I spent many a happy hour here as a child, being as I was, OBSESSED with reading 7 books a week…read more Not sure what happened to me. Probably because I only read boring economics tomes now I've been jaded. I must return and pay my fines sometime.

Widnes Library has a wide range of current, relevant books on offer. Seating is plentiful, and it…read morehas a café which sells cheap tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and food, overlooking an LCD TV. There are crêche facilities avaliable, and regular tuition groups in spanish, guitar and other skills. The childrens library is large, and it is designed specifically for children in mind, with a lots of books, toys and a relevant colour scheme. There are computers on the top and bottom floor, each with a relatively uncensored access to the internet.

What a beautiful old building; up the steps and inside it's a little musty and only a small room,…read morebut nevertheless it's dedicated to books of all genres. I noted the main sections were seemingly quite fitting to village life, from hobbies, to cookery and gardening. Anyone a fan of Delia? She features here plenty. They also had a great little history section and the fiction wound it's way around the outside of the room- lots of choice here but if you're a frequent visitor and a fast reader you may need to travel further afield to find something new!

Helpful staff and good selection of books! old building with lots of history and great information…read moreof the history of woolton

The Library has just undergone a refurb. Sadly in…read moremodernising it it's lost it's stately feel. Users now no longer seem to respect the library Quietness and it now has the feel of a supermarket were people speak at full volume. I think the library has lost a lot. Maybe the new open feeling is what people want and they don't want libraries to be quite places any more.

Very helpful staff. Didn't have a few books in that I…read morewanted but they ordered them for me, took two weeks as one was very new so popular so was understandable. It would be nice if there was better parking facilities. Its relaxed and easy to use the new book check in and out system.

I lived on Stratford Road a fifteen minute walk from Garston Library. In 1963 I was 13 and was able…read moreto move from the junior to the senior library. The first book I borrowed there was Nancy Wake by Russell Braddon. It had no dust jacket, just a black cover with the title and author on the spine. Later when I was 15 I borrowed Three Lives for Mississippi by William Bradford Hughie. Reading this book changed my life in so many ways. I have a lot to be thankful to that library for.

wonderful helpful service from the lovely Nick today. I…read moreneeded a lot of help with logging on the computer and accessing the printer. Nothing was to much for him. I went back to him time and again to ask questions and he was very generous with his help and time always happy and cheerful. Thank you so much Nick you are an asset to Garston library .

Allerton Library is at the end of all the shops on Allerton Road. A busy little library that you…read morecan walk around in about 1 minute. Small it might be but 100% better than Childwall Library which has definitely seen better days. Allerton Library is modern (it isn't dated on the inside) and well equipped with a computer suite, tables to sit and work or discuss the challenges of the day at and as you would guess many many books. The library is very accessible with a long ramp up to the entrance. There is no waiting about to take your books out, as if you are registered, you can take them out via the self service machine. The opening hours are pretty good Monday to Wednesday, but go a bit down the pan on the remaining days. Longer opening hours on these days would be good, or maybe that is just me - I guess it cannot hope to be a 24hr tesco's.

I may have mentioned this before, but bookshops and libraries make me need the loo if I'm in there…read moretoo long. Something about the bookshelves just makes me wanna go.... Anyway, this is not aided, in the case of Allerton library, by the smallness of it and hence the additional feeling of claustrophobia. From the exterior the building looks shabby and practically abandoned. Inside, it's a little gloomy. Chances are, they've refurbished it since I last went in (at least 5 years ago) but there's a good chance they haven't. Having been somewhere I went to almost on a weekly basis as a kid, I can't imagine it being that inviting in its current state. Still, like I say, it might been brought up to date. Some of the books definitely needed replacing and a few extra staff wouldn't have been a problem. Despite all this, it's a nice enough place for small family outings, and less formidable than the huge main library in town.

I used to live opposite this library, and although I've only been in it once, my flatmate was in…read morehere all the time and loves it. Though small, it has a good selection of sections (try saying that when you're drunk!) and, I'm told, a fantastically well-stocked graphic novel section. I've also been reliably told that out of every book picked up in the 'Suggested Reading' section, my flatmate has never read a bad one and thinks it's faultless. I just like the fact that you have a suggested reading part to a library, as if you walk into a massive room filled with books and not know what you want to read so much so that you need to go to a specific part of the library to look at suggestions. Surely that's as daft as the 'suggested serving' pictures on the front of food packaging?

Childwall Library is pretty ok and I think the staff are doing a good job. It is a little tired to…read moresay the least, but cute in a funny sort of way. If you compare it to Allerton Library not too far down the road, it makes it look even worse. However, despite what it looks like, it serves the community well and does have a purpose, with a computer suite and a good selection of books. A small plea to Liverpool Council to hurry up with the modernisation of the building... There is a good bit of parking so you don't need to worry about fighting off neighbours to find a place to park.

Provides a gym, library, swimming pool, bar and a community centre all under one roof.read more

From the exterior, Old Swan Library certainly doesn't look like a library with it's Victorian black…read moreand white features. It was only when I noticed its sign that I realised. Well, this library is definitely one of the smallest I've ever visited but has quite a modern look about it, featuring free Internet access as well as an adequate variety of books to suit all ages. This library is well laid out, there are bright lights, several tables and a couple of helpful staff at the reception. There's not much more to it than that I suppose, although one thing which struck my attention was the amount of north west tourist leaflets on the front desk. At one point, it felt like I was in a tourist information centre! Old Swan Library is a pleasant place for a relaxing read or study but because of its size, it doesn't offer a huge range of resources but I guess it doesn't necessarily have to if you're not looking for anything in specific.

As a local teacher in Old Swan, I cannot praise Old Swan library highly enough for all of the work…read morethat they do with our local school children. I recently took my class of Year 3s to the library where we were given a wonderful session on research and each child was presented with a library ticket. Reading is such a wonderful gift to be given in life and my pupils were enthused and delighted with their library tickets and by meeting the friendly and helpful librarians. A substantial number of children have returned to the library to complete research for a recent topic. This is a wonderful library with first class staff who are a real asset to our local community. Well done Old Swan library!