Updating this review, mainly because since my last review, I've been here two times, Just want to mention that while I was in the middle of printing very important document (medical lab request ) Next thing I know is... All the computer are turned off ! 5 o'clock closing time. No warning they just all turned off. Small notice probably had something covering that window on the computer screen. My document was sent to the printer & spooled - final print mode. But everybody's computer turned off exactly at five despite if there documents were sent to the printer. But if the computers are turned off. It won't print them. Please fix this situation somehow in someway. I do appreciate that the last two times I went there and had issues with something. (or somebody else did). Someone was kind enough to quickly help from the front desk. read more

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My daughters class went on a field trip here and they had a back "classroom" they used to teach the kids how to look things up at the library and have an opportunity to check out a book. It was a really cool experience especially for some kids who may never have gone to a public library. I'm giving it 4 stars just because there was some questionable characters right by the kids section but they have no control over who comes in the library. read more

It's a great little library. We came here for an event and loved that they had kids events. The room for the craft area was a bit small but we took it out into the main room and we were able to find a spot quickly. The library also did free lunch Monday-Friday and my kids loved the food options. Overall the library also did a great job with having Piggie and Gerald stop by and the kids loved seeing the characters in real life! I'd say they need a larger space for kids and parking was hard with it being a popular event read more

El Toro Library - The craft - Libraries Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Centrally located, helpful staff, quiet for studying, all in all. Great place to read and get material to borrow.

We stopped by here for the first time because the library we usually go to, Aliso Viejo Library is currently closed due to maintenance and their door had a sign that told are us to go here instead. When we arrived we were greeted with friendly staff and was told my daughter would win a prize if she found all the characters on this piece of paper they handed us. We were told they had scavenger hunts daily for the kids which I thought was super fun. The facility was well maintained, clean, and vibe was relaxed. The only down side is parking was minimal and I believe it's a one way street, however, we would definitely come back here again for the helpful and friendly staff and chill environment. Come check them out. read more

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Clean, aesthetically pleasing, and spacious library! I came here specifically for printing since it is fast, cheap and convenient to do here. Parking is very limited and you'll want to ensure that you enter through the right doorway entrance otherwise you'll accidentally end up on the bookstore side like I did lol. read more

Love it, so grateful that we get to go here!! That being said we do love to visit other libraries as well! Thank you all!

Wow! I wish every kiddo had the chance to experience a library like this one. A rent a laptop station + study rooms?! Absolutely amazing. This library has been recently renovated and everything is beautiful. The staff is so kind also! read more

El Toro Library - Libraries Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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The library has a small parking lot. The renovation looks very nice. The layout is very spacious. I have younger kids so the Children's section is what I primarily check out. They seem to have a good selection of books but it's not as kid friendly as some other libraries. They didn't have any crafts, toys or take home kits that I noticed. It's also super quiet which is normal for a library so I wouldn't want to go if your kids aren't quiet. read more

El Toro Library - Entrance - Libraries Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Cute small library with a good selection of books for anyone browsing for any type of book. There is a good sized childrens section with books and dvds; definitely a good experience for children in this era to visit the library. There are shelves of fiction, nonfiction, biographies, cooking books, fantasy, etc. I recommend visiting this local library. It gave me feelings of nostalgia and reminded me of my local library when I was growing up. read more

El Toro Library - Libraries Near Me - Lake Forest, California

I went to this library a couple times and I love it. The only thing I don't love is that the study rooms are first come first serve and there's usually a long line to get a study room also with the study rooms you can book it out for just one person which I thought was a little frustrating because the rooms are for study groups, not for study individuals. Overall, the library is extremely clean. Everyone is very friendly and it's a Great quiet place to get some work done. read more

Ahh... I miss libraries! I misplaced my library card several years ago.. and then received a Kindle... so haven't stepped foot in a library in several year. There's something about an actual book that I like (and missed) -- so I decided to re-activate my library card today. The woman working at the library was super helpful and friendly, and got me set up again in no time. Yay! They have 3 - 4 computers that have the library catalog on them -- I was able to easily find books on what I was looking for. They have two shelves of new books located directly at the front of the library (on the left). Looks like they have a decent selection of educational and fun DVDs. For a Sunday morning, I was pleasantly surprised at how busy it was. (There were probably 25 other people in the building). I do like the fact that they are open on Sundays! 2018: 67/100 read more

The library in Rancho Santa Margarita has always been our local go-to library, so in comparision I wasn't too impressed with this location. It always seems to be overly crowded when we pay a visit, which in turn makes the horseshoe parking a disaster zone. It almost seems easier to park at the shopping center next door and just walk over. I think I'll try the other local libraries in the area, including the new one in the canyon. It may be worth the drive even if it appears to be smaller in comparison. read more

This is a review for their summer lunch program and how they interact with us. They are giving kids junk food not kids healthy lunch and they stop us from guiding our kid on what is healthy to eat. They are high in sugar and carbs, processed meat, minimal nutritional value and the staff are very rude and disrespectful, especially the lady at the drink station at El Toro Library. We had a bad experience there. The $2 you saved isn't worth it and you can get your kids healthier food and save yourself from embarrassment at the library in front of everyone. Even if they pay me, not worth it. read more

I love this library. I popped in for a few hours while visiting. They have a great selection of books, pleasant and helpful staff, and lots of places to sit. I especially enjoyed the private desk space with an outlet in every space. There were probably 10-15 spaces. In addition, there were several tables and comfortable chairs to sit in around the building. There is a used book store right next door and plenty of places to eat within walking distance if you want to spend the day there. read more

I recently paid a visit to this branch when I tried to check out an ebook using OverDrive. It turns out my library card was 10 years old and I needed a new one. Bonnie was more than happy to take care of it. A few minutes later and I was set up. Within 5 minutes, I was reading Mitch Albom's Have A Little Faith using the Kindle App on my iPad. :-) This library is your typical public library with wall to wall bookshelves. They have plenty of parking as well. I counted 50 Spaces as well as street parking. Inside are computers for connecting to the internet. Besides books, this location also has a large collection of dvds and cds as well as language specific collections for multi-lingual readers. The staff is quite knowledgeable as are the kind folks at the reference desk. read more

The manager shout us in front everyone in the library, we just were asking about a program that she didn't know about.She was so rude and mean,in front everyone said "I'm the manager here so I know what I'm doing" I think that the manager has to take some costumer service training. Remind her about values and rules please!!!! read more

Why is this library so small???? :( I feel like I'm always taking a risk coming here because 6 out of 10 times, I can't find what I need... I have to go to another branch, or have it shipped to this one.... :( read more

El Toro Library - Take a bookmark home with you! - Libraries Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Careful they will send you to collections for books overdue 2 months. I got no call, no email, no letter.. until i received a letter from a collections agency charging me $70 for two books. I will never check a book out again, especially since i can read books online for next to nothing. read more

Reading is what's helping me cope under the circumstances brought on by the pandemic. I really appreciate the curbside pickup service that OCPL is offering. read more

I have always had a love of reading and enjoyed going to the library from an early age. This is our local location, great staff, clean and well stocked. You can pre order and book you want for pickup and I also love that you can use all libraries in OC with one card. Pick up and drop off at any of their locations. Plenty of seatings to relax and read, also several computers for public use. Great location, glad to have it close by. read more

This library has three PokéStops! However, due to the fence surrounding it, it is not somewhere that can be walked to collect them on a shopping trip to the nearby plaza repeatedly. Aside from that I checked out the bookstore and there was a large selection of DVDs for purchase, so I got a good deal on some of them. The person inside there was very social, not that I wanted to talk. They offer $5 off a $25 purchase. Even that is better than Tustin and/or Irvine's libraries. read more

One star for being a library. Two stars for the fast checkout. Three stars for the nice librarians. Minus star for the size of this tiny place that gets loud and crowded fast! Minus star for the weird one way horseshoe parking lot. Not the best library(like Mission Viejo library) but not the worst either. Smells like books. read more

I've been coming to this library since I was a little kid, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart. Pros of El Toro Library: ~clean ~friendly staff ~mass amounts of books ~3 week check out time for books, 7 days for DVDs ~lots of tables and cubicles if you want to get some work done here ~fun activities for kids in the summer or after school ~Also, it's a FREE activity to do if you're unemployeed/low on cash Cons of El Toro Library: ~little to no DVDs to check out ~small parking area...during peak times you'll be lucky to find a spot ~usually about an hour or so wait to use a computer (they only have about 10) and you can only use the computer for one hour MAX ~$2 fee to replace your library card if you loose it or it get stolen (I've been a moron and lost mine twice) I love El Toro Library....I'll always come here if I'm too cheap to buy books at Target or B&N or just want some quiet time to myself. Check it out!!!! :-) read more

Alright I had nothing against this Library until NOW! They close at TWO PM everyday now claiming they are fixing their AC. By the way, they put a sign up saying that they will be done by Aug 19th and when I went on the 21st... there's no sign but they are STILL fixing whatever they need to. The location is fine... it's older but they do have a lot of computers that you can use, which I like. Still, can you fix your stuff or at least be honest about the time period. The parking is terrible. It's a ONE way parking area but a LOT of retarded people will drive the wrong way. It really aggravates me that these fools do not see the MANY thousand painted arrows pointing the right direction. I always fear parking here that I will get hit. It's a smaller library and usually get crowded on the computers or the parking lot. The people are nice enough, but they don't really seem to know what they are doing. If they didn't offer the free 5 pages of printing a day, I would not come. =P read more

The 5 Freeway was clogged and I was literally melting in my car. No worries, a nice trip the the local library is always an excellent option to sit back, relax, and enjoy the AC. They have a great assortment of magazines to browse through and comfy couches, which is a big plus. Additionally, there were a few computer stations to browse the internet. Unfortunately, I don't have a library card here so I wasn't able to log-on. sad face :( But for what I needed, this library was there for me :) read more

I love working here! Every time I come in, the library is packed. I love seeing so many people use the library, and the staff are always friendly and helpful. This library is a great resource, I am glad it is here. They also have great work stations, they are private and provide a very productive work environment. read more

Review is for the friends of the library bookstore that's only open three days a week. NEVER go out of your way to visit this location if you're a collector. Prices are double what the other bookstores charge on average (we're talking $2-3 DVDs, $1 trade paperbacks, and $20 coffee table books, basically a 50% markdown from retail). On top of that, they have about twice as many DVDs and CDs gathering dust in the back storage room, but the volunteers by and large don't let anybody look at those for "liability reasons" and just wait for the undesirable comedy, yoga, bargain-bin horror, or bootleg discs to sell before they display the better items. read more

The staff here are excellent! They helped me with everything and they all deserve a raise as far as I am concerned! Thank you!

This is probably the worst library ever. Its not even silent. There are a couple freaks too. The freaks either IN the library, or sitting OUTSIDE of the library. And if your looking for a library that doesn't charge you 25-50 cent for each book, THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU! I would personally recommend the Mission Viejo Library. the fine that they would cost you is about 1-maximum 10 cent for a book thats overdue for a day, but at the el toro library, they would cost you 50 cents for each book that overdue. Also there library is VERY SMALL! And if your looking for a place to study, THIS PLACE IS VERY LOUD. And if you want a renewal on the website, they will cost you 5 bucks fo each book renewal. read more

This library is great! In the summer they provide a free school lunch program and they have great activities for the kids, like magic shows with animals, drawing, interacting with dogs, etc. My daughter's caregiver took the older kids over there and I must say I'm impressed with all of the free activities! read more

This library has a good selection of books. The staff is nice. There aren't many computers. Sometimes people are loud and I can't concentrate. read more

This library is one of the loudest in California. It's always something you kids that run around and there parents just let them do what they want. If your using the computers, you'll always have someone weird next to you. Either breathing weird or doing something stupid. Today I had to walk out because it's so frustrating. I go there to study and have peace and quiet. You'll never get that here at this library. read more

If you are looking for peace & quiet, you may want to try somewhere else... ...but if you are looking for a large selection of books & a small selection of workspaces, this may be your place. Do not try to work steadily without headphones or earplugs. Lots of children & people who may not understand proper library etiquette come here, so TRY to be patient and understanding. Quiet places to work and get things done seem to be disappearing around OC & this library is a prime example of that sad fact. read more

Actually, any library is a fabulous thing. Especially though, the El Toro Library in Lake Forest can rest on its laurels for excellence in reference, new books, book clubs, etc. The staff is warm, kind, and efficient no matter the time of day, quirky problems, and noisy, screeching children. All in a day, says the staff's complacent body language. read more

If you are looking for a quiet study place, DO NOT come here. There are people playing cards in there laughing out loud, kids running a around making noises, and no one seems to care this a Library !!! Not very clean and old. read more

I come here after work sometimes to study for the GRE while waiting for rush hour to end. It is what it is: a small library with limited parking. Don't come expecting it to be like Newport Beach Public Library. Free wifi without having to sign up for a library card is always nice! And there are outlets at the individual desks, which is much more convenient than Starbucks or any other coffee shop. My only complaint is the screaming children and crying babies, but that's to be expected at most libraries nowadays. Overall it's a great library. I'll be back! read more

I love this library, they have been super helpful to me in the past and I love the people who work there. One complaint that I have is that the building it self seems very run down and is not as nice as the other libraries in the area. But I absolutely love the hold system that the OC libraries have in place. read more

Great library! Free wi-fi and tons of computers available!

You'd never know what a great resource this is until you walk into the El Toro Branch Library. The unassuming structure is nestled in the large commercial strip near stores, banks, offices and restaurants. It's a well-designed, well-lit building with plenty of print books, audio books, computers, tables and chairs to either get some work done or just relax. I'm so glad I found this neighborhood treasure. read more