I attended a speaking engagement at the Santa Catalina Library in Pasadena and was pleasantly…read moresurprised by its charm. It's a small, quaint library with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The staff was friendly, inviting, and genuinely helpful. The book selection is very good, especially for a neighborhood library. I can easily see this being a wonderful place for guest speakers, children's programs, and other community gatherings. The library has updated computers that make searching for books quick and easy without feeling overwhelming. One of my favorite features was the beautiful décor. Hand-painted book covers line the walls, adding a unique artistic touch and giving the library a special character. It has a very community focus fell. Outside, there are plenty of shaded benches where you can relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Parking is available on the street, and the restrooms are located outside the building. Overall, Santa Catalina Library is a charming community library that feels welcoming and inviting. It's a lovely place to browse for a book, attend an event, or simply spend a quiet afternoon.

Great children's programming and kind staff…read more We attended Bubbleology and it was a fun and educational program for both kids and adults. Library provides little floor pads for children sitting on the ground which is honestly such a luxury! The program finished early so even adults got to take turns standing inside a bubble! World's smallest parking lot. Don't even bother driving in to check for spots. Very hard to back out of because there's a large dumpster. Just get street parking in the surrounding residential area.

Great Arcitecture! I…read morelove visiting older buildings with vintage architecture and I love visiting libraries. Visiting this Library was a great experience. The inside is vibrant, cozy, and clean. The Inside sports very high ceilings, wood floors, and beautiful stained glass windows. They have free Wi-Fi and offer cozy Nooks to read or do work. The ambience throws you back to a period that is reminiscent of times you read about in books during the early 1900s. We stopped by here twice and if I was in the area I would stop by again. They have their own parking lot and there's also street parking. The librarians were very friendly. I am a fan.

Excellent library. Great layout. Even the lighting is fantastic. There is a great sculpture made…read morewith books that gives the library a very nice touch. The staff is friendly and the patrons as well.

Don't sit next to "staff only" in the mystery section if you need to study unless you don't mind…read morenever ending loud conversations. Wonderful library convenient 7 days a week business hours. Fast Internet, modern computers, printers respectful staff.

Wow- is the building almost 100 years old? Built / opened in 1927, when walking into the building,…read moreit feels like you have stepped back in time. Many nearby libraries have undergone major renovations and if you are a fan of older buildings, this would be a place to visit. Within 10 or so steps you can easily find yourself on the next floor - there are 4 floors altogether and the main floor is the 2nd floor. (+) free 3 hour parking (+) reasonable amount of seating in certain areas. Not as much seating amongst books. (+) decent variety of magazines There seems to be constant complaints of the homeless population, but this is typical of any city library. As long as they are respectful, I am OK with that. I hate to rate a public resource low or average, but the experience was mediocre at best. The stairs are very industrial-like and loud and the carpet looks like it could be cleaned. With all the taxes the city of Pasadena collects, there should be more done to preserve its charm.

It was so nice to hear the teachers reading the students a story and being able to enjoy the…read morelibrary space.

It is my favorite library near my house. Always quite and well-maintained. The staffs are polite.read more

I enjoy visiting public libraries whenever I can. Hastings Branch Pasadena Public Library is one of…read moremy favorite library that I visited recently. The Library is very organized and spacious. I stopped by the front desk to apply for a library card. The staff who helped me was a very nice lady. It took less than five minutes to get a card, Voila! There is an adjacent parking lot. Street parking is available too. The kids section looks so cozy. In general, the library has very inviting and relaxing vibes. They have a wide selection of books and genres. Online catalog is available in which you can look for books and place hold on items. The staff will notify you when the book is available. You can check out up to one hundred items total. This includes books, DVD's , Music CD's , board games, video game, and steam kit. The library also offers E- Books , E- Audio Books, E-Resources of magazines, music, TV shows & movies. As it is said "Books are uniquely portable magic". So, if you are planning to spend a quality time with a portable magic, Hastings Branch Pasadena Public Library is your perfect destination.

Library services in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California…read more.. Since I had some time, I wanted to check out a public library and do some reading. Hastings Branch Pasadena Public Library had good reviews, so I drove over. The small parking lot was free, but the access was a bit challenging. The left turn into the driveway was kind of awkward. When I got to the front door, there was a sign that said they were currently closed for renovations. Shucks. I peeked in the windows and it looked like a pleasant environment. Even the grounds outside were welcoming! I'll return in a couple of months!

A sweet little spot that time forgot, with books on everything from Balinese Culture to gnomes and…read morethe occult. It is a reading room where you may sit and immerse yourself in a book for an hour or two. They are open from 2 PM until 4:30 PM, but I'm not sure if it is weekdays only or includes weekends.

Great library for anyone interested in Theosophy Hinduism, Buddhism, esotericism, etcread more

Super small but cool library in the Villa Parke Community center. It has a small computer lab, copy…read moremachines, a couple of desks and some new book releases too. Hacob and Renado are both very friendly and helpful. I imagine this to be a good place to do some reading, studying and research. Its on the second level and inside the community center. Being a bookworm, I naturally love this library.

Classic library. I am sure you could find all the books you want in this library! Worth to…read morespend a day here just to read and enjoy the building. Great for retired people to spend time here as well as students to find a place to study. It's near Pasadena old town so that you could go have lunch or dinner afterwards.

Great space for teens and children in the community! The old school is perfect for the additional…read morerooms to put library materials.

Wonderful children's library with lots of books, activities, games, and weekly programming. They…read moreeven had lovevery playlist to borrow. Great place to spend time during hot days this summer. Very impressed with the healthy lunches too with actual fruit and veggies.

I also have had issues with the story time and children's area. Story times are way too strict…read moreconcerning how the 1-2 year olds behave during these timse and in general at the library. The story time begins at 9:30am, a half hour before the library opens, which is nice. But then the librarians won't let our baby crawl into any other section other than the kid section even though the library isn't even open to the public yet. And since they don't want to sit still during story time we then have to leave. A would also support the librarians getting some training on how handle the baby and toddler population.

This library in theory should be a great place for kids to hang out. They have a kids section, it's…read morea beautiful new space and kids programming. However they don't let the kids and babies act like kids and babies. They get agitated when the babies come for storytime and touch the toys during it. They get agitated when they crawl and don't sit still. They built a fountain at baby/toddler height and get agitated whenever a child touches the water. It's clear these librarians have no sense of what children are and it makes the programming impossible to take advantage of. I think some education on how children learn and behave would be very good for all librarians who run the story times. And some overall assessment and discussion of what truly benefits kids and families and how to make it more family driven is needed. RESPONSE TO RESPONSE: The safety of patrons is not threatened by crawling babies. It might benefit you to send your staff to the Jefferson branch to see an example of a storytime that allows children to be children. Also I would argue your chief concern is the comfort of the librarians as children are definitely not made uncomfortable by other mobile children. I have never seen hitting or any child to child violent act so not sure why making sure children stay unmoving and not touching any of the visible toys is necessary. Again, other libraries which I imagine are under same guidance have succeeded, so maybe worth an educational visit.