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I live in Pittsburgh which claims to have one of the best library systems in the country. There are several branches in the city, but unfortunately a few of them are being shut down now... though apparently Philadelphia is having a harder time of things. (I believe all of their libraries have been closed?) I visit the main branch which is just down the street from where I work. It was built in 1895 and is pretty spectacular to look at. ()

They have a website () which I feel could be much easier to use, but I've also seen worse. I have no complaints about the interlibrary loan system. Holy cow, they're good.

I'm not a librarian, though I worked in Circulation in college as a work study program. And that was in Missouri, not in Pittsburgh. The library systems between the two are... very different. The best thing I found with working in a library every day was just having the immediate access to any book I needed. When I graduated from college I kept a job at a used bookstore, and took another bookstore job when I moved to Pittsburgh, so the "instant gratification" was similar. I do miss working in a library, and have considered volunteering at the one near where I work. Unfortunately my work schedule doesn't give me much chance to volunteer since the library keeps similar hours to the ones I work.

I go to the library at least once a week, usually on Saturdays. If I have a book that I requested that has come in, I might walk down on my lunch break to pick it up. It's one of the best libraries I've been to, and wouldn't really want to be closer to any other except maybe the Library of Congress - which I just visited for the first time a few weeks ago and totally geeked out over. :)

But one of the things my boyfriend and I like to do is visit the local libraries on our trips. The older ones are definitely the best.

Our city, Carlsbad in So. Cal., has two libraries--one old (comfortable and loved) and one new (modern,beautiful,and airy)
The new one, Dove Library, has an interior of birch wood and tile. I do much of my pre-library time using the on-line convenience--searching, holding, and asking them to order more of an enjoyed series on DVD.
I try to go into the Cole Library whenever I am going down to the village. I love looking through their used books ($1), magazines (especially Bon Appetit)
for $.25, and paperbacks for $.25. Both have a great children's section with many activities for preschoolers. The Cole Library has a very good genealogy division. It is wonderful to have such well-stocked, pleasant libraries to spend as much time as you'd like.

I'm in Topeka, KS, and I have to say, for being a smaller city, we have a great library. Tons of books, great selection. They have a great selection of new books, too. Tons of movies and other entertainment too. They just recently started a late fee system, because they badly needed the money, but before that, for years and years, there was no penalty system at all except for replacing lost materials.

The building itself is very big, with many different wings that are nicely arranged, tons of computers with free internet service for patrons, and lots of art.

The librarians are very nice and very helpful, particularly the children's librarians. They also have great youth programs, and a huge graphic novel selection, something you probably wouldn't expect in this area.

The library also has a bookshop inside, as well as a cafe, and a small but very well managed/maintained art gallery. Every year, they take donations throughout and in september host one of the biggest annual booksales in the country. More than 100,000 books each year. Most are around $0.50 to $1.00, and on the last day, everything you can fit in a paper grocery bag is $3.00. It is my christmas. =-)

Our library truly is one of our town treasures. I am always proud to be a part of it, which is why I volunteer when I can, and encourage others to do so at their local libraries as well.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area in Contra Costa County. The CCC Library system is huge. We have about 25 branches through out the county and they all share books. My town's personal branch is a beautiful building that the city built about 10 years ago on the site of my husband's old middle school. It is across the street from the old library, which was very small and cramped. This library is spacious and has an adult wing and a juvenile wing, which I like since it makes it easier to concentrate in the adult wing. The adult wing also has nice comfy chairs (like the ones in Barnes and Noble or Borders) interspersed amount the shelves so you can sit and check out books. The children's section has a table and smaller chairs for the kids. And of course, they have a Friends of the Library bookstore where you can get hardbacks for $1 and paperbacks for 50 cents.

The librarians in our library are very helpful and love to talk books with the patrons, but I have to say that the best thing about our library system is that it is completely self serve, on the net, and linked. This means that you can request books online from anywhere in the system and they will send it to your branch and let you know when it is available. In addition, you can check on the status of requests on line as well as renew books already checked out. Inside the library, they have computers set up so that you can check in your books and check out new ones by swiping the books and your card, and get a receipt for the transaction. Then - they belong to the i-Link system (I think that is what it is called) which allows you to request a book that the system itself doesn't have, they will order it from another library that is on i-Link (anywhere in the country) and ship it too your branch. All of this has really helped keep my book buying binges in check.

The only downside to the library is that Amazon will ship in two days, and for popular new books at the library you can wait month, lol. I once was 269th on a wait list for a book that there were 17 copies of. I ended up buying that one because I didn't want to wait, but usually I will just wait it out until it comes my way.

We live in a city that has three libraries. Then the county has many libraries all over the place. here is there website.

I'm from Manchester, CT and our library is pretty small. Or maybe I just feel that way because I previously lived in Hartford and their library was huge. It had three floors, comfortable couches and chairs all over the place, and there was absolutely no clutter.

The library in Manchester only has one floor, not counting the tiny one where the non-fiction is kept, but their inter-library loan system is great. It's connected to almost every library in CT (not the one in Hartford, though) and very rarely have I had a problem getting a book. They're also pretty speedy. Plus, the librarians there are so much more helpful than the ones in the Hartford library.

They also have two Friends of the Library sales a year and it always has an amazing collection. So, I love my current local library. It's charming and quirky.

Hey Carol! I grew up in OC and I LOVED our local library. I've since moved away, but I think the library I grew up going to was closed down and a new one built down the road that's a lot fancier, but I will always love the one from my childhood.

I now live in UT, and the city library is in a building that's almost 150 years old. It was originally a library, but had a shaky history until major restorations about 20 years ago. Now it's got 5 floors and fancy things like underground parking and ballrooms that host wedding receptions. I love that the city library has been a significant part of the town's history!

The library also has a great website, like many of those mentioned, and I love the ease of holding and renewing books online. I think the sheer size of the library, and the fact that not all of it is just books to roam, is kind of intimidating, so it was nice to ease into it with online holds and such.

Also, I live in a college town, and the local university has one of the best college libraries in the nation (according to US News and World Report... and a biased student :). Another 5 story building, but these ARE full of books (and theses, dissertations, sheet music, periodicals, etc.). It's pretty spectacular, but after the hours of study I've logged there, sometimes it's nice to just visit the city library and get away from all the stressed out students.

Lu wrote: "Our city, Carlsbad in So. Cal., has two libraries--one old (comfortable and loved) and one new (modern,beautiful,and airy)
The new one, Dove Library, has an interior of birch wood and tile. I do ..."

I used to live in SoCal, too (first in Rancho Penasquitos and then in Escondido)and I would drive all over San Diego County to check out the different libraries. I even went a couple of times to the main library downtown, which is very large and old. The branch libraries were usually pretty modern.

The main Library in Santa Ana has two floors and a basement. Up throught the middle there is a hugh staircase.,and the floors are marble. It really is a beautiful library. I don't go there,because the parking is awful. But the Huntington Beach main library has a cafe, theater and all these little nooks and crannies for reading. It is an enticing place. There is lots of glass and water.

I miss my libraries in Ohio and Kansas.They weren't especially pretty or special looking but they had great collections and their inter-library loan were fast. They had large collections of pretty obscure books. I never once couldn't find something I wanted in Kansas and only once in Ohio.

My library in MS is really tiny. I think I own more books than they have there. They have all the basics and a lot of new popular things (most of the time only 1 copy though). I have not tried inter-library loan here because I live a block away from the county main branch. If it isn't here, it isn't anywhere. The books are generally in really nice condition though, because they do not get checked out much. Seems the only reason people get library cards here is to use the internet.

In terms of our public library in the small town in which my parents live in Minnesota, I don't really use it. They seem to have kind of a small collection on a lot of counts--YA books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and I don't find their whole set up to be aesthetically pleasing or conducive to an afternoon of reading. I want to like it but I struggle. Plus for me, I have a lot of unread books on my shelves at home (or books I would like to reread), plus I am an English major who lives with another of her kind and two English professor parents. I can usually find something to read at home.