I've been to this library many many times. Great book selections and very helpful and kind staff. They have 5 study rooms that are first come first serve, 1 large (max 8-10) and 4 small (max 2). The rooms are especially helpful on the rather busy days when the library isn't always so quiet. The children's area is great! There's always crafts to do and mini scavenger hunts that get changed about twice a month. Also seasonal reading challenges that get kids excited to read and win prizes. They also have legos, a train set, and a play grocery store. It's definitely worth a visit for any ages! read more

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Super cute library with lots of seating!! Staff are also very friendly and helpful. There are a lot of people that come by so it can get a little loud. read more

January paint & sip program at the library was a therapeutic Monday night spent out in the community. My neighbor and I joined the free program available to anyone through the mental health department at the public library. The instructors were very warm, welcoming, and helpful throughout the program. There was nice conversation, relaxing music on and a few giggles too while stroking on the canvas. Everyone made their own creation of tree, lake & sunset, while having a great time. We also learned of other programs going on in January. The paint & sip is held each month. read more

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I love the West Allis Library!! The librarians are always so helpful. In order to bring a card you just need two items with your name on and one that includes your address, such as a piece of mail and a debit card! They have such a wide variety of books in the library and with the addition of Libby and overdrive for online options, I always have a library book with me. The library is such a good way to save money. Thank you West Allis Library for all you do for the community read more

West Allis Public Library - Libraries Near Me - West Allis, Wisconsin

I love this library and the programs it has for all ages! The summer shows, reading program, and movies were great when my kids were little. Before Covid hit I used to go to the craft nights. It's a fun way to spend time and meet new people. Others have mentioned their dislike for the chlorine smell. It's my favorite smell in the world, so I couldn't disagree more. lol The book shaped benches are a nice addition! read more

The West Allis library is one of my favorite places to go. I love to read and am in a book club. I do not purchase books, so the West Allis library is my go-to place. It is so easy to log into my account and request a book for an upcoming book club and if it is not available at West Allis, I can still request it and it will be delivered to the West Allis library from another library that has it. The self check out makes it so convenient. I receive an email to let me know a book I requested has arrived and so I can pop in and go straight to the self check out shelf to scan it, and be on my way. When a book is coming due, I get an email reminder to return or renew it so I am never late. I have also taken advantage of the book club that is offered and enjoyed meeting new people while sipping complimentary coffee and discussing the chosen book. Last evening, a few friends and I took advantage of a "paint and sip" event. It was easy to reserve a spot. We were welcomed by the presenter and a library staff member. Hot beverages (a variety of flavored cocoa, tea, and apple cider) were offered. Everyone received a small blank canvas with a palette of paint and brushes. The instructor had a sample picture but encouraged everyone to make it their own. It was a nice way to spend time with friends without costing us anything. I am looking forward to attending more events in the future. (A picture of the art class will be posted by the staff on their Facebook page). read more

A beautiful library! A wonderful spot to read or write. When I was a little girl I got my library card here and borrowed as many books as I could. read more

I love the West Allis Public Library. It is one of my favorite libraries in the whole Milwaukee County System. They have a great selection of books, dvds, music, even magazines to check out if you like! You can get books on loan and even reserve them ahead of time through the online reserve system and just pick up. The children's section is great as well. They have a variety of community events held monthly which you can see from their calendar. The parking is excellent as well. It is close to the Farmer's Market too so if you wanted to go to an event there and also stop at the library you would be all set. A neat fact is that over 90% of all the people in West Allis have a library card so it is well loved. I would highly recommend checking this library out. read more

This place is a real mixed bag for me. THE GOOD- I'm pretty much at the halfway point between this library and Zablocki Library, but this one is slightly closer to me so it's got that going for it. It's also one of the twenty-some libraries that share the county catalog. Anyone who uses the library isn't using the CountyCat Mobile app to put materials on hold should try it, it's wonderful. The hold system here is awesome, that placed the hold shelves right by the self checkouts, so it makes for a quick, convenient in-and-out trip if you won't be looking around. Huge library with plenty of space to sit and read or use the computer. Good selection of books and DVD's. A huge kid's area. The best selection of Graphic Novels that I know of out of any library in the area. THE BAD- My first trip here, I walked into the building and had a chemically-induced, hallucinogenic trip where I thought I forgot my swimsuit and my daughters water wings. I then figured out that I was at the library and that hallucinogenic chemical was the chlorine that's obviously pumped in abundance into the fountain in the hallway in front. When I walk into a library, I would prefer to have use of my eyes. This is a problem when they are burning from the chlorine in the air. While this library at least manages to keep the first letters of DVD titles together, is it too much to dream of a library that would alphabetize all of the titles? I know it would take some work, but while it's easy to find a movie like Zoolander since there's only like ten movies there that start with Z, it's frustrating trying to find something like Superman in the S section since it covers about five shelves. THE UGLY- Maybe we could buy about two less bottles of chlorine for the fountain in front, take that money and buy some bleach and pine sol. Then you guys need to take that bleach and pine sol and clean that family bathroom upstairs. I'm not even a germaphobe and I was afraid to put my daughter anywhere in that bathroom. read more

West Allis Public Library - Libraries Near Me - West Allis, Wisconsin

While I agree with the others about the overwhelming chlorinated air in the lobby, once you get inside the actual library, you don't smell it. What do I like about this library? It's pretty user friendly and has a large selection of not only books, but music and movies to choose from as well. Not that I use it, but the magazine selection is pretty big, too. What do I not like about this library? The copy machines. To be fair, I don't like copy machines in general. I never know which way to put the thing I'm copying on it or how to switch the paper size if the person before me had it set a certain way. I have rarely used one and not wasted money on a few sheets of bad copies. Anywho, if you don't want to come over here from wherever you are in the county to get a certain book that they have, you can have it sent to your (Milwaukee County) library of choice and it will be ready and waiting for you to pick up in just a few days. Want to try it? Here you go: http://countycat.mcfls.org/ Just be sure to have your library card ready. 73/2015 read more

Many a weekend spent here when we first moved to Milwaukee and didn't have the internet. Gasp. That seems ages ago. We quickly purchased a computer and the internet after having to wait at the germy terminals, but we soon linked in to our land lords internet and waiting in line at the library was over. Memories.. Checked out a bunch of movies and was introduced to the Six Feet Under series. We were guilty of spending many a winter weekend holed up watching these and then hopping back to check out more. Lots of older movies, cool CD's, books and other great stuff at this library. The staff was always helpful and friendly. I'm sure they still are. read more

Yay For Books. I've reviewed a bunch of the other libraries in town but I didn't get out to West Allis much when I lived on the East Side. Now that I live in Washington Heights it's just a hop/skip/jump away from my house and I'm there as often as at the Wauwatosa Lib, which is just about equidistant from West Allis. The two, it should be said, are pretty different from one another. Though both have ample parking, West Allis seems to cater to a more computer-deficient population. It seems like a good portion of the people in the library every day are there to use the computers. That says something about society, but I'm not sure what. At any rate, they also have a ton of books. The sci-fi section, in particular, is the best in the federated library system. Tosa has maybe six or seven stacks of sci-fi books, but 'Stallis has entire ROWS of sci-fi. Obviously, someone who was in charge of buying books at some point in the past has been a sci-fi junkie like myself. The selection is great. The new book selection is pretty good as well, although likely not as good as Tosa and certainly not anything like Central. But it's adequate, for sure. They even have a fountain in the foyer that smells like hecka chlorine. Chlorine makes me think of summer and pools and water parks and girls in bikinis. I like Chlorine. read more

I live very near the library in my city but I often go to the West Allis Public Library because it is big and the staff is super helpful. We were first in search of Boy Scout merit badge books which brought us to this library and ended up staying for hours. The entire upstairs is for kids and it's very comfortable and relaxing. Nice big work tables and lots of hook ups for tablets and laptops. Downstairs the main desk was super helpful getting my son set up with his library card and explaining all of the online services they offer. I would recommend this library to anyone and will continue to visit. read more

They have this fancy, newfangled electronic outdoor book drop that has a conveyor belt and actually checks your items in right there. Of course, that's only been effective about half the times I've had to use it. Other libraries that don't have this contraption have buried their barcodes inside items, so the machine can't read them. And there's not a manual book drop on the backside of the building, where the entrance and parking. I learned later that there is one in front, but let's be honest, who's parking the car on National to run things up to the manual book drop? BUT, that aside, this is a big, pretty, well-organized library. If I request things from another branch, they arrive quickly. The kids area is up a winding staircase and totally separated, which is nice (keeps the downstairs free of screaming, running children). read more

Well, this really needs to be a 2 part review, one of the entire Milwaukee Library System and one of the West Allis Branch. The Milwaukee County Library system has a GREAT interlibrary loan! I've been able to find every single obscure title I've wanted through them and have it delivered to my local branch (West Allis now, Shorewood before). Most things come within 2-3 days, but longer for things they have to get outside their system or are super popular. It is also great that they have many branches throughout the city and your library card works at ALL of them and you can return your books anywhere. Also, their whole collection is up-to-date with all the newest materials being acquired all the time. I love that! As for West Allis: Pros: -Kids area is upstairs and well-separated from the rest of the building. I've never had to deal with loud kids, which is something I've had to deal with at pretty every other public library I've been to -decently large and varied selection of materials, it has at least a little of everything and a lot of the most popular (general fiction, YA fiction, science fiction/fantasy, DVDs, wide variety of non-fiction titles -book sale in the lobby! They always have two carts full of books for sale for $0.25/.50 because the system is constantly getting new materials. These are older, not popular items, but I've gotten some good surprise finds! -Technology. They have a good self-checkout system, an automated return system, and a great app for the county system that allows you to search/renew/hold items and even has a barcode to use in place of your card if you forget it (which works at self-checkout, too!) Plus, they have lots of computers and a good system to sign up on your own for a computer when traffic is heavy Cons: -crappy road/parking lot with lots of bumps and potholes. But, it is Milwaukee...to be expected. -yeah, that chlorine smell in the lobby is legit gross -I don't like that libraries are moving towards organizing fiction books by author's last name. It makes it harder to find things and browse -Their large DVD collection is only organized by first letter and not actually alphabetized further, so it takes FOREVER to find a movie (literally took 20 min with me and a staff member looking to find a certain title). And even more frustrating that you find the title but it is a Blue-Ray and not a DVD and so you have to keep searching. Also, the documentaries are just utter chaos! read more

I grew up in a town in Idaho of a little more than 5k people....our library was bigger than this! I really expected more from a bigger city, I guess Milwaukee county pumps most the resources into the other libraries. We spent about 2 1/2 hours today though because my 3 year old wanted to play with the toys and other kids. It was nice to do some puzzles together and sit and read some books to her. But I'm not super impressed with the selection here. The librarians are very nice and helpful though. Its a 10min drive so we'll go back occasionally or when our books are due, but I'll continue my quest for a bigger/better library as well. They should maybe keep the toys in a separate room...maybe the story time room when its not in use? Its kinda hard for a 3 year old to find books she wants when she's tempted by the toys :) the bathrooms could be cleaner like others have mentioned as well. read more

Went to the library and sat my kids next to a group of teenagers that were working on a video project. They were very polite and tried to be as quiet as they could, and even gave up one of their seats to let my kids and I sit. I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were working on a commercial for Chapstick as a project for school, and on one of their scenes the two main actors pecked each other's lips and the librarian yelled at them for being "inappropriate". She then proceeded to tell them to leave. And again, they were cooperative and tried explaining they did not know that it was a policy. Also That they haven't been to the library before. If they didn't know, there should be a warning. But right away she told them to get out. She proceeded to yell at them and talked to them in a very rude manner. Very disgusted at the way the librarian dealt with them for a small peck that did not affect anyone in any way. There were no kids around, besides mine, and even if there were, I'm not sure why that would be a problem. I will not be coming back here again. The librarian yelling at them was a big disruption and my kids and other guest did not notice anything until the librarian kicked them out. I think workers should be more sensitive to the costumers that help them keep their job. read more

This is a very USER friendly Library with great helpful staff. I am disabled and found their help to be professional and extraordinarily out of the way nice and respectful. All of my questions were answered and i was helped with the scanning of documents by the library staff simply by asking for it. I love the fountain as it is very relaxing and makes me feel like i am walking into a good and friendly place with its relaxing sound and visual beauty. The Architectural design of this library is also very exceptional and ease of access also very good. I recommend this library for all its amenities for handicapped individuals as well as for those who are not. The selection of books, audio and in print is huge. I liked the movie rental and music selections as well as the many computer terminals which eliminates waiting for a computer. Everything about this library I found to be over the top wonderful and I plan to go back over and over again. read more