Really helpful staff members and a nice environment to work and do research. There reference…read moresection for academic books is quite limited but if your a casual reader then this is the only place i know of in Stockport. The local history Library is located upstairs and hosts a range of old fashioned equipment that i couldn't even begin to understand. Free wifi to members of the libary wich is always a bonus.

Stockport Central Lending and Reference library is located on the A6 (Wellington Road South) near…read moreGrand Central. It is a vast building filled to the rafters with every book on any topic you can imagine. It is the biggest library in Stockport. On the main floor you can nosey at all the books, use the internet for free (which you have to book in advance), browse the dvds and pick up information on classes and courses available in Stockport. Upstairs is the reference library which houses thousands of newspapers on film, maps, reference books, magazines and newspapers, and some wonderful historic books about Stockport. The staff are so helpful and will assist you to find any book you require. You can take out a library card and borrow up to 10 books at any time.

You could easily spend a day here. I love books and this library with its high ceiling is one i can…read morehighly recommend

This really is one of the prettiest buildings in Didsbury, and though it is less impressive than…read morethe Central Library, and less architecturally detailed than the old John Rylands Library on Deansgate, it is my favourite in all of Manchestershire! Back in my Didsbury days, I'd spend a lot of time in Art of Tea, reading. Of course I soon discovered that that was about as good for my pocket as, well, a not very good thing. At this point I decided to have library days in Didsbury Library. In that time I read Demons by Dostoevsky, and as I was a starving intellectual at the time (in that I ate beans from Aldi, and read Dostoevsky books in the library because the house I was squatting in was too cold, even in August) I found it all very romantic and whatnot. Anyway, digressions and questions about the validity of my intellectual aspirations aside, this library is great. Perhaps it's a Didsbury thing, but it's lovely and quiet in here. The little banks of computers are lined with bowed heads diligently beavering away on the job sites, and the staff don't talk above a whisper (unlike in Central Library, where one of them practically bellows!) The layout inside is lovely too, with books set out on loooooong shelf units that take into account the sweeping wide space of the interior. It is a truly lovely place to while away an afternoon, and they have several regular events too: - Coffee Morning, every second Friday 10-12noon - Councillor's Surgery, every second and fourth Saturday, 10:30-11am for East Didsbury Ward, and every first, third and fifth Saturday, 10:30-11am for West. - MP surgery, second Friday of the month 3:30pm-4:30pm - Reading Group, fourth Tuesday of the month, 10:30-12noon - Tiny Tots and Toddler Time, Mondays 2-2:30pm (term time only) - Bookstart Baby Club, every other Wednesday, call library for times of sessions. That's all folks, a lovely library that, as you can see, really takes its role in the community seriously.

This is a great little library set back from the main road in its own (very small!) grounds…read more Although miniscule in size, the building - designed by Henry Price in 1915 - has lofty aspirations and looks more like a church than a place to pick up books. Considering the size of the place, Didsbury Library has lots to offer. And not just books! There's a pretty comprehensive DVD rental library, after-school homework clubs and computers offering free Internet access. The community noticeboard in the foyer is also good for finding out useful bits of information, from the dates and times of local MPs surgeries to knitting groups, guitar lessons and much more. Open every day until at least 5pm (apart from Wednesday and Sunday), Didsbury Library is always there when you need it. It provides a really important service to the whole community.

The layout of this library is pretty similar to that of Chorlton Library and Didsbury Library - the…read moreonly thing that struck me about this library were the signs warning customers that thieves are in operation in the library. They were especially abundant in the wonderful little area where children can read and play. This upset me, as it was not something I had to worry about on my weekly trips to the library as a kid. So be careful. As it is a Manchester library, you can use the same library card as the Central Library and the other aforementioned libraries and expect the same facilities, eg one hour's free Internet use per day (although there are not as many PCs as in Chorlton Library so be prepared to wait). The library is generally quiet, but not silent, so it's a good place to work if you can no longer stand your housemates' music or you find yourself getting distracted by the Jeremy Kyle show, and you can't be bothered to trek to the University library or into town. In the entrance there is also a useful selection of leaflets about events and goings on at local theatres and museums, and a board which is generally used to advertise English/Spanish/guitar lessons.

I love the architecture of Withington Library alone never mind the mind altering contents…read more In fact this building was designed by Manchester's first city architect (Henry Price) who also designed Manchester's famous Victoria baths as well as Didsbury library a few miles down the road. I couldn't begin to describe it's true style, but it's frontage at least harks back to the classic Roman/Greek style (of course not on the scale of Manchester's main library). It has recently reopened after a 3 month refurbishment although, and perhaps rightly so, they haven't really done a great deal to it bar restore it's natural charm. If you look up as you enter the building you'll be treated to a wonderful glass dome above your head: in fact I've only just discovered this so whether it was 'reanimated' during it's recent clean up I'm not entirely sure. Inside they have an extensive section of computing; a large children's area; books available in many, many languages e.g. Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Persian, Polish, Chineseand others, easily creating for the area's large cross section of society. There is also a good computer suite (always busy!) for accessing the net and studying should you need to. I tend to hire my Murakami books here and if they don't stock the title you're after they'll take your details and order it in for you. As it happens a guy who works there is fellow Murakami fan so he's gotten most of his back catalogue for me. Alongside the books they have a fairly extensive music collection (mainly CD) and DVD & Video's again they'll order in anything you require (within reason : ) ). I found a bit of Philip Glass and Brain Dance electronica, next to the likes of Bach, Hip Hop and Sade (she always finds her way into libraries doesn't she?). I might even take up the offer of ordering in Lost which I gave up on Sky last yearif there's a cultural drought on I may just pop into the library and hire for a few weeks. Open till 8 most nights of the week but closes early afternoon on Thursday. There is a book reading group, a MP's surgery and various coffee mornings held there too.

Not a bad place if you want to very easily do your 'librarying' in a fairly quiet and chilled out…read moreplace. Ok it's quite limited in terms of what they offer but they do stock quite a few new books as well as being able to order books in for you from nearby Stockport libraries. There's a decent graphic novel section, loads of chick lit (for my wife of course ;-) ) and if you have kids then you'll be pleased to know that there's a huge section for them - where they also have regular story time sessions. There's a few good computers in there to browse the net and with it being fairly quiet it's basically very easy to return books on their computer system or with a librarian. A great little place at the heart of the community. *extra note - this is also where you can vote when they have elections on*

This is a lovely library located about a 15 minute walk from Stockport town centre. It is right…read morenext to a beautiful park named Alexandra park which has a huge bowling green, 2 parks, fishing lakes and ponds to feed the ducks, in the summer there's often bands planning by the large bowling green and many a days out can be spent here as a family. The libraries location means especially during school holidays you can kill many birds with one stone. The library has an extensive range of books to suit all ages and also a lot of activities on for mums and babies during mid week, it's ideal to attend these then take baby onto the park next door or for a walk around the lake. Very pleasant day out.