BPL Atrium Library opened in August 2023 because the two libraries in Bloomfield closed for…read morerenovations in June 2023. (McMahon Wintonbury and Prosser). McMahon Wintonbury is slated to open in March 2025 and Prosser is slated to open in Summer 2025. The current temporary location is located on the Cigna campus in the former MetLife building. Don't make the same mistake as me and turn onto the wrong street, which is the location in the back of the building; it's the second street on the right. The parking lot was spacious and the building was large. Once you enter, there is a friendly library employee to the right that will give you a pass and open the gate for you. The lobby is huge with lots of natural light, tables, water fountain, and an escalator (there is an elevator too). Once you take the escalator to the second floor, the library is on the right. It's an open air library and it was spacious. It appears to be an old office with tons of cubicles too. We were greeted by a friendly librarian. The kids section was a decent size with plenty of books and toys. My kids loved the area. They also have the self checkout which is amazing and I wish my home library had it too. There was a box that prints out a story on a receipt paper, that was pretty awesome. This is a nice temporary location but I look forward to visiting the newly renovated libraries once they open.

Love this clean, bright, welcoming public library where locals are getting tutored, using the…read morecomputers, reading, generally taking advantage of a valuable community space together. Always glad to see public libraries doing well.

I've frequented this library quite often since moving to CT. Mainly because they have a children's…read moresection at the lower level. We took the elevator to this level; there is a tween/teen, toddler, and baby section. The baby room is locked from the outside but you can reach over to unlock the door; this is for babies and crawlers. They had some baby toys and books in there. The toddler section has a mini kitchen, fake groceries, baby dolls, doll house, Legos, and toy cars which kept my toddler busy. We put away the toys we played with before we left just to be courteous. We had to print out some paper and it's 10 cents a page. Keep in mind when putting the quantity in the computer, it doesn't specify dollars or pages; it's actually quantity of dollars not pages. This location is nice because it's walking distance to all the stores and restaurants. Overall, a clean and organized library!

Not a patron, but I found myself in this library. It's tucked behind the busy roads of West…read moreHartford, and is pretty roomy. One side has a children's book, the other has a senior center, and adult books are everywhere. There are public restrooms as well by the entrance. Really well organized with lots of places to read or carrols to study in.

I used to frequent the library at Bishop's Corner around 2-3 times a week when I was in high…read moreschool. In the recent years, I haven't been as loyal. Occasionally I'll stop by when I have a book in mind that I'd like to check out. The Bishop's Corner Library is a branch of West Hartford Public Library. This is the smallest of the three libraries in town. Despite being small, there's everything here. A smaller library is so much easier to navigate. The books are well categorized, whether they're biographies, fiction or new releases. They have a quiet study area on the opposite end of the library from where the children's play area is. They have books for every child's interest. There's also computers that are marked by child's age. I stopped by the library for a specific book. It was in the new releases. It's actually a book that was released just a few months ago. And they had it at the library. You can check out with a librarian or at the self checkout. The checkout is very easy to use if you have your library card on hand. I have been going to this library for many years, I will continue to do so for many more.

At this time in my life, I'm becoming somewhat of a library connoisseur. I usually go to the…read morechildren's section because they always have good play areas for kids. I even like read to my kids there sometimes (when they want to listen). The rest of the library is upstairs. Simsbury Public Library is definitely one of my favorites. Once you walk in, the childrens section is on the left side. The employees were very friendly. They have up to date technology, which is convenient! There is a kiosk you can check your books/items out with. Don't forget to download the Libby App, you can borrow audiobooks on there. Also, you can reserve items and they leave it in a lock box outside and you can pick it up after hours. The library is a great resource; they offer programs, services, computer access, museum passes, workshops, and career/business centers. I highly recommend it.

The Simsbury library childrens section staff are excellent. The library has daily programs for…read moreyoung children. The programs are fun and engaging for young children. I have been bringing my 22 month old here since he was 6 months old. Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Katie are very friendly and knowledgeable about children's books and activities. I feel so very fortunate to be able to bring my grandson here for all the great activities they have!! Thank you Simsbury library!

I took a trip to the Simsbury Free Library (SFL) the other day, and it was a super interesting and…read moreunique place! Here's the scoop: SFL is located on Hopmeadow St. right in the heart of Simsbury. It's just down the street from the Simsbury Public Library, which is NOT affiliated with SFL. While the public library is run by the town, SFL is a non-profit that is not funded by the town. Parking is available nearby on the street, or there is a small lot on the right side of the building. One inside, you'll be greeted by the extremely friendly and helpful staff, who will take the time to show you around and tell you all about the history of the library. SFL is noted for its genealogical research resources, housing a robust collection of family surnames, histories, and genealogies, as well as CT town, county, and other New England state histories. They also have DAR lineage books and other hereditary journals. The employees and volunteers have created marriage, death, and obituary indexes for Simsbury. Ancestry.com Library edition is also available for use by patrons. On the Saturday's that they are open (2nd and 4th Saturday) they have a professional genealogist on site who will help you trace down your family history! Besides the genealogy resources, the SFL has a beautiful glass panel memorial dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out in front of the building. I learned that MLK actually lived and worked in Simsbury for two summers when he was a teenager. A group of Simsbury High School students researched MLK's life while in Simsbury, and this later became the inspiration for the memorial. Lastly, there is a cool exhibit on William Phelps Eno, who was the original architect of traffic regulations and transportation engineering. He developed regulations like right-hand driving, one way streets, traffic lights, driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, and more! These are just a few of the cool and educational things you'll find at SFL. Make sure to check it out for yourself!

A historically beautiful structure that houses Connecticut's Supreme Court and the state library,…read morelocated in the Capitol area of Hartford. This would be a great place to learn and view some of the historical pieces that defines the state of Connecticut. You can also sit in a Supreme Court hearing and take the tour of the state library, which contains state and federal legal publications dating way back to the late 19th century. The state library is open to the public and has wifi and outlets, so you can definitely use the space to bring your laptop/tablet and do some work. Great place for school groups to take a trip to, or even for families looking for something educational to do.

Beautiful building inside and out , built in 1854 . interesting architecture . It's not a library…read moreof leisure books, but that of records of various things such as historic documents, law, court records, Public records, land records, genealogy , you can look up your family tree here especially if your a CT resident , they have archives and archives of records very neatly organized, very clean building , metal detectors and security guard(s) . You can also find various test exams manuals here. Getting a library card is easy, just file out a simple application and have I.D. You can find the rights and claim of citizens, and the history of Connecticut and its people . Free wifi. computers access , book scanner . Parking is on street, parking meter . The gated parking lot is for employees. Nice staff members. They also have a museum in the building that closes 1 hour earlier than library

For more than a year, the Drummer Boy statue has been AWOL from its old location on the Bloomfield…read moreVillage Green. But I'm happy to say that the statue has been spiffed up, revitalized, and relocated. It's still on the Village Green but moved to a prominent location at the major intersection of Park Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue. The statue was removed as part of "Phase Two" of a Village Green renovation project. The green was revitalized with new benches and walkways, a gorgeous green lawn, and major repairs to the statue which was in a state of disrepair. Some of the work included removing corrosion by blasting, a new metal coating, and replacement of the drum skin. The Drummer Boy's Drum is a significant piece of Bloomfield's history. Known as "the Brown Drum" they were manufactured on Bloomfield's Brown Street by the Brown family -first Benjamin Brown and then his nephew Eli Brown. The Drummer Boy symbolizes a "march toward liberty, justice and equality" by America's early Patriots.

I work from this library branch often, I'm happy to have it open again. I do wish they opened at…read more8am at least I'm typically an early morning work kinda gal. There's a healthy amount of noise for a library but I do appreciate that the staff doesn't have an issue telling people to quiet down. I also have attended for the yoga classes and loved every minute. The location is super accessible to the cafes and restaurants downtown.

It's a nice downtown library in the city which has improved compared to pre-pandemic times and…read morebefore the pipe burst from the day before Christmas Eve 2022 destroyed it. It's a very cool place to explore, read, relax and And study. The children's room looks nice and the main floor looks cool which makes the library an inviting and welcome place to spend time at. They have some cool books and many other resources. There's also a lot of seating and they even have unique things such as Library of Things collection, a DVD checkout slot machine and many more. The staff are caring, courteous and helpful. The customer service is great and the people served are good people. It's a wonderful place to spend time when you're in Hartford and need some down time. This library serves patrons from any neighborhood in Hartford.

I did not expect to find the Farmington library as part of a larger town government complex. If I…read morewere a betting person, I'd blame the seventies. The outside of the building is very austere and gray. There is a fair amount of parking available, so watch out for pedestrians. The building itself is huge; there is a map in the lobby and it is helpful. The lobby has so much on its own - a used book sales area, movies, space to sit.... There used to be (if memory serves over several years) a coffee station but now holds maps for planning information. There is, off the lobby, also a whimsical duck statue. The Friends of the library do a book sale once a year. On the last day, it starts as a normal sale, and in the afternoon goes to $10 per bag you fill with books. There is a gap between those two sales, and a place to queue until the bag sale opens. You're not going to pull one over on the Friends and sneak in as the first part of the sale ends. You'll be asked to wait outside.

Definitely one of the nicer libraries I've been to. This was located near the Farmington high…read moreschool and town hall. This review is mainly for the children's section. The area was large and it's on the left side when you enter from the main entrance. There were two Librarian who were friendly. My toddler wanted to play with the trains set but you have to get the trains from them. After you're done, just return them to the librarians. They are also participating in the 1000 books before Kindergarten program like Simsbury library is doing. You read to your child and each milestone (ie. 100 books read), you get a free book. I think it's neat that they let you borrow bags of toys. There are computers with educational games for the kids. There is a storytime area that has a painting of a large dragon and puppets to play with. A play kitchen is also available to play with. Overall, a great spot to bring your toddlers and older kids, because there's a tween area too.