Queens Borough Public Library – Bellerose

I tutor students at this location and while I agree that this place has good free parking in the neighborhood and has quite a nice selection of books to choose from, there are some things I could live without. First off the entry and exit system are annoying — I am not that fat, but I keep getting caught in it and my binder sets off the alarm every time. The other thing is that, THIS IS THE NOISIEST LIBRARY EVER. I thought they encouraged a quiet environment but people, even the staff, do not shut the hell up. I am trying to tutor and all I hear is ridiculous conversations that should not be there.
I have to go back because this is a nice location to tutor in, but I am so bringing ear plugs next time — either that or I’ll sit in the children’s section, because at least the little ones are quieter than the adults.

Located between the Cross Island Parkway and the Little Neck Parkway, I went to this library because it was the closest one to my workplace that had the book I wanted. While driving in the westward direction on Hillside Ave after work around the five o’clock hour, the library is on my left. As I turned on 250^th Street, I saw two parking spots right across from the library. How grand! The store across from the library was closed so hence no customers and free parking spots. As I went in, I was confused since I did not find the Young Adult section. I went to ask the librarian at the checkout, but she promptly referred me to the librarian’s help desk, which was empty. I was a little peeved at that because all I had was a general question and there was nobody on line and the librarian couldn’t even answer a simple question and refers me to an empty desk with no librarian? It’s not like I’m asking where is this book located? Anyway, another librarian who was also at the checkout asked me to go past the computers in the back corner. I did exactly that and found the YA corner. Good thing there are at least some nice librarians out there! Really, I have this image now that Queens librarians are as nice as the DMV but I guess not all are. The only time I get a smile or a nice reply is when I say «thank you» upon checking out my book. Computers are always in demand and a few people were waiting for them. Don’t expect the help desk librarian to help you right away because when I was there she was taking a phone call from a patron and then she was walking around the library helping another person with, I believe, many people waiting to ask her more questions, including me. The computer sign-​in sheet was also at her desk. This library has a great collection of Chinese media as I browsed through, but it was only good for 7-​day rentals. The library itself was not huge, but its book collection on a variety of subjects seemed satisfactory and better than the Elmhurst branch. There is a whole other room for the children’s section. I also dislike their library hours. They are only open late on Mondays and Thursdays until eight and the rest of the week at six o’clock. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, they don’t open until 1pm! They are open Saturday from 10 – 5:30pm and closed on Sundays. Overall, this is an interesting library with a great collection, but it doesn’t seem to cater to too many people with limited hours.