Although I'm a resident of North Berkeley, I use this library far more often than the North Berkeley branch and the Central Downtown Berkeley library.I've been attending the Albany branch library for about 15 years, when I lived in Albany, El Cerrito, and now Berkeley.
Here's what I like about this library:
I like the library's circulation, the speedy service on the holds, the ever-expanding DVD and music acquisitions, and the availability of internet access (although more on that below). Most of the staff are usually friendly and helpful. Parking is great - ample around the area and in the lot, rarely have to wait for a parking place. Good hours - I love that they are now open Sunday afternoons!
Here's what I don't like about this library:
There are a few of the staff who are consistently abrupt when you ask them a simple question, and one or two of the women staff members who work the reference desk speak to patrons in unneccessarily loud voices, have long chats with them in the center part of this very small library, and their voices can be heard from every corner of the library - which for me is often distracting and annoying when I'm trying to read or work there.
Partly due to the design of the building, the poor sound-proofing of the walls or something, but mainly due to the small size of the library, it is often very loud, even chaotic. There are many activities for children, and children are allowed to use all the computer terminals, despite having several available in the children's area, and often if I come to the library after 3pm I cannot get on a computer terminal to access internet, and have to wait quite a while.
I think it would make sense to have a few more terminals for the children to use in the childrens section, and leave the other main ones for the adults. Very often the children are not respectful of the few basic library rules for quiet, only one-person-per-computer, and 'no games', and they have to be repeatedly reminded of this by the librarian - it gets annoying very quickly.
Another reviewer stated that the library is very clean - I have to disagree on this one. I've never seen the computer areas clean. The mouses and keyboards often feel sticky, appear dirty, and the surrounding area does not look like it gets a good wipe-down every evening, which is what's needed, for as much traffic as they get. The bathrooms are also usually dirty (sinks), and lots of paper thrown around.
Another minor annoyance, is that there are hardly ever any little golf pencils near the computers, along with the scratch paper, for people to jot things down as they use the computer. They seem to have a few slips of paper around, but it's rare that I can locate a pencil. If people keep stealing them, they should replace them -- I doubt they're expensive!
Another annoyance is the way they have people line up for check-out; the line crosses the center traffic route in and out of the library. People are instructed to line up rather awkwardly at a 'sign post' near the small DVD perusing area, and it gets jammed up very quickly when the library is busy. I've never been able to figure out why they don't have people line up alongside the counter, or around near the self-checkout machine, or somewhere else where it isn't so awkward.
On nights when they have family-children events, it's very busy, and the check-out line near closing time gets even more chaotic; they then don't even let people just go to the self check-out machines, but insist everyone wait in line even to use those.
They say it's efficient that way, but I don't see the efficiency, just a longer line snaking around in front of the DVD's, and in front of the door where the events let out.
One final grievance: I don't know who their computer tech company is, but whoever it is doesn't seen to be really on top of things, because the computers have trouble very often - people can't log on, they can't access major websites, they can't retrieve their messages or word documents, or the internet connection is just agonizingly slow. I haven't had this experience as consistently at any of the other area libraries (El Cerrito, Berkeley, Kensington.)
I only wish they were somehow able to expand the space; that would take care of the noise problem. read more
