New York Public Library – St. George Library Center

I have been here at least 7 times and I realize we have a much better library in my neighborhood. This library looks cramp (although the building is huge) and you get a feel your things are not safe to be left at your seat for sometime. It is best to bring your own laptop or tablet here (which you do when you go to any branch of the NYPL). Bathroom is not that clean. But if you are catching the boat to Manhattan, you can still do so in 5minutes while browsing, waiting in this library.

At first glance the outside appears to be a place where one can get lost in a world of books, but upon entering you’ve soon stepped into reality. The staff are extremely helpful and polite but their content is poorly stocked. Almost every book that I inquired about reading was not in their possession and after a bit of exploring I found the building to be in poor shape. «Construction» appears to have been started but never finished. An elevator has been out of order for months which limits those who require these services due to their disability. They have an adequate children’s section on the third floor, but the adult area is sparse and its space is shared with the community computers area. Their quiet area is located in the basement across from the children’s (toddlers) workshop and across the hall from the teen area. The quiet area was actually refreshingly quiet until a couple of unstable people uneducated in how computers work became upset and frustrated because they could not send an email, print an article or had realized their allotted computer time with the borrowed laptops had run its course. Overall it’s not the worse library that I’ve been to, but clearly, its not the best either. I actually donated money to the NYPL this past spring, hopefully some funds reach this particular branch.

A bit mangy, from the exterior, but otherwise a decent representation of the NYPL system. Good selection of books, generally helpful librarians, and an atmosphere that’s conducive to studying/​browsing. Not the best branch on Staten Island by any stretch, but still a worthwhile library which you might want to visit once you step off the Ferry.

What makes this library bad is the rude people working at the desk. Bad customer service whenever you ask a question. I called the other day and a lady who said her name was Vanessa, answered «Who is this?» WTF. Unprofessional.

Maybe I just went at the wrong time, but this place is really small, relatively crowded, dim, very few tables/​seats, people were talking/​joking around REALLY loud in the basement, and the entire place smelled like paint. I was initially planning on spending most of the day studying at the library since I live close by, but I gave up after 10 minutes. It probably does have a good selection of books/​dvds but definitely not an ideal place for quiet study and reading.

it’s major old and kind of falling apart… but their selection on books and DVD’s is KILLER. i used to come here everyday during the summer. a beautiful and mystic view of Manhattan and the water if you sit on the lawn. the computer usage is decent, too… you don’t have to wait hours and hours like most other libraries.

Excellent library; great selection of brand new non-​fiction books, good number of computers, and clean restrooms. I recommend this one.