patrons!

I give this library one out of five for the fact that people who run it have no idea how to manage it. First off, the noise. The noise level here is absolutely horrible, especially since the librarians themselves play a role in generating the noise. The librarians at the center help desk, in particular, never seem to keep their mouths shut. They are a bunch of busybodies who just can’t seem to stop talking about their miserable lives. I just don’t get why they would choose to work in a library setting, if they themselves can’t restrain themselves? And let’s not even talk about «elderly» or «older patrons;» they are walking verbal diarrhea, who are wasting precious library resources for no good reason other than to kill time. They talk on their cell phones, calling their relatives and friends and whatnot. They don’t even consider taking down the volume. The librarians, again, instead of asking them to refrain their use of phones, engage in conversation with them, laughing. Also, while I realize that the library is located right next to a school, the librarians here never seem to come across the idea that they should restrict the use of certain areas of library to both the teens and children who are obviously unable to respect other patrons there. Kids, especially Chinese (I don’t mean to be a racist here, but if you are a regular at the library and understand some Asian language, you would know that they frequent the computer section of the library to play online games), scream and quiver in their language, not English obviously. The computer use is strictly limited to 32 minutes per patron in this library, yet these little nightmares are hogging all the computers for themselves. The librarians really should consider banning the use of computers to kids, unless they are supervised by trustworthy guardians and if they still can’t reduce the noise level, ban them altogether. I hate the idea that my tax money is wasted on these kids who are obviously abusing the public resources at their leisure. Lastly, the homeless junkies. By «homeless junkies,» I don’t just mean actual homeless people on the street, but people who can’t seem to respect the rules: 1. No food or drink in the library area. 2. No loud music or video clips. 3. Should not steal library books or resources. Every time I come here, I see people taking a sip from their frap or latte and munching on potato chips or cookies. There are also those that play video clips or music loudly and sing them along as they are being played. And as for the stolen resources, I occasionally see tags, the little square-​looking things that you put inside the books that trigger alarms when unscanned, in the library restroom, which the janitor or the cleaner picked up carelessly along with the rest of the trash while a male librarian took his sweet time at the toilet. The town of Brookline should consider wiping the slate clean and get people who are actually committed to their jobs instead of these bums that love nothing but getting their pay checks.

I love this library! Huge and has tons of new books! Especially love the self-​checkout and online search features where you can place books on hold. Easily accessible from C line or 65 bus route. Helped me rediscover my love of reading, and I always get excited to stop by!

What more do you need from a free parking, beautiful interior, not overcrowded, large, renovated quiet library?

Incredible movie selection, including blu ray, and they recently organized foreign films into one section, which I appreciate. The DVDs are all along one wall with separate sections for tv series and musicals and such, so it is easy to browse. They truly have a great film collection — so many old movies, criterion collection, art house directors. I can always find something when I come here. Great architecture, usually space to park if you go at off hours. Some librarians there are actually nice! High ceilings, good selection, and close to my apartment. Perfect.

Wow, what a beautiful library!
Pros:
— Beautiful building (externally and internally) — it’s located right in Brookline Village, and it has a little grassy park on its property
— Ample study spaces — different types of seating options abound!
— Helpful staff
— Seemingly large selection of books (I haven’t explored the books in depth yet)
Cons: Street parking is inconvenient to stay here for long periods of time (metered, or if you walk a ways it’s 2 hour max for non-​Brookline residents)
I come here often and plan to continue to do so!

The Brookline library is the perfect place to study. There is ample room to spread out your books and plenty of tables for study groups. It’s no thrills and not very fancy, but who needs a fancy library? Staff is extremely helpful and like every great library, there is a fantastic arrowhead collection. Best part? Parking is super easy with both plenty of metered parking and a garage! There are snacks!

The Brookline Public Library main location is a beautiful, serene space with ample seating, computers, and other resources. Plenty of librarians available to help. Keep in mind this is a community library, so it isn’t going to have the extensive research collections that you’d find at, say, the Boston Public Library.
I highly recommend using the online reserves if you are looking for a specific book. They will track down the book for you, either locally or from another library, send you a text when it’s there, and then you can just pop in to pick up the book in about 15 seconds.
The café on the lower level (Kookoo’s Nest, a branch of the popular café in Brookline Village), is a nice idea but must have very limited hours (which I can’t find on the website) as I’ve never once seen it open. But hypothetically, you could sip a latte while your kids play in the children’s area or whatever.

Mostly very solid; in some ways superb; in some ways horrible.
The collection is good; if you add in the books from the satellite libraries the collection is very good; if you add in the books from the Minuteman Library Consortium the collection is excellent. The selection of music CDs is great – far superior to that of the Boston Public Library.
While the reference department is very good and the reference room is okay, the legal section is puny and outdated. The Boston Public Library’s legal section, even though it has been terribly gutted in the last year or so, is far better. (It’s at one end of the big, beautiful Bates Room.)
Physically, the Brookline library is wonderful. There are many nooks and crannies. The main computer room is clean, modern, and properly-​lit. On the lower-​level there are individual study carrels that project out from the building so you can feel as if you’re in a space pod. You’re not supposed to sleep in there but if you’ve been up late and are working on something dull – it happens. Best, I think, is the Brookline Room, which is the designated silent space – I go there when I have major writing to do. There’s a big old grandfather clock in there and miscellaneous arcana.
While I’m not a child and do not have children, I see parents/​caretakers with children bopping in and out of the children’s room *constantly,* so the children’s section must be really good.
Horrible? The circulation staff and the Head Librarian. The circulation staff shout. Well, they make no attempt to modulate their voices, and the main desk is located in a large hall with hard surfaces, so the echoes of their loud communications pass through into the other parts of the library. They also throw a fair bit of attitude.
Here’s the topper: James Flaherty, the Head Librarian. Two years ago this library billed me $ 30 for a book it said I’d lost. I paid the $ 30. About eight months later I received a check for $ 27.00 with a letter that said, essentially, We were wrong to charge you; You did return the book; Here’s your money back minus our three-​dollar processing fee. What? You make a mistake and refund my money but you charge me a ten percent FEE for the privilege of your not embezzling my funds? I sent the check back and said, Please issue a full refund. Then there was a long and bitter exchange with the aforementioned James C. Flaherty, the Head Librarian, a real tight-​ass, (and amazingly stubborn) who adamantly refused to give me back all the money that the library had mistakenly charged me. Finally the Town Counsel of Brookline got involved, tried to persuade this Flaherty guy to be reasonable – which was impossible – and so finally we struck a deal where the Library would pay me $ 27 and the Town of Brookline itself would pay me the processing fee. (I got the impression that the Town of Brookline was a tiny drop … *annoyed* by the behavior of the Head Librarian.) Anyway.
Finally, one tip you should know: the Brookline Public Library is part of the Fenway Library Consortium, so your library card for Brookline will get you in to the Simmons College Library, which is *superb.* It’s a good thing to know, especially because Simmons lets you take out materials for a very long time and doesn’t charge much in the way of fees. See? I ended on a positive note.

The Brooline Public Library main branch is larger than life! Due to its massive size and structure, it looks more like an up-​scale private high-​school, than a government funded book house. To descibe it as grand, would only touch upon my feelings for this establishment. The front yard alone features a broad expanse of grass, a stone carved civil war monument, and a brick path leading up to the monumental threshold.
The building is made up of 3 levels. You can always find me on the basement level. That’s where the food bar, teen room, and childre’s room are located. These chambers represent much of what the library has to offer, but to me there is nothing more precious than the section off to the left — past the food and past the adolescent hubs. Here’s where the news is stored.
Their selection is amazing: magazines, newspapers and journals, all lined up individually throughout the racks. This is where I spend my time sifting thru various articles and reports. It’s quieter here — less distracting — the type of atmosphere that encourages people to take out their laptops and work for hours at end. It makes it easy to just sit, read and enjoy the peaceful feelings. I can think here!

This is a great library. They have so many online resources and you can get pretty much any book from any library in MA if you request it. I usually just request the books I need and go pick them up; no need to search around. You can renew online which is great if you can’t get to the library to return something on time. They have a decent DVD selection (who can complain about free DVDs) and the self-​checkout is easy.

The main branch of the Public Library of Brookline is excellent. The staff is very attentive. The building is clean, quiet, and an excellent place to read or study. If you search the Minuteman Library Catalog, most things are available at the Brookline Branch. Also, they are open seven days a week, although maybe not in the summer.

The little known secret about this library is having an account means you can login to Mango Languages online from home, or on your iPad or iPhone using their app. It’s like Rosetta Stone, but better, and it’s free, because Brookline Library pays a subscription. I’m learning Turkish on it.

Man I love this library. Reasons why I love this library:
1. The people who work here are super nice
2. It’s always nice and quiet — just like a library should be.
3. The selection is great, especially the new titles and the DVD’s.
4. The Kookoo café annex downstairs is very refreshing. It’s neat to take a break from studying to have a snack in the… LIBRARY. I still feel like I’m in grade school and sneakily doing something wrong, even though they purposefully have tables by the café for that exact purpose. :)
5. I love the little windowed pseudo-​carrels. Extra private with plenty of natural light!
6. I always find some neat little recipe book, obscure CD, or piece of fiction to buy from their discount book sale downstairs.
7. and they always have fascinating little glassed-​in exhibits of crafts or historical artifacts or collections of interest scattered on display throughout the library.
It doesn’t get much better than this. My one and only suggestion is that they have the library open on Saturdays during the summer.

How can you hate on a library? There’s a KooKoo café in here, which means if nothing else you can get a great cup of coffee.
This library is great for the neighborhood and participates in the state-​wide service that allows you to get a book from another Mass. library delivered to Brookline PL. There’s 3 branches (this being the main branch) and, while not as extensive as the network of Boston Public Libraries, it’s an asset to the area and walking distance from my house. Big points there.

The Brookline Public Library is a life saver for nannies! The children’s section is a fairly social scene for the little ones and there are endless amounts of books to look through. Plus, the whole area is blocked off from the rest of the library so it’s okay to get a little loud sometimes. I love to come here on colder or rainy days when the park just isn’t a good idea.

What do you do when you’re in the throes of your first serious romantic liaison during high school? When neither of your parents give you enough privacy together after school to really, er, get to know each other? When it’s a New England winter and park benches and grassy fields are out of the question?
Well, my young lovers, pack yourselves off to the basement of the Brookline Public Library and take refuge in the snug study cubbies that branch off from the back wall. The glass sides and lack of door only add to the rush of adrenaline that you might get caught, and the awkward wooden furniture only encourages creativity. Go! Learn! Who knows, you might actually read something too.

I usually pick up my books and such at the Coolidge Corner branch and hadn’t even been inside the main branch until this year, but I’m glad I discovered it. It’s pretty big and has a myriad of seating options, key if you’re looking for a solid place to study or get work done… you can sit in a free-​standing wooden desk carrell, at a big open table with others, in a comfy chair, at a table next to the little café (genius offering refreshments in the middle of the library), in a small private closed-​door study room with multiple chairs, in a teeny no-​door private study room with a desk and chair (my personal favorite; they’re on the bottom floor all the way to the back), and on and on, as private or as public as you’d like. As mentioned, outlets can be a bit hard to locate, which is why you’ll find me with my laptop in either a wooden carrell or downstairs in one of those teeny study rooms.
The amount and variety of seating puts the BPL far above my own school’s library (which only has limited numbers of wooden carrells and big open tables), so I’ve started to rotate it into my usual study routine. It can get pretty crowded after school gets out, and even more so after business hours, so your best bet is mornings/​early afternoons. It isn’t open very late (although I guess 9 is late for a non-​school library), and I hate that the 65 bus stops at like 8 and doesn’t even run on Sundays (prime study day for me), but that really has nothing to do w/​the library (it’s just annoying for those of us coming from the Wash Square area).
I’ve never actually used this branch for anything other than a quiet place to do schoolwork, so I can’t comment on the staff or book selection/​organization… but I do know that within the Minuteman Network, you can request practically any book you want and have it delivered to any branch which is so awesome (very dangerous if you’re a bibliophile like me). Two thumbs up for that.

I heart the library, and if they don’t have the book you want, you can order it and have it sent here from another library
It is very quiet, the selection is amazing, and the books are in excellent condition
The only downer is the lack of outlets, I had to move away from a table and sit on a little bench to get my work done

This library is nice and I used to always come here after school and do my homework. It’s quite and big with tons of places to just sit and study.
It’s always clean with few hobos wandering around which is nice though it’s probably mostly because the Brookline Police Department is right across the street.
I hesitate to give it a fifth star because I feel like everything is incredibly disorganized and if you’re new to the library, it’s very difficult to navigate your way if you don’t necessarily know where you’re going. Not all of the bookcases are well labeled so it’s hard to figure out what genre you’re looking at unless you pic up and book and find out.
Besides that, it’s a very nice library.