To have an idea of the age of the former Cumminsville Branch Library, now known as the Northside Branch, all you have to do is look above the doors and see that it says "PVBLIC LIBRARY - CVMMINSVILE BRANCH." Yeah, "u's" that look like "v's." Twenty-six years after the Cumminsville Branch at Hoffner and Spring Grove Avenues (opened in 1879) closed, a new library was opened at Hamilton and Pullan in April 1908, according to its webpage. In 1999, the library temporarily closed and in September of 2000, it reopened as a renovated and remodeled library now known as the Northside Branch.
Even with the remodeling and renovation, the inside isn't all that impressive. It is in good shape, but had I not read that it was recently remodeled I would have never really known. It isn't extremely nice, by any means, but it is in good shape and, although relatively small, the Northside Branch does have a lot to offer. There are three square/rectangle-shaped rooms to go along with the main area with the checkout, filled with a lot of books, many DVDs including a "new feature films" section (not entirely new, but most within the last year or two), and there is a large kids section.
Like most of the Cincinnati Public Library branches, it does have a book drop, and it has a meeting room too that can seat 30 people. Maybe the most telling thing about the Northside Branch, though, is that they have a cop on duty at all times. There must have been some past incidents because we've all seen police offers at libraries before, but not full-time like this.
Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the Northside Branch Library, although they did have a lot in the somewhat small (definitely bigger than Clifton Branch, though) library. Although it isn't in the best part of town and isn't the biggest or nicest, it is a branch of the Cincinnati Public Library, so of course it is relatively good (just not great). read more