Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County

So, there’s one review dragging down this awesome library, and I just can’t let that stand. (There is a quiet room here, Jessica; try it next time.) This place is fantastic, especially if you have kids. The kids section is huge, and there is a separate play room with a bathroom. Perfect place to bring your toddlers; they can pick out their own books or do crafts, and my interactions with staff have been uniformly positive. They have a fantastic selection of movies too. Just don’t bring your kids (or «library investors,» whatever those are) here when Jessica is studying for the GMAT.

The staff is rude. Or should I say the supervisor of the Poland Library specifically is rude. I was studying for the GMAT exam for hours there. Suddenly a group of staff and/​or investors of the library showed up and sat at the table behind me. They were quite loud, so I asked them politely to be more quiet. The response I got was from the supervisor,“Well, we’re holding a meeting” in a tone of voice that suggested tough luck and bewilderment that I even had the audacity to ask them to quiet down.
I went back to my seat, still no decrease in their volume, and searched their site. There are literally meeting rooms they could have gone to use instead of loudly using the main floor. They could have moved to the lower level as well because no patrons were there because Kravitz is temporarily closed. The lower level is also expected to be the loud area. They could have met there.
Suffice to say I was eventually driven out by their loud voices, and I also saw many others move away because of them. Just because they work there doesn’t mean they can disrupt the quiet environment at their leisure. If I could give zero stars, I would.
If you need a quiet space, or time to study do not go here. Try a different library instead. With the stress of my exam, only a few weeks away, I am absolutely livid about what happened at the library.

A beautiful library with an excellent bookstore and café. I ended up getting a ginormous puzzle for fifty cents and a chopped salad and chicken paprikash soup for lunch. The soup, oh, the soup with its handmade spaetzel, tender dark meat, and paprika flavor was to die for! So good — you must try a bowl! I only wish I had the recipe to being home to make myself instead of flying across the country to get my fix!