Hawaii State Public Library System – Ewa Beach Library

I think one of the things I like the most about the Ewa Beach library is that it’s so quiet. The Kapolei library is newer, bigger, and much louder. It’s so crowded there that I don’t like to linger, which is why I love going to libraries in the first place.
There is a large and welcoming area for children and story time is always exciting and fun for the little ones. I enjoy seeing how excited the children get and I love that families still make the effort to take them to the library in this day and age. The facilities at the Ewa Beach library need a lot of work– a full scale reno would really do wonders, but I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.
Regardless of its shell, however, it has the heart and soul of an old school community library, which is what I just adore about it. The librarians and staff smile in recognition and are always sweet and helpful. The people I’ve casually spoken to in the stacks are fellow bookworms. It’s calm. It’s quiet. It’s everything I need when I want to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. I’m thankful we have it.

I have a confession. I don’t really watch television regularly with the exception of news and an occasional episode of Jeopardy. I may have adult ADD. I have difficulty with sitting still in front of a screen. (And to be honest, I find most of the shows on TV are garbage now a days anyway. Well, I do love Pawn Stars too!) However, I can sit with a book or trashy magazine for awhile.
My kids think I come here for them which is partially true. They have a great selection of books and age appropriate novels for young readers. Their children’s room is spacious. They really try to encourage kids to read and offer a summer reading program offering prizes as incentive. I love my kids, but library time is me time. (The reading program is also for adults.) What’s really nice is of there is a book I’m looking for, I can request it be sent from another library. They also sell used books (including classics sometimes) for dirt cheap! They also have a small selection of CDs as well as computers to use to access the Internet. Their selection of movies to borrow are pretty current and it’s a dollar for a week rental.
The employees are super helpful and friendly. There is a mobile app to check your account and renew books which helps you to avoid that 25 cent over due per day fee. I don’t ever see myself switching over to the ebook world. There’s just something about physically turning the pages of a real book and getting involved in it’s story. Thank goodness the library is close by.

This library is about as far down the road in one direction that you can get, but worth the drive. Needed to take a drive one day and a drive we got. It was very quiet when we arrived, but not Manoa quiet (see review on Manoa).
There is a nicely separate kids room with observation window from the racks. Inside the room there is a stage that I am told was once used for children’s programs when the backdrop and curtains were installed. There also were curtains that could be drawn over the observation windows in order to show movies in the room. If those accessories were to be reinstalled someday it would make an excellent place for the Ewa and traveling community to attend kid-​friendly performances.
I was very thankful for the centrally located wooden puzzles table which kept the littles busy while I perused for a fresh stack of books to bring home.
The woman at checkout was pleasant and quick to relate as a mother of four children of her own. I appreciate that.
We ended up heading back to this branch and attending the storytime. I was impressed with the attention to detail that the librarians placed in setting out chairs and placing a sign detailing when the storytime would begin. After an opening song, 4 – 5 stories were read and a flannelgraph activity for busy little hands. The time together was smoothly commenced with a simple craft before pre-​nap meltdown moments began.

I attended an Annual Meeting there in one of the meeting rooms and the library was actually closed. The room was clean and didn’t expect any more than that.

This library is also utilized by the public school. The restrooms are rundown and smell. The child selection is small considering a public school uses it. But it has it’s own area. It’s in the corner a bit secluded. Not open on the weekends. The DVD collection, CD collection is small. There are only a few computers that are available. Books are falling apart. If you have a car I recommend driving to Kapolei library. It’s newer, bigger, better bathrooms, nicer selection, 2 floors, offer more events for the community, and more parking.
Unilocal 31 day challenge catch up– ²⁹⁄₃₁ Where does our hard earned tax money go to?

I attended Pohakea Elementary School and my favorite time of the day was when we’d go to the Public Library. I always, ALWAYS saw it as a field trip. It was so much fun! I love reading and I love that there is a children section in there. It was a huuuge building full of endless amounts of books! (Well, it seems that way when you’re about 37 inches tall and 5 years old lol) I got to go into a craft room that was located near the checkout part of the library. You could use anything you wanted for free (Scrap papers, scissors, pencils, etc.) and if you wanted to buy new pieces of paper (biiiig sheets of paper) it was only like 10 cents.
Ahhh.memories lol.
I came back here with my daughter, who will be starting school either in the fall or next year. Aside from my height. it seems like almost nothing changed. The bathrooms are still the same (when I went to use it, I asked myself, «were the bathroom stalls always this small? and i looked at the tile and saw that there was no modifications whatsoever)
The smell of the library.nostalgic.
It’s very cool in the library, I LOVE THAT. The few staff members that I talked to were very helpful and sweet :)
I took Abira to the children’s section and it was a bit noisy. I actually liked that none of the staff members came to scold them. It wasn’t crazy loud or anything, but I could speak without whispering and Abira and the other children could laugh and not worry about getting told to be quiet.
The restrooms seem to be a bit dirty. Idk how often someone cleans it. obviously not often enough :(
I think the building is small but for its size, it holds a great amount of books :)
I have a $ 36 overcharge from 1993 T_​T My sister borrowed a book and never returned it… oi. I gotta pay that off lol.
Abira LOVES the library. In fact, she’s bugging me to go as I am writing out this review. I will take her once I finish it :) I’m happy to be able to share this experience with her. I hope she’ll gain a love for reading :)
Maybe I’ll see you guys there sometime?! :D
I am so happy that I get to create memories here with my daughter. I hope she will gain a love for reading :)

In theory, the idea of combining a school and public library is good. It does save money and space and does provide a library to a community that likely would not otherwise have one. But the hours are odd and they close on the weekend. Pretty much what you might expect for this part of town so it is a little depressing, really.