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Hi there all you Durham residents. Am looking to relocate there and love libraries. In your opinion, which library do you love for fiction and non fiction? I was in the main library and was not impressed, although there were alot of books I would have loved to take out, the interior was kinda depressing. I didn't see any comfy chairs or a place I would want to stay for awhile. Didn't get to any of the branches, so am asking you: which library do you frequent and why? Thanks for your help !
My favorites are the Southwest and South Regional Libraries. They are both new facilities (SW was renovated, S was a new build). They are clean, organized, and have nice places to sit and read. I've heard that the East and North Regionals are equally nice, but I've never visited them.
The branch on Shannon Road is realllllly nice. I don't know if that is Southwest or South Regional. I agree, the main library was really old and not very welcoming.
I think one reason the downtown (main) one is "less than welcoming" is that due to its location, they get a lot of "urban population" who hang out in the library for reasons other than using its services (so I was told by someone who worked there). So they would want to discourage places for folks to "hang out".
LOL, far from it. What is meant is that due to its location in the downtown area, you'll have your homeless people, people with drug problems, unemployed people, people with nothing else to do, lower income individuals who lack home internet and just overall shady looking folks frequenting the library and hanging out outside.
However, this is extremely common in most urban areas with downtown main branches. (I'm from Baltimore and the Newark, NJ area and its the same story there).
The difference with Durham is that they keep a tight lid on any funny business going on there. I go there all the time with my kids and so do plenty of other people of various socio-economic backgrounds and I've never felt uneasy at all. There's an armed security officer there and just overall everybody minds their business. Nobody's panhandling appearing mentally unstable to make me feel uneasy.
Also, another reason it isn't so welcoming is that it seems to be in need of a major remodeling. The decor is really blah looking compared to the other branches. I think the other branches were in more dire need of renovations than Main.
Another thing I wanted to add is that even though I don't really care too much for the Main branch, my kids LOVE it for the book selection they have. Also the dvd selection is pretty good in that they always find something interesting. They aren't into welcoming and ambiance like the OP. When the South Regional branch opened, I honestly thought I would never step foot in Main again (that's what reservations are for). However, the kids soon found out that South was seriously lacking in the juvy book department. So from then on when they begged to go to the library, it was and still is Main all.the.time.
I agree with all the previous posts..most of the library branches are good. I actually loved the downtown one for their children's section & how it reminded me of my childhood library. That being said, SW is nice...selection of kids books is sad as well as music but their adult section seems fine. The North Regional is also recently redone & has a great selections of kids audio & DVD (the best I have seen) as well as adult. If you really wanted to you could become a "member" at Orange County libraries for a fee also and they have some nice places I have heard.
South Regional & North Regional have the exact same design and layout. I think East Regional has the same layout as well. The county was saving money with architectural design. SW & North Regional Regional has great children's programs. South has some but I feel SW and North does a better job of their children's offerings.
Oddly enough you will find the libraries that check out the most books or items per customer do not always have the most books on hand. I believe space wise the main library still has more storage space and shelf space. However, it is very easy to reserve a book and have it sent to your preferred location. It does seem like 7 times out 10 the book we want has to be sent to South Durham Regional (our closest) from another location. But again it does not take long for this process.
For hanging out and enjoying the library I prefer the SW Regional Library. It's design is a little more comfy than the South, North, East version. I also think the SW staff is the friendliest.
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