Visitando una biblioteca principal en el Valle del Rio Grande Visiting a main library in the Rio Grande Valley (1 of 2) In and around South Padre Island, there are no big libraries with many bells and whistles. There is a small one in Port Isabel and its hours are limited. That said, the nearest big city is Brownsville, the large and spread out port of entry to the U.S. from Matamoros, Mexico. Brownsville seems to have somewhat of a downtown there, albeit not a very nice one. The library is further north from this area, on quieter and more spacious streets as one heads north toward the big shopping areas. There is a very large parking lot behind the library. I had to go into the city's main library having to do some things beyond the capability of a laptop, accessing software and features probably on a library's computers. I was able to do so. The computer room is a large rectangular one with computers at the perimeter and a long island, also with computers on both sides, in the middle. A person is assigned to the tech desk and they helped me with what I needed to do. At the end, a librarian who appeared to be in a management role up front helped me with some additional formatting and checking and got the needed information to me. I was initially greeted by circulation desk personnel who told me where I could find things and, thankfully, not where I could go. (I'm trying to be humorous.) After speaking with the employee in circulation, there was a small food vending counter and I bought a sandwich and something to drink, for which there are adjacent tables. There are many books in their extensive stacks as well as comfortable chairs interspersed throughout the library for patrons who might want to browse through books and other reading material. They have study rooms in addition to a larger quiet room. I used the latter and the atmosphere was appropriately quiet. The city's main library befits the size of Brownsville and most likely fills most of the needs of its catchment area. I encountered an engaged level of patron service on my lengthy afternoon visit to the library. In addition to helping you with their resources, they were also a good source of information about the general area. read more

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Enjoyed coming here to work or get away when there were launches at Starbase. There was a huge collection of variety books and many many STEM and space books for kids. I liked coming here a lot with my daughter. The library seems to have updated amenities as well which I really appreciate. read more

Great place to study and feels cozy. The quiet area was perfect for a place to concentrate. When I came as well they had seeds and a booth to help grow things which I found very sweet. read more

This is a clean and modern library. There's an upstairs dedicated to youth, with study areas and hangouts.

This library is small but it serves its purpose. I gave it 2 stars because the environment is not conducive for studying and peaceful reading, it's just too damn loud. The staff acts the same way and does not enforce silence. The staff needs training on library etiquitte and enforce those etiquittes on the patrons as well. Update: from 2 stars to 1 star How do people use the library here in Brownsville because I saw one of those power sockets on the table almost ripped out. I just saw a "No outside food or drinks inside" but there is a cafe inside. Do they want to monopolize on food inside? Is this library trying to make profit? In that case they need to pay tax instead of our tax funding this library. read more

Brownsville Main Library - How do people use the library here? - Libraries Near Me - Brownsville, Texas

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This Library is awesome, it should be on the top libraries of Texas if there is a list like that. The Brownsville Main Library has so many items for checkout it puts bigger cities to shame. In addition to books; the Brownsville Main Library also offers: CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, and X-Box 360 and PS3 games. My kids love this place they come with their grandparents every time they visit them for the summer. They spend hours here, reading, and playing on the computers. And, on the way out they checkout some books and video games for home. I'm very surprised that the Brownsville library system has all this available for the Southmost, Rio Grande Valley. In addition to all the items available for checkout. The Brownsville library system also offers free WiFi, meeting rooms, 2 study rooms, kids and teen activities, and family movie time. With all the resources that the Brownsville Main Library has to offer the community; there should never be a child left behind in Brownsville. I give 5 stars to the Brownsville Main Library; get your book, movie, video game, and WiFi on. read more

I would like the library to consider altering it's TV policy in the children's section. Currently the librarians are mandated to play the TV at all times. Couldn't the library perhaps set a few TV-free hours? Or, better yet, only run the TV at specific times? As much as I love books, I admit it is sometimes difficult for them to compete with a Disney movie in a child's eyes. Library, please help me in my quest to inspire a love of books in children! I've been taking my 4 1/2 year old daughter to this library since she was a baby. The weekly story/song/craft time is awesome! The children's section is inviting and provides an easily searchable computer with images small children can click on depending on what interests them at the moment. On this particular visit, my daughter choose several titles on various topics of interest: dinosaurs, cats, dragons, trains, etc. She bounded to the stacks with enthusiasm for books and questions about how the books are organized (fiction/non-fiction, etc.). As we were looking for the titles we selected, she ended up pulling a couple of other books she dragged me to read to her. One on sea creatures and one on early humans. Her interest waned as we were reading (perhaps the titles were above her head), but then her attention to books was suddenly diverted by a familiar sound coming from a giant plasma screen at the front of the children's section: Mickey Mouse's familiar whistle. A new Disney movie was starting-Tangled! Now, how can books be expected to compete with this? Library, doesn't this send the wrong message? Pediatricians recommend a maximum of 2 hours of screen time per day and several parents think this (or any TV at all) is too much. Please consider my request. Thank you! read more

This place is like an awesome place for anyone to hang out- from toddler to adult! The teens have the coolest place her only! No wonder Brownsville doesn't have a Barnes and Noble this place would run it out of business! Bonus it even has a cafe and used book store !!! If you haven't gone in a while - You should !!! read more

This is not just a great library it is one of a kind. Very progressive and advanced. What all it has some other 5star Reviewers mentioned better, we are just traveling through. Some of the bad reviews mentioned the noise, not like a traditional library. I was told they have a QUIET room where you can be as quiet as you'd like. At first I was put off by the noise. But then I realized that this was more of a community center than a hush hush library. People interacted with each other. It is absolutely UNIQUE. You should actually visit this library just to see a system near the top of it's game. They've got 7 3D Printers. Seven!!!! If every Library in the U.S. were like Brownsville we would not be 24th in High School Literacy (Dev.Nations) 24th in Science and 38th in Math. We have to be in Brownsville for ten days waiting for something to be complete. We have hung out at the Library many times and people who we see in our "usual" section say "Hi" to us now. An amazing, amazing place. read more

Really topnotch, especially for a town of this size. Good selection of all media, and they keep up with new release books very well. They are open late, have plenty of parking, and their staffers are helpful. There is a bookstore on premises to benefit the library. (That and Target are the only bookstores in town!) I do wish they'd make some effort to keep it reasonably quiet. I love that it's a community gathering place but I mean dear God children should at least be asked not to scream and run around constantly. read more

I try to take my kids to the library once a month and this is a great library for a town this size. There have been recent expansions to offer a larger computer lab and they have free WiFi throughout with ample power if you bring your own laptop. Beyond the stacks of books there is a large new release section with books, audio books, DVD/Blu-Ray, and even VIDEO GAMES! I remember being able to check out puzzles and wood toys from my local library as a kid but I never would have expected the library to compete with Blockbuster for free movie lending. While at the library I noticed that they offer FREE online language labs/classes, which is great in an area with mix of English and Spanish speaking individuals who are not bi-lingual. My only real criticism is that there isn't a real focus on offering the latest ebooks. There is an online ebook library but the content is dated rather than newer material. This is a great community resource for education and low cost entertainment! read more

So surprised at the great library in this small town when we arrived 12 years ago! Since then, it's been expanded and fully automated. Love this place and am there at least twice a month where I load up on new releases. read more