Wonderful library, very quiet. Two stories, as well as a free underground parking lot. Internet access requires a library card. The A/C level is great, and there are many desks, some with outlets, some without. The building looks very clean, friendly, and nice. There are study areas and meeting rooms to use. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because the staff is crude and answers questions in a you-should-already-know attitude. At least the old Asian lady upstairs did. Overall, great library to come and study. read more

The people there are really nice. There is always parking when I go and seats open to sit in inside the library. The downside is screaming children at night. read more

Nice. Clean and modern. They have DVD's you can rent that are popular movies for a price and only for a limited time. Otherwise upstairs you can rent free DVDs like Tai Chi up to 5 DVDs. They apparently have a 3 day grace period on overdue books which is nice of them. read more

Alhambra Library - Libraries Near Me - Alhambra, California

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While there are numerous positive aspects of this library, there are several things that needs to be improved: Parking: There's more than enough parking space, so why is there a 4 hour time limit? Library patrons: Although the teenaged children are loud and routy, none of the library staff will engage them and tell them to be quiet. The staff only approach older adults. Bathroom: In the men's restroom, oftentimes there are individuals whom are bathing themselves using the sink. As a result, there is a very pungent odor and the sink area is a mess. Library staff: The staff that works on the 2nd floor are often rude and belittle you if they see UNOPENED/UNEATEN food in your vicinity. When assisting patrons in finding their books, the staff members are very, very LOUD! Even with my music adjusted very high, I can still hear them shouting. Computer use: Oftentimes, there are individuals who play games on the library computers. This isn't an internet cafe and the games in question use a lot of internet bandwidth. Internet service: Thankfully the internet is free to library patrons, however, the internet speed is very inconsistent. In the morning, the internet is very fast, however, after 1pm, the speeds are so slow, it's almost impossible to visit websites with no images or videos. Upgrade the internet speeds and regulate the noise and this library will get a 5 star rating. Otherwise, it's a good start. read more

how can a library get 4 stars lol well it gets so packed and the out side patio is never open. I suggest get there early if you want a good spot or expect to wait awhile for a table. if you have kids take them to check out story time! it's so much fun for kids;) read more

DO NOT use the passport services here. Very unhelpful and they could care less that you need one!!

Fast and easy! It took a while to find the finance department but that was because I thought it was outside.... In and out in less than 10 minutes read more

I have more of a complaint with regards to the people who use the library. Maybe I am spoiled by My old university's libraries.. Where almost everyone is a student and we are courteous to one another about being quiet. I have been other libraries in Pasadena that are much more quiet, but I keep coming back in hopes it won't be too bad since I live around there. Wrong every time. Now I know to take the extra drive to Pasadena. Here, no one gives a shit if they are loud or not. Phones ring constantly.. Sometimes multiple times from the same person. People don't care that their headphones are blaring with their video games. Kids are screaming. I wish the librarians did more to regulate the noise. Last thing that pisses me off here.. There are not that many outlets to plug my laptop. Come on Alhambra.. You spent this much money for a high tech library.. And there aren't outlets at every desk?! This library is good if you want some free AC and to not do any studying. read more

Apparently the city lacks money, it began charging people for damaged book fees unreasonably; that means they charge whoever borrows the books that was already damaged!!! Many of my friends including me received these notices for fee, approximately $30 per book. we have nowhere to complain and we are only high school students... sigh read more

I honestly haven't been here for the longest time until recently when I needed to do some personal work and couldn't stay at home to concentrate. I used to love coming here... and the old one down on Main St. too. I just brings back so much good High School memories. But after being in college, no library around my area can compare to that. Oh don't get me wrong, this place is nice, pretty, and elegant looking. There's street parking, under ground parking, and a couple public parking areas around the corner. It's also near Main St. so that if you ever get hungry or thirsty, you can take a break to grab a bite. There's two floors to this place. First floor has a couple of tables here and there, with nice comfy couches near the bright windows and off to the other side is a Juniors and Teen's section where they have teen books, tables reserved for teens, and a couple of conference and study rooms for groups up to 6 people. There is then a complete separate room for children which is kind of cute, because they have little tables and chairs for the kids. The room decorations deserve a goods thumbs up! Upstairs is obviously more study rooms and study tables, sofas etc. Now in the middle area you get a bunch of computers for you to study. Off the side along the walls are self study tables or cubicles for people with laptops, which are always... and I mean always full! :( The reason why I gave them a lower star rating, is cause I think they should have more of those self cubicles or at least have electrical outlets on the bigger tables of 4 seats. Or maybe I'm too spoiled and used to the many, many electrical outlets at a college library, but it honestly really does come in handy. But really overall, this is a nice place to study, borrow books, etc. If you have children, you should take them to the children's room and sometimes, they have story time or you can just borrow books for them to read at home. They do have a good amount of variety. Well, all in all... they are a library. read more

This place is too overcrowded during school days around 3 where Alhambra High gets out. It's loud and noisy with these immature kids acting rowdy and shit. They really need to grow up because this is not library environment which means they need to find better staff to manage these teens. During the summer, there is the summer reading program that's great for all ages but the employees here are so rude. read more

This place is big, clean, and still relatively new. The only problem is the 4 hour parking. People tend to go to the library to study but 4 hours is a limiting factor that should not be there. Other than that this place is great. read more

I went in to submit a passport application. They take appointments from 5 p.m. To 8 p.m. There is an underground parking structure that is free for 4 hours. The service was fast and friendly. I didn't have the same experience with the USPS passport service. I called about five different locations and visited three with no luck. The hours at the locations were different than the website hours. I highly recommend the Alhambra civic center library for your passport service. read more

Worst customer service on the phone ever..., like why is it so difficult to talk to an actual human being!!!?!!

Brand new library!!!! Underground parking, fast service. My kids love coming and picking out books. I was able to process my infants passport application. Make sure you make an appointment. The young lady was very helpful with our passport process. They also have a copy/fax center for your business needs. read more

BEWARE! This library will try to SCAM you! Last week, I checked out a book from the Alhambra library for my son who had to do a book report. We already had the digital version, but I thought it would be easier for him to use a physical book to quickly flip through for details. I fanned through the pages and told him the text was big and easy to read, but he refused to use it. The pages were perfectly fine when I fanned through them. They weren't even dog-eared with use. I was surprised to get a fine in the mail for damage to the book. They said it had water damage and charged me $25.99. I called them and told them I didn't damage the book. They wanted me to come down to the library to see the damage for myself. I said, "Regardless of the damage, I didn't do it. If I damaged the book, I would pay for it, but I don't feel it's right to pay for something I didn't do." I talked to 2 people who kept transferring me until I got someone's voicemail. I didn't get a call back until 2 or 3 days later. I told them that the book looked old. Why would I have to pay so much? They said that the book was made to look old, but it wasn't old. Later, I discovered that the copyright was in 1941 and it was reprinted in 1967. They probably wanted to replace it with a new one so they damaged it and charged me for it. The book was nowhere near water and I doubt it was damaged in the bin because my other books didn't get wet. I saw the water damage they were talking about. You wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it, but they said it could no longer be circulated. I've seen worse books at that library including books with food particles, coffee/juice stains, dead bugs, and boogers in it. This library did this to me a few years ago, too. I borrowed a picture book for my kids, but when I opened it to read it, they said we had already read it. I flipped through the pages which were perfectly fine. I realized they were right, so I returned it the next day. My kids never touched the book. I received a fine in the mail for a torn page. At the time, I thought it had gotten torn in the book drop because I know it wasn't torn when we had it, just like I know we didn't wet the other book. I have never once gotten a fine in the mail for a damaged book at any other library and I've been to a lot. At first I thought the books got damaged in the book return, but TWICE at the SAME library? That sounds suspect. Then I read that other people experienced the same thing at this library. They victimized teenagers. Maybe they thought I was a teenager since I checked out a book for that age range. How many other people have they done this to? Everyone probably thought their book was damaged in the book drop as well and paid the fine. If the staff damaged the books and charged the library members, who can prove it? The city doesn't have any money, yet the Alhambra library is getting new carpet put in as of today. Generous donors, I guess...(wink, nod). I cancelled the membership for myself and my kids. I can't afford to be scammed again. Fool me twice... They couldn't actually delete us from the system, so they marked us as having "lost" our cards. I had to go back and have them give me a printout stating that we didn't actually lose our cards in case they decide to CHARGE us for "lost" cards (even though they say they don't do that). They need to be investigated for library fraud. read more

Alhambra Library - Book they claimed was water damaged and could not be re-circulated. Pages are perfectly fine. Charged me $25.99 for a book I did not damage. - Libraries Near Me - Alhambra, California

I really like this library. I've been studying for the MCAT the last few months here and it's definitely a great place to study (especially if you're a college grad like me). The building is modern, clean and close to restaurants downtown if you want to take a lunch break. I'll list my opinions on their amenities below. Staff: They're one of the nicest librarians I've met in a while. They're super friendly and seem to really want to help out. I haven't really seen the "I don't want to talk to you" type Wi-Fi: Good reception. Considering that many people bring their laptops, tablets and smartphones, their wi-fi is great. Haven't had problems connecting and their speed is decent. Computers: I've only used their computers once and it was slow. It took forever to download an attachment from my email. Books: I've only checked out a few but they have new books almost every day in the lobby. Their newspaper and magazine collection is also up to date. so it's a good place to relax and catch up on things. I like their audiobook selection too. DVDs a re 1 dollar a week and new movies are 3 dollars for 3 days. Studyrooms: I really like the tables, they're like cherryoak or something, very nice to write on and sturdy. Their study rooms unfortunately have thin walls so you can hear people in the other rooms talking. Parking: They have underground parking which hardly gets packed. They have a 4 hour limit but be careful, I have gotten a ticket for staying over 4 hours (which I'm going to fight). Cons: The biggest con is when the high school students get off and make their way into the library. There is a teen center downstairs but apparently it gets full quickly so a lot of the students go upstairs where most of the adults are. Some of them are quiet and studious but there's always that group of teens talking/laughing like it's lunchtime in there. This usually begins around 3 when they get off school but they usually leave around 6. Another con is that sometimes people listen to music loudly on the library computers or talk on their cellphones. Be prepared to "shhh" people because of it. read more

I grew up here and I watched the opening of this library, and I have to say one thing that sucks about this library is the amount of tables they have. I would say this library is considerably large, but every time that I am here, I would have to wait for an opening of a table. They should have more cubical desks like other libraries. It saves more room, and at the same time it allows there to be more desks for people to study. read more

Now the people know how to handle the self-check out!

The new Alhambra public library is really state of the art. There are entrances to the underground parking lot on 1st Street and on 2nd Street. I've been there on Fridays and Saturdays and the lot has never been full, so parking isn't very hard. The first floor has a teen section, children's room, fiction and non-fiction, news media and the circulation desk so it is a little noisy. The upstairs is more of a study area since there are a lot tables, computers, references and it is pretty quiet. There is also an outdoor patio area where you can study as well. The library is just huge compared to the old Alhambra library and compared to the public libraries I grew up with in Forest Hills, NY. They get a lot of new books and definitely have more books than the Monterey Park library. You can see a huge plaque when you walk upstairs listing all the major donations the library received. It's usually a very calm atmosphere upstairs. Occasionally you get the cell phone ring, and the idiot who carries on a phone conversation without lowering their voice or leaving the room to continue it outside. But it's like your normal library where there are occasional whispers between people studying together. One time there were these two girls studying, and they were whispering really low, almost inaudible to me and my boyfriend who were at the table right next to them, and then a girl 2 tables in front of us yelled across the room to those two girls to be quiet. Yeah, some people take the library way too seriously. Yes the library is quiet, but you don't have to be able to hear a pin drop. Plus, yelling across the room is disrupting enough. The two girls ignored her as did everyone else, and that girl stormed to the circulation desk and told the librarian. She should have walked to the librarian first instead of having an outburst. The librarian then came over and told the girls to go downstairs because they let noise slide because the area around the circulation desk is a little noisy. I found the librarian lecture more disrupting, but the two girls packed their stuff and went downstairs. I felt bad for them, some people are just too high strung. Anyways, the location of the library is also better than before, because now it is closer to Garfield and there are more restaurants and places to eat when you want to take a break from studying. read more

The building looks pretty new but the inside was pretty confusing. It took me awhile just to find the restrooms because there were no signs indicating where they are. The worst part of this libary would have to be the librarian who I spoke to. I asked her a reference question and she told me to go and Google it myself because my question was too complex for her... That's such a huge fail on her part and quite possibly the worst thing you can do as a librarian. read more

Working from home one day and my WIFI went out. AL saved me from driving to work and it helped out in a pinch. It's been a while since I've been to a public library and forgot how super conducive it is to working/studying. It's much cleaner, brighter than the old facilities back on Main. Ample parking on weekdays and plenty of local eateries nearby for food and snacks. read more

Always clean, awesome hours, plenty of computers and friendly staff.

In this library recently, I reported a lost eyeglass case and, since I have terrible sciatica, asked by phone if they could have an employee drop by where I was (in the periodical section) to retrieve it for the "lost & found." I did not want to walk over to the front desk as my sciatica was hurting like crazy. My call was met with suspicion. The idiots obviously suspected that I had stolen it. The staff at this library are the usual entitled look-down-their-nose-at-you public employees who have sadly become very common these days. They see an older person like myself and assume that I am The Alien. It would be sort of nice if they could clean the restrooms, especially the one on the first floor. read more

Been there 100 times plus over 10 years. Made my first call there today. Maribel is a true professional. She answered my questions and sent me an application to hold meetings (non-profit 501) there in a conference room.....I enjoy dealing with professionals. read more

Like anything, it has it has it's pro's and cons. Meticulously organized and well kept. Parking can be a bit of a pain though. Book shop prices are a bit high, so I suggest going to the Rosemead one for better deals :-) read more

Nice library. Very quite. personally like the second floor better, more study spots. You will need your library card to get Internet. Once connected Internet works pretty good. First floor can be a little bit noisy in the afternoon especially after high school is over, but never I never had problems on second floor. Parking structure is 4 hours read more

they have the best audiobook collection. they have lots of new books (in hardcopy and audiobook). the staff are helpful and the library is air-conditioned and quiet. :) they also have a little bookstore hidden on the side where you can buy used books. i love this library and visit every month to get new books! read more

Alhambra Library - The wonderful audiobook selection - Libraries Near Me - Alhambra, California

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It can be very loud and distracting here around 2 pm when all the school kids get out since they can be running around with no staff supervision. Just plan around if you wanna spend a visit here during this time period. The area upstairs is very nice and conducive to studying; too bad, they don't have that many outlets for laptop users. read more

Not a fan of libraries in general... they're cold and remind me of school and cramming for tests. But I recently decided to get some work done at the library instead today and this library was really nice! Clean and lots of natural light too by the big windows upstairs! Plus, this library isn't far from the Starbucks either, definitely a plus. read more

This library is actually nice and clean. Many libraries are ghetto (Los Angeles) I don't know what's up with that city. Greedy ass LA politicians mismanaging funds so they pas salon to us in taxes and atrocious parking violation fees. Buts another story Someone said this library is small. Well I can only compare it to the junk libraries I've been in La and it's big read more

Whenever Im in town visiting the sis, I would come by to do some studying. Its a nice library, but you need to have a library card to access the Wi-Fi, which is stupid. Seriously, what other public library beside this one does that? read more

Well I really like this library. But sometime it is just too noisy. Like this Saturday morning, the kids and babies are making this place worse than McDonald's, and on top of this, the librarians themselves are speaking so loudly, and you have people providing private tutoring class here. OMG. Where is the manager of this library? read more

This library is great! Much better than the one I used to go to. The library is quiet. But however if you want study or get some assignments done if your a student. I say good luck because the Alhambra High students come in at around 2:40pm. (because the school is by the library) But also you can try the one upstairs or the one by the printer/copy room. It has a good selection, the staff is very helpful and just remember... Bring your library card for this library when you go. read more

Library is huge, clean and quiet. They even have private rooms for group discussions. Parking is easy and covered, but with 4 hour limit.

The Alhambra library is a very pleasant place to be. The building and facility is essentially brand new. The selection of books/videos/audioCDs is great and you can always reserve an item for 50 cents if they don't have it in stock. I usually go on Sunday afternoon and I am really pleased with the friendly service of the front desk staff. It is also a great place to study. I am still a hardcore fan of the bookstores, but I find myself spending more time at the library. read more

Wow, what a nice library! I haven't been to a public library in ages, but I don't remember them being this nice. Maybe it's 'cause I'm used to the ghetto LA County ones, ha ha. It's free to apply for a card, and you don't have to be an Alhambra resident to get one. It's pretty cool that they have computers with internet access for you to use--I believe you can use them for up to 2 hours a day. And pretty neat that they are open 7 days a week. My only small complaint is that it isn't as quiet as you would expect. The librarians didn't use their "library voices" and were speaking at normal volumes to people with questions. Also, when I was signing up for my card, this old couple next to me kept interrupting the librarian who was helping me with passport questions, so it took him longer to process my application. read more

Came here for my passport services. I was helped by an Asian gentleman. I was in and out within 10 minutes. Forget waiting for hours at the post office. Make an appointment here and bring all the necessary documents needed along with a check or money order. 1 check to the Dept. of State and another to Alhambra Library. Would definitely recommend family and friends to come here. Saves time and headache. Thank you Alhambra Library! Can't wait to receive my first passport. read more

Nice building. Although I like the previous building architecture. Spacious. Seems like they have a good selection of resources.

They changed wifi settings and it became very unstable. Quite often its impossible to connect to. Also gets very crowded in the afternoon and pretty noisy with all the kids. read more