New Orleans Public Library- Mid-City Branch

This is a really cute little branch of the New Orleans Public Library system located in the American Can building. It’s small (but you can order books from any of the other branches to have them sent here if you’re local to this one– same with all the branch libraries) but the selection is nice despite the small size. There’s a cute little kids corner with a small table and some brain-​friendly toys (turning gears, beads on twisty wire, that kinda thing.) The library is clean, well-​lit, and seems to be kept up well. They have computers and free wifi if you bring your own device.
The summer reading program for the whole library system offers different free kids programs at the different branches throughout the summer, including at this one– and that’s what brought us to this library. The munchkin loved the visit by the Aquavan (from the Audubon Aquarium) — he got to learn about beach animals and got to touch some shells and coral and two living animals (a conch and a hermit crab.) The little area up front where they had the program was nice– spacious and room enough for a bunch of chairs and for the kids to go sit on the floor where they could be closer to the animals.
Major parent tip– if you are bringing kids to the summer programs– bring them to the ones at branch libraries. Seriously– at the main library there will be something like 200 kids to see the Aquavan or Zoomobile (or any of the other programs)…at this program at Mid-​City library there were maybe 15 kids. This seems to hold true at all the branches– and you don’t have to be locked into a particular branch– you can go to any of them with your kid. The events usually repeat at different libraries, so if you miss something your child really wants to see you can likely catch it at a different branch. And did I mention these programs are all FREE? Yeah, just go get your kid to the library already…
Minor tip particular to this branch– you have to turn into the parking lot at the very first entrance! If you miss it, you need to make a U-​turn on the street and go around again. The parking lot is small and only goes one direction– so if you miss the entry, the next two access points are actually exits.

small but plenty of books on tape which for a traveler is a plus.

What a great local branch library! I had some time to kill in Mid-​City the other day, so I stopped by this branch, which I hadn’t been to since it moved over from nearby the Carrollton Rouses.
Browsing the stacks, this branch has an excellent non-​fiction selection, and a pretty decent fiction selection. Only one bathroom I could find. A small DVD area and magazine rack. Although this library isn’t in an area I’d normally go to, I’d definitely visit again if I had time to burn around here.

Even though it took four months to re-​open (and not two weeks like they promised!), it was worth the wait. The new location is larger and has an entire front wall full of windows so it gets great light. It’s convenient to all the other businesses in the Can Company and the farmers’ market on Thursday evening as well. My only gripe is that there is no drop box! I rely very heavily on my local drop-​box, I hope this is something they just haven’t gotten around to yet and that it is soon remedied.

NEW LOCATION at the American Can Company (on Orleans)– now open!
And boy is it nice! Very clean and organized. They have desktop computers and a fairly large amount of laptops with a mouse– all with wifi and printing capabilities. They have a copier, outgoing fax, and a nice selection of DVDs and CDs (you can check out 6 at a time).
You can check out up to 30 books/​items at a time, so BYOB (bring your own bag)! Most materials can be checked out for 3 weeks, but DVDs are 7 days and popular reading books are 2 weeks.
They cater to their NOLA population in a few places with music and books, with many copies of books like Louis Armstrong’s «Satchmo — My Life in New Orleans» for example. I, personally, frequent the library to check out the cookbooks (I try to find the ones with all the pictures!).
You can return borrowed items to ANY NOPL location!
Libraries are just so wonderful and such an important part to any neighborhood, so I’m glad to see the Mid-​City Branch back up and running!