This is a superb library in Newcastle, and I would recommend anyone to check it out. We arrived at…read moreabout 12:30 on Saturday, half an hour before closing time, but the staff were so welcoming and told us we were welcome to roam around the whole place, including on the balconies. I was surprised at how welcoming it all was, and was slightly worried it would be a bit too elitist for us lowly tourists to visit. I was wrong. It's a quiet place, but certainly not a silent library, and murmurs of chat were heard all around the interior. People were reading newspapers, drinking coffee, catching up with friends, and generally relaxing. It was a lovely atmosphere. The interior itself is gorgeous, with vast collections of old books, music scores, and more. Arranged over two levels, access to the balconies is by some spiral staircases, and they offer a nice view over the library. It's completely free (though you can donate or buy some memorabilia), so please pop in for a visit if you're in the area.

Listen, ever since I was a schoolboy, the Lit&Phil was a desirable and mysterious place where you…read morewere guaranteed to get set texts for O and A level exams - the public libraries were good, but your name was just put on a list. The only problem was that the Lit&Phil was a private library and you had to pay to be a member. That gave it a mysterious caché for a struggling schoolboy. Eventually, I could afford to buy my way in and my only regret was that I didn't do it sooner. If you like to work surrounded by stacks of books, this is the place. It has a long pedigree of prestigious past presidents including Armstrong and Stephenson whose ghosts greet you on the stone staircase as you come in. We get student visitors from the other universities' libraries. Because it's good to see young people in a library, I always ask them why they prefer to be in the Lit&Phil. They always say, "It is so much quieter!" In fact there is an even quieter space downstairs in the Reference Section - almost too quiet unless you appreciate pure silence. I could go on for ages about this "Club," about how it has a special room just for the ladies, the legendary little hatch where you get cups of tea or coffee, the staff who know everything, the musical, poetry and literary events that are part of its regular programme, but all I'll say is that if you want a social meeting place in the middle of town, a place you can work and have serious conversations, and are able to enjoy its in-built charm, then the Lit&Phil is the place for you.

Very nice and modern library in the centre of Newcastle, with a huge selection of books, a large…read moreamount of seating and study space, excellent views from the upper floors, and a nice café as well. This has everything I want in a library. The modern building is quite attractive and welcoming, with a very open and spacious lobby. There is a glass lift, which offers a pretty exciting ride to the upper floors, but also nice wide staircases. I realise I'm commenting on fairly irrelevant things for a library, but I enjoyed the overall feel of the place. As already mentioned, the views from the top are very nice, all the way over Newcastle. There are comfortable seats provided by the window, so you can relax with a book or newspaper and take in the view. The Laing Art Gallery is just across the street, and it was just a lucky coincidence that we saw its advertisement for a Leonardo exhibition from the library. Of course we had to go see that as well (review to follow). Before leaving the library, we tried the café, which is good value, comfortable, and serves good products. Worth a visit.

Libraries have had a hard time lately so it was great to visit Newcastle City Library and see that…read morelibraries are still something we can be proud of. Newcastle City Council really should be proud of this place, it seems to be a real community hub and the staff were justifiably proud of the place which provided not only space for an impressive collection of traditional library items but meeting and community areas, good quality retail stock and a rather nice cafe.

Killingworth Library is located within the White Swan, a community centre in Killingworth…read more It's a nice, modern Library with friendly staff, Internet workstations, a good selection of books, a children's area and a number of community and special interest group activities to be found. I often visit, find a quiet spot, pop my earphones in and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi to get some work or research done. It's (as expected for a Library!) quiet and relaxing here. The Library also has a great selection of comic books and graphic novels for the more geeky learning amongst us. All in all, this is a lovely local Library and a credit to the staff and the local community.

This library is located just near the railway lines at Bedlington Station, just off the main road…read more The building is situated a little way back from the street with a wall around the area. It is an older building but is always clean and well maintained. It is not as large as the main Bedlington library. There are no obvious parking spaces nearby but there is a little carpark around the corner to the left which would mean a ten minute walk. There are a wide selection of books to loan free as well as CDs and DVDs which you may rent. To do this you need to have a Northumberland Library Card. This can be used at all libararies in the county. To join and get this card you will need to fill in an information form (available at the main desk) and show two forms of ID including an address. DVDs/CD's can be rented at a rate of around £2.00 for one week's loan. I find they always have new and exciting movies to rent, but with the more popular ones you will need to ask about their availability. The staff here are lovely and have a gentle, intelligent manner. They can perform many services for customers including information searches and helping to find a particular book. You can telephone the libarary for more information on: 01670 822211

This is a large library.You'll find it opposite the police station at the High Street end of…read moreFerndale Avenue in Wallsend.It's housed in a very outdated looking 60s style building which looks pretty shabby by any standards. The library does have a good range of books and the staff will happily order any that are available in other libraraies in the borough. You can hire cds and dvds and there are the usual daily newspapers and magazines to read. Internet access is free too. The libraray may not look good but it does offer all you need and the staff are realy efficient.

A very welcome addition to Durham city centre, Clayport library replaced a not-very friendly…read morebuilding behind the Fighting Cocks. It is well set out and child-friendly, and with a good selection of books and other material. The ground floor is given over to books, with computers for internet access and downstairs is the digital media suite where dvd's, and cd's are available for loan, and there are more computers available. There are many holiday activities on offer also.

ABSOLUTE TERRIBLE SERVICE!!!!…read more The librarian I first spoke to was extremely short with me and wouldn't help me at all and then when i complained about her to the senior librarian she just backed her up because they definately work hand in hand!. If you are local please go to the nearby Rowlands Gill library where staff are more what you would expect to find in the library i.e helpful. and don't treat you as if you are making baffling requests. At this central library you are made to feel that you are making unusual requests , requests that other libraries are happy to help with! I furthered my complaint but everything about this library seems to be a place working without any logic and at a pace of their own ! Very SLOW to me. Staff development definately needed if they are not to anger the public!! In responce to the replY I have had from the library of course I would try private sellers first when trying to buy an item....there was no private sellers selling it and it only came up on the internet that they had it. In regards to them saying " as discussed when you enquired "I was led to believe that there wouldnt be a problem initially by their Rowlands Gill library and as to their remark that this is in line with other libraries perhaps they can explain why on the one other occasion i have done this, this other library were friendly and i would even say delighted i was prepered to take some old material from them in order to have a donation from me for them to get some newer stock which their users would want more probably, considering the item in question had been UNUSED and UNTAKEN OUT FOR 2 YEARS!!!!!!! The library has responded to this Bad review missing out a lot of the points here to make them sound better to the public reading these reviews ...It rather sums up their whole UNHELPFUL ATTITUDE to me, although well done on them tracking this review down. Lets see if they spot the others!

This is the biggest library in gateshead. You can hire…read morebooks, cd's and dvd's.If they don't have the book you want you can check one of the reference computers and it will tell you if the library do stock it and ask if you want to reserve it for when it is returned. In the dvd section they have a request book that you can use to request new / old dvds and even boxsets then every month they look through and order a set amount and if it is yours that is chosen then they also give you a courtesy call so you can be the first to hire it. As well as all this they also have a reference library. On top of all this they also have numerous computers which you can use to access the internet free of charge, and even print things off for a small fee.

This is a lovely small cosy library. My kids often visit here and love it, you are able to get 12…read morebooks out at a time and it is free to join, if you are an adult if you dont return your books on time you are fined a small fee, but kids are not charged. Computers are available and the staff are lovely and friendly.

Not an enourmous library, has a seperate room for childrens books and a couple of computers, also…read moreloans cd's, only gripe i would say is lack of parking as its right outside the Royal hospital and parking is always a nightmare

Good Place for your child and you to read book also using internet, very clean, the place is modern…read moreand nice room very bright also homey. They have very fast computer for using internet also plenty computer to use it, but sometime if you can not find sit because all computer full you can reserve on the receptionist and they will be tell you which computer is available soon and that probably not longer than 30 minutes. And when you waiting for your turn, Gosforth Library have Spare 2 Computer Free user and you can use it for 15 minutes when you still on waiting list. For using computer you can use it up to 1 hour.

Gosforth library is absolutely great for the whole family. It has good range of books, plenty…read morepersonal computers with fast internet access, nice and helpful customer services. I am impressed with the self service machine that controls the books in and out. It is absolutely state of the art technology. This library is modern and well organised. The lighting and the layout of the place is nice. The problem with its internet access is it does not allow users to access Ebay which I think is not reasonable. Ebay is just a shopping site. It should be accessible. However, apart from that, This library is great.