St. Louis County Library

My daughter invited me to go to a book signing with her. I was excited, I had never been to a book signing. They had two people standing at the entrance to tell us which door, great. Then we meet the MOST OBXNIOUS librarian I have ever met. We were handed «line» tickets for the signing. She felt the need to explain to use that since we were number 5 that there were 4 other groups in front of us… REALLY. The authors were wonderful, so I am not blaming them. We stood in line for 2 hours to get my daughters book signed. The janitors started picking up the chairs, like we were bothering them… The library was nice, there I found one nice thing to say about the place.

This review is for a Friday night book signing and lecture only:
I was recently here on a Friday evening for a book signing by national authors and bloggers John and Sherry Petersik. The number of chairs that the library put out for this event was fantastic! The space was very open and could accommodate a large number of people (1000+). The line before the doors opened was well organized. Doors were at 6, talk started at 7, and the book signing went from about 8:30 to 10pm. They had different groups #s for the book signing portion of the evening so that all guests would not be in line at the same time, maybe 20 or so people would be called at a time to stand in line.
Overall this library was well prepared for many guests. The tear down of the chairs and the setup of the tables/​shelves back to their places was very efficient. Great experience. Very friendly staff working the late hours.

It’s big, busy, and quiet as can be. I got here maybe 5 minutes after it opened and the library was just filled with people. I guess that’s a good thing right? I didn’t come here really to explore around it, I just wanted a nice quiet area to do some work today while I travel all over the city. I figured the library would be the best choice. It’s not too bad of a place, but the wi-​fi has left out on me 3x in the last 2 hours here. For some reason, the bars are low for a wi-​fi connectivity… regardless I was still able to accomplish my work even with the disruptive wi-​fi connections. I was lucky it didn’t go out literally in the middle of my software that requires saving after every section I complete… otherwise I might have needed to start all over again.

While normally adequate, the latest frustration has been trying to put a book on hold, which has been published for several years. I won’t frustrate you (like the library has screwed me around), but in the months I have waited, the clever librarian bureaucrats have devised multiple reasons for not being able to perform.
We made the mistake of funding capital improvements for this bureaucracy forever, rather than a specific period of time. The numbskulls who run the library have no reason to be responsive to the people who pay their salaries and they show it.
I am glad to say that I voted against the current County Executive and wish I could vote out the library board, they are totally unresponsive and incompetent.

Short: Great free resource. Free music, DVDs, and of course, books.
Long: I’ve never been a library person, but recently there was a documentary I wanted to check out and the library system seemed to be the only place to get it (not online for viewing or purchasing). The SLCL didn’t have it, but one in Illinois did. All I had to do was ask for an interlibrary transfer and it was sent to either the library (or my house if I wanted). It took about 3 – 4 weeks to get it. And how much did this cost to get? $ 1 I think. Crazy cheap for such a cool resource.
The best thing I think they have right now thats important to me is their overdrive/​hoopla service. These are both ‘rental’ services available online through apps that allow you to ‘digitally rent’ the items to use at home. The Hoopla music service is legit. Every new album is available to borrow for a few days. The only downside is you have to use the app to play it. Their movie and Tv show selection is small as well.
Overall, I’m impressed. I know Im paying for it in local taxes, but it was a surprise to see how much relevant resources they have; even in this day in age where libraries appear to be obsolete.

All around great!

Who doesn’t love a good book?
In the world of nooks, kindles, fires, etc, some forget about the library.
I, however, am not one of those people.
I love to read, and this branch is situated perfectly on my route to and from the gym so I usually stop in once a week. We get a lot of our movies from here too as they come a lot faster than Netflix. I love how they have a request system and the moment your item is available, you get an email and it is held for you until you are able to pick it up.
I always thought it would be fun to get a job at the library as well but that hasn’t panned out yet.
But check out your local library, you just never know!

Great place to catch up on your reading…

Argh. Stupid policies.
I wanted to read a certain book on St. Louis eateries. For some reason, the St. Louis City Library does not have a copy at ANY of its branches. The St. Louis County Library does… in like Eureka. So I stopped in a city library today and asked about interlibrary loan (I love libraries so much, I’m like hip on the lingo) with the county libraries. Well, they went on and on about library politics and stuff, and to make a long story short, said that it would behoove me just to go to the county library, get a reciprocal lending card, and get the book from intralibrary loan instead of through the different systems because by the time I got the book… I might be pushing myself with a walker to a library from a nursing home.
Oh.
So I decided to stop here because I was headed for a dinner at Frontenac. Plus this is Headquarters. So I explain my situation to a guy at the front desk. He said that it wasn’t a problem; I just needed something with my St. Louis address. What? Doesn’t my city library card show that I’m part of St. Louis? He goes, «Well, we need that AND something with your St. Louis address». Sigh. It’s my fault that I never changed my address on my driver’s license, I admit. But seriously? Can’t I just show you something online that has my St. Louis address? No. It has to be something tangible.
I still love libraries… but I don’t like the county library right now.