Great selection of materials, friendly staff, and clean facilities. What more can you ask for with a library!

The newest version of our county library that opened January 20, 1991 and is still going strong. It may not be as modern as a library would be if it was built today, but it has done a good job of adapting to the technological advances that libraries have seen in the 27 years since it opened. It certainly has come a long way from the first public library that I remember, which opened in 1956 in the basement of The Columns when that building was located at Park and Adams (where the Doubletree Hotel is now located). Now The Columns sits on a corner of the property where this library was built and the library sits on the former site of an earlier version of Leon High School. They have a good selection of all the usual library offerings of books, periodicals, CDs, DVD's and even digital downloads of current books. I even saw a poster recently at our branch library that indicated you can now download graphic novels/comics. Our Tallahassee Genealogical Society maintains a genealogy research section at this library as well. I personally enjoy being able to search the library catalog online so I can place a hold on a book I want to check out and have it delivered to my branch library or being able to renew checkouts when I take more than the 3 weeks checkout period to finish a book. read more

LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library - Libraries Near Me - Tallahassee, Florida

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Most impressive public library I've visited. It's extremely spacious. There are 3 levels of books, magazines, movies, and audio books to choose from. There is WiFi throughout the library and many study cubicles if you need to do school work, or just take care of personal stuff. I highly recommend finding your next good read here! read more

That there are only three reviews of our Public Library is no surprise. I mean, do YOU have a library card? Until 1995, I didn't either - but I then started a 15 year stint with an electronic research database publication company and so our clients (public, academic, military, scholastic libraries across the globe) compelled me to have a deeper and broader than normal appreciation for this enriching community service - this FREE service. It's true that the profile of libraries has changed over these recent decades. After all, we can google just fine - and virtually all newly released items that a library offers are available to us directly and electronically. What isn't available outside of library membership is what is known as the "Reference Interview" - and I've found that the reference desks (adult & youth) at Leroy Collins are brilliantly capable of helping any patron track down information on any topic, subject, issue or event they're interested in (I'll be ending sentences in prepositions - please pardon me in advance...). Personally, I make equal use of the library remotely and on-site. Remotely, because I can access the "America's Newspapers" to get first- hand/primary source coverage of ANY event in the U.S., and onsite largely for perusing through the stacks while the kids are getting their monthly books. This library is clean, well lit and generally well staffed. While it's true with all libraries these days that they can be havens for indigents - those indigents at our public library (overall) seem to keep to themselves and, if anything, leverage the resources as intended. There are meeting rooms - and a number of community groups meet in them regularly (e.g., genealogy groups, etc) I'm a firm believer in the value of public libraries. I really like ours - and, having been inside well over 1,000 libraries across the U.S., I am qualified to say this is a great one. read more

LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library - ANY U.S. Library serving smaller cities of our size that carries the full collection of Asterix is serving its community well! - Libraries Near Me - Tallahassee, Florida

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Depending on day and time you may have great service or pissed off looking clerks. But downtown draws a lot of issues like lazy students and bums on the steps. But for the most part this is the best service library for availability of items, quality of service, location, and access to patrons. read more

I agree with Jon K that this is a useful, quite busy library. Lobbying for additional funding would seem useful, in that an opening hour as late as 10AM on weekdays (11AM for branches, branches also closed Mondays) can limit work done here, but given the large number of patrons, the Library does an excellent job, with the staff striking at least this patron as trying to remain very helpful. To balance my comment about the opening hours, I should mention that the Library's use of the funds they get should be commended; for example, nowhere near all cities that I visit have a main branch with at least some hours all seven days a week. The free WiFi and networked PCs work well, and along with free or nicely priced parking, for longer downtown periods of time, are added bonuses here. read more

The Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library is fabulous. It has staff who go out of their way to be helpful. Any publication that I have asked for and was not available at our library, has been found, borrowed from another library somewhere.... sometimes at great distance from Tallahassee. As to the indigents, excuse me but they are foremost: PEOPLE and then people who are indigent ie poor or homeless or both who have found a warm and wonderful space in which to spend hours. And, people dress much more casually these days. They may or may not be poor.... just based on their looks, one cannot tell. I have been treated only respectfully by people who sit in the library or outside on the benches. The people sitting about also like to be treated respectfully. A greeting as in "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" goes a long way and is not dangerous to the greeter. Years ago when I was on a trip to Malawi, so many people asked for money or gifts, etc. When we queried the local leader regarding how to handle such requests since we obviously were unable to give to so many, we were told, "people in Malawi feel they have the right to ask, AND you have the right to say no." I have appreciated that information on numerous occasions. Not to say that people at our library have ever asked me for money, etc. Many of the people who come to the library from various socio-economic groups like to read or use the computer. Maybe they don't have a computer in their home spaces or don't have WIFI in those spaces. I have seen many people applying for jobs in the computer areas and many younger people (usually) who are playing games on the computers. Sometimes it is louder than I like in the upstairs computer area. If i really want quiet, I go downstairs where quiet is maintained. It seems a reasonable compromise so the younger people can have a higher level of normal sounds. This library is a delight and a wonderful space with many resources available to the community. Thanks to local people who fund it through their taxes and the government that supports it. sue wiley read more

This is the downtown library of Tallahassee. It always seems busy, even on weekends. The selection offered here is reasonable, but the lines can sometimes be overwhelming. If you plan on coming at a busy time, be prepared to wait a little bit. The library has an impressive amount of audiobooks and a good selection of new books on the second floor. Your library card allows you to check out 50 books at a time for 21This isn't the biggest library I've been to, but for it's size it's very well organized and seems to have everything you'd need. Luckily I haven't encountered the homeless people on the stairs (yet), but over all I had a pleasant experience. read more

It's one of the biggest library in Tallahassee. I have a library card which allows me to check books out of any Leon County Public Library. This library has a computer lab that allows you to use the computer a hour at a time also you get up to 10 pages of free printing per day. Staff were friendly and very helpful. read more

The tall guy ( about 6foot 6)with lots of hair in his nose made me really uncomfortable due to the way he was deadlocked staring at some of the children playing on the computers. I asked at the front desk security about his behavior because it made me extremely anxious. They told me not to worry about it cause he was with the IT department. I don't know what kind of operation they are running here but I know I won't be back, especially not with my niece. read more