Houston Public Library (McKinney, Cleveland, West: for sale, renting, neighborhood)

[westhou]

I was thinking about taking a trip to the Houston Public Library to see if they have anything interesting there. Have any of you been there? I drove by there a few weeks ago and it looked really small. How does it compare to the libraries in other major cities? I'm mostly interested in books about psychology. I tried the public library on Westheimer in west Houston and the selection was very poor. That's why I want to try out the one Downtown.

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by westhou

I was thinking about taking a trip to the Houston Public Library to see if they have anything interesting there. Have any of you been there? I drove by there a few weeks ago and it looked really small. How does it compare to the libraries in other major cities? I'm mostly interested in books about psychology. I tried the public library on Westheimer in west Houston and the selection was very poor. That's why I want to try out the one Downtown.

Not to reprimand you or anything, but I wonder how you have studied at HBU without using the public library. I'm going to assume that HBU has a great library.

I think that the Houston Public Library has a pretty good selection of books. It's a large city and accordingly it needs a large selection. I really don't know statistically how well it matches up to Boston's Public Library, but simply from it's reputation as an educational hub and the sheer number of colleges here I would give Boston the edge; It's definitely got Houston beat for aesthetics. Just thought I would post the link for these--they're beautiful.

Boston
http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/G...99477_6943.jpg
http://www.willowell.org/champlainslakerediscovered/images/boston.jpg (broken link)

For comparison

Houston
http://www.halan.lib.tx.us/images/mention/hpl.jpg
http://houstonist.com/attachments/dr...braryentry.jpg
That said it's not really all THAT important for the library to have great architecture/design, but it is pretty neat.

In any case, you definitely need to go to the central one to get a good experience, if at all. There are few nice HPL branches. I like the one in Montrose, but it's small. You can't beat the selection at Central.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

Not to reprimand you or anything, but I wonder how you have studied at HBU without using the public library. I'm going to assume that HBU has a great library.

I think that the Houston Public Library has a pretty good selection of books. It's a large city and accordingly it needs a large selection. I really don't know statistically how well it matches up to Boston's Public Library, but simply from it's reputation as an educational hub and the sheer number of colleges here I would give Boston the edge; It's definitely got Houston beat for aesthetics. Just thought I would post the link for these--they're beautiful.

Boston
http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/G...99477_6943.jpg
http://www.willowell.org/champlainslakerediscovered/images/boston.jpg (broken link)

For comparison

Houston
http://www.halan.lib.tx.us/images/mention/hpl.jpg
http://houstonist.com/attachments/dr...braryentry.jpg
That said it's not really all THAT important for the library to have great architecture/design, but it is pretty neat.

In any case, you definitely need to go to the central one to get a good experience, if at all. There are few nice HPL branches. I like the one in Montrose, but it's small. You can't beat the selection at Central.

I'm in Grad school at HBU so I'm in their library like everyday. They were closed over the Christmas break and that's what really got me looking for another library. Now that the semester has started back it's no longer urgent for me to find another library but I'm still curious about the Downtown library and still want to check it out. Any suggestions regarding parking at the Downtown library? I know that the city now limits the amount of time you can park at the meters (2 hours).

[MrSykes]

The Central library is a gem, and a long time coming. I usually get there a little later in the day, where I can park free on McKinney. The hours are great. Usually stays open till 9 (except on Sundays I think). Visitor's parking is underground, but it can get a bit expensive if you don't watch it. I remember coming out of there with a $6 tab once, for a few hours of research. I think the max checkout limit is 30 books there. Maybe more. And you have the choice of renting them out for a few weeks to well over a month at one time. Plenty of computer workstations, very spacious, plenty of places to study. All in all a good bet.

[westhou]

Thanks for the info MrSykes. I'll try to go out there next Saturday.

[sazza]

Why don't you try the Library at Rice University if you are looking for academic books? I think if you are a university student, you will be able to enter the library, if not borrow.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by westhou

I was thinking about taking a trip to the Houston Public Library to see if they have anything interesting there. Have any of you been there? I drove by there a few weeks ago and it looked really small. How does it compare to the libraries in other major cities? I'm mostly interested in books about psychology. I tried the public library on Westheimer in west Houston and the selection was very poor. That's why I want to try out the one Downtown.

You speak as if this trip is a long adventure that has been brewing for weeks. lol.

I am not sure about HBU but I know UH has an agreement with Rice U. You can research all of UH and Rice U. databases. Along with a large amount of databases for research (Ebsco, many Scholastic journals, PhD thesis and papers from past students etc.) and they are all relatively easy to use. I think you are not allowed remote access for non UH students, but if your on campus you are allowed full access to not only UH database but also Rice U. and all other UH branches. For research UH is a great choice.

You should really plan your trip to UH today and make the journey over there lol.


But if your just there to look around then you could make your way over to the main Library in downtown.

[vicket]

I haven't lived in Houston long, and this isn't anything but a casual observance...I hope I am wrong. BUT - I definitely get the feeling that Houston is not a "reader's city". There seem to be very few bookstores (Barnes & Noble, etc. or small independants) compared to most other places I've been. There don't seem to be as many branches of community libraries...it seems that most use their college libraries. (Nothing wrong with that.)
I came from Ohio (near Cleveland) which is not the most "upscale" place, but each small community had it's own library along with the larger "city" libraries, and of course, the colleges. I had a choice of 20 or more libraries within a 30 minute drive. There were many many more bookstores. It even seemed that local drug stores and neighborhood merchants offered more books and magazines for sale.
Just my imagination?

[citizen_jane]

The Harris County Public Library has a good web site where you can browse and order books. You'll need a library card and you'll need to know which branch you want the book sent to. Once you place a request, you receive an email when your book arrives. You go to the branch you requested and your book or books are in envelopes with your name. You simply get the book and checkout. You can also renew online. I use Amazon to find books then use HCPL system to order them. The web site is:
Harris County Public Library

[MrSykes]

Originally Posted by vicket

I haven't lived in Houston long, and this isn't anything but a casual observance...I hope I am wrong. BUT - I definitely get the feeling that Houston is not a "reader's city". There seem to be very few bookstores (Barnes & Noble, etc. or small independants) compared to most other places I've been. There don't seem to be as many branches of community libraries...it seems that most use their college libraries. (Nothing wrong with that.)
I came from Ohio (near Cleveland) which is not the most "upscale" place, but each small community had it's own library along with the larger "city" libraries, and of course, the colleges. I had a choice of 20 or more libraries within a 30 minute drive. There were many many more bookstores. It even seemed that local drug stores and neighborhood merchants offered more books and magazines for sale.
Just my imagination?

Probably. The HPLS has over 40 community branches throughout town not including several "express" locations. The system is very active in the community and hosts many community events, workshops, and arts presentations. Plenty of retail bookstores here as well (more Barnes and Noble stores than Borders, quite a few Half-Price Books, and several independents mostly scattered around the innerloop west and southwest). Thing is, Houston is very spread out, so you're not likely to find a significant concentration of anything in one small area.