I had an event in the area to go to, but also had some time to kill beforehand. Since it was raining, I naturally wanted to read a book in a quiet area. I found BPL Roslindale on google. Since it is Boston, parking was scarce and it was a hassle (the parking lot they do have is for employees only). After a couple minutes of driving around, I found side street parking and walked about 3 minutes. The inside of the library is modern, clean, and bright; they have a lot of overhead lights but the large windows let in a lot of the natural sunlight. I liked that they had a couple tables and some seats along the windows looking out. I sat at one of the comfy chairs in this area. I didn't do much exploring but the main desk with librarians was at the center of the library; very convenient and central location. The downside of the open floor plan was that it wasn't the quietest library, but it also wasn't difficult to concentrate. They had a decent amount of books. I think it is only one floor only. It is handicapped accessible since the entrance is one long and wide corridor and the space between book shelves does seem wide enough. They do close early--6 pm on a weekday--compared to my library back home. Based on the number of kids I heard and see walk in with their guardians, I assume they have a lot of kid friendly activities or at least an area for kids. read more

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It was on the smaller side but offered plenty of activities for people. Most people left their strollers in one area by the bathrooms so they could walk around unencumbered. I was a little warm inside the place so we didn't stay long. read more

Boston Public Library - Roslindale Branch - Exterior - Libraries Near Me - Roslindale, Massachusetts

All of the reviews are 10+ years old! This library is stunning now. I don't live in Rozzie but when I'm in the area I go out of my way to stop in because it's so cozy with a great selection of books! read more

This library is one of the saddest ones I have ever visited. I was in the area about five years ago and needed to either print something or some other reason (can't remember). Recently, I revisited this library to find the same old facility that is in desperate need of a complete demolition and rebuild project. Current conditions are small and the way the space is laid out really is a curse to the library. No air conditioning and since it seems to be really one big room, it can be noisy and unsuitable for reading. Barely any technology and you actually have to get a key to unlock the bathrooms (what?). In general, I am well aware that Boston probably has other priorities over the old and unfeasible conditions of the Roslindale Branch library, however, Mattapan just got a brand new library and Roslindale should be next on the list. This was a complete waste of time for me.... printing wasn't good and the copier didn't even work. Staff seemed sort of hit or miss. Some were friendly and others were very grumpy and annoyed.... and honestly, in this 90 degree one room library that isn't anything like any other library, I would be miserable as well. Go to the Dedham Library if at all possible.... that is the closest "decent" library to this one. 2 stars. read more

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I love libraries. They are probably, hands down, one of my favorite place to spend a day. But this library is just sad. From the outside, it looks so promising. The building is stunning and looks like a library should. On the inside, it's a mess. Books are all over the place, totally out of order. There's also a weird smell. Not sure what that's about. Yes, you can pick up your holds and this library will serve its purpose just fine. But there's no joy here. It's missing the library love. read more

The Roslindale branch is a little lackluster, to put it nicely. They have an okay selection of mystery and fiction. The children's section is large and in charge, so it's great for that. It's good for having a library close and not have to go into Boston every time, but it is very small and the options are fairly limited. You can always place a hold online and get them sent to this branch, which is also convenient. read more

I really want to love this library branch, mainly because it is in walking distance from my house, but it's got a lot of issues. As everyone says, the main selling point is that it is connected to the BPL and you can place holds. I don't understand the children's section. I can barely find anything there, so I'm not sure how my kids are ever going to be able to figure it out. There are just small peeling labels indicating what is on each shelf. A nice large colorful poster on the side of the shelf would work much better. Once you find the section, usually everything is out of order. The catalog will say it's on the shelf, but it's just not. Many times I have returned books only to find it still on my account. When I've called in to ask about it I'm told to call back when someone with authority to handle it is in. Sometimes I have to find the book on the shelf and bring it to them to show that it is really there. And it looks like they really need some funding. I asked if there was a water fountain and was told it's been broken for about 20 years. The AC barely works and the toilets flush over and over wasting huge amounts of water and should be replaced. As far as the librarians go, it does seem they are over worked, but usually try to help you. Checking out takes way longer than it should. They do answer the phone and help other people while checking you out as someone said. read more

Sorry, Quinn, I had to write this review because your one little star broke my heart a little. I grew up in Roslindale and the library was my home, my heaven, my haven, my first love and my best friend. Here I met Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein, and Franny and Zooey, and Francie Nolan and Mary Lennox and Madeline Engel and the Little Prince and Margaret Simon and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and Tuck Everlasting and the Little Women and Mrs Frisbee and Nimh and the Indian in the Cupboard and Lewis Carroll and CS Lewis and Thoreau and Keats and Dante and Dickinson and Ginsberg and Kerouac and Marx and Eliot and Gaarder and Poe and King and Bradbury and (ok! diatribe OVER!) just about every other book and author I considered a friend growing up. Almost every book I laid my greedy little hands on growing up came from the Rosi BPL. I used to go almost every day. A librarian there gave (GAVE!) me my first Vonnegut to read. And c'mon!! How can you fault a library that looks literally like a liBERRY, with its circular blue dome top! Gotta love that early 60s architecture! From Quinn's experience, it sounds like maybe there's a possibly meaaaaan, likely overworked and underpaid lady there these days. But please don't judge the place on that! Libraries are always wonderful - that's the best of their charm - you can just hide away and lose the outside world in a book! Oh Rosi library!!! You made me who I am! And likely saved my soul... read more

Ok, so the collection is not all that great. But you can easily place and pick up holds. So, that's only a slight drawback. As for the librarians... sure, they're overworked and at least one of them is waaay too loud. But there are others who are like the librarians of yore but without the attitude. They're friendly, quiet, and try their best to keep as comfortable an environment as they can. So, that's mostly a big plus. If that one librarian would learn to tone her voice down (don't they teach that in Library School?) it would be pretty good. In fact, if she'd be quiet I'd give it four stars rather than three. There _IS_ some noise from patrons BUT it's largely kids. Anything that gets kids into a library is just dandy in my opinion. Sure, it would be nice if they were quieter but they're growing up in a culture in which quiet is an unknown phenomenon. Chances are pretty good that they've hardly ever had a moment without some electronic noise blasting at them. They haven't been taught better so you can't fault them. And, when they ARE asked to tone it down most of them are pretty civil about it. So, that's as much of a Win as you can get these days. I suspect taht of them actually pick up books and start reading so that's a major plus. The architecture is funky and, while I'd much rather be in the main reading room at Copley, the Rozzie branch is not without a certain charm. For a small branch on a very busy street in a very busy neighborhood it's pretty good. read more

Lackluster is a nice way to put it. Librarians: great, including one who bent over backwards to help correct a mistake with a prior return that didn't go through properly. (There is another one who seems a bit "bossy", but I have not had personal experience being bossed, so I can't comment more specifically. She could be friendly-bossy for all I know.) Building (from the outside): great Inside is where it gets rather depressing. It's terribly outdated and exudes an aura of "nobody cares about us anymore". This feels extra awful, because I LOVE libraries. I attempt to support it, but it is difficult to know where to start. It is convenient to be able to pick up holds, but one thing I've always loved about libraries is simply browsing around and making new discoveries. I just don't see that happening here because I don't really want to be inside for too long. I agree with the person who said it's missing the joy. As a kid, I'd have to be dragged away from libraries, but no danger of needing to do that here. Sadly, with budgets the way they are, I don't anticipate any improvements being scheduled here, and I do worry they'll shut it down, because there goes the convenience... read more

The options are limited and I usually cannot find what I need when borrowing books for my students to research in the classroom. Some of the staff are absolutely rude, but there are a couple of them that makes the place fairly tolerable. read more

I am a huge library fan, but this library was in need of a lot of help. The children's section was of a good size, if you have kids, and there was a decent selection for adults. However, it was severely lacking in any other necessary resources (for example, if you needed to do the library for research for a school project). Likewise, id didn't see much by way of outreach to the community. When I was there, I had a totally lackluster interaction with their reference librarian, when I was trying to find research materials for a school project - only directed to the (very limited) materials on-sight and had no direction to online resources or resources from other branches of the BPL. Needs a serious revitalization and a lot of work to be an effective community library. read more