This is a fairly large library with bright colors and a neat setup. We visited on a Saturday…read moreafternoon and our young girls had the whole children section to themselves. There were puzzle sets, stuffed animals, magnetic tiles, Legos, rocking horse, and a reasonable selection of children's books. The children's book seem a bit "disorganized" because there was one long set of shelves right next to the children's section and then two rows down would be another long set of shelves with more children books. Nonetheless, our girls had a good time and we spent at least an hour there to play and read.

got yelled at as soon as i walked in with my 4 year old daughter for having a water cup. as did my…read morefriend with her 1 year old daughter. we were trying to get our girls so we could take the cups back out to the car and they came up to us again and said even if the water is in the bag it can not be in the building. very rude front desk. if you have small children or even want to enjoy a coffee while studying, i do not recommend. against having drinks, yet they have bottle fill up stations.. doesn't add up.

Beautiful library! The building looks brand new and is very clean and well-kept. Lovely meeting…read moreroom and very friendly staff. Parking is out front and easy to find. Great programming.

We were looking for a rainy day activity & our condo owner suggested the children's area at this…read morelibrary. It was perfect! It was recently remodeled and everything was in pristine condition. The Children's Librarian was super helpful and even printed out some useful information for us. Our kids loved pretending to be on a boat & they also liked the free craft!

I am so thankful for this library. The staff are friendly and always in a great mood. They have…read moreeven ordered things we needed that they didn't have. Materials are usually in top notch shape. They seem to take good care of the cd and dvd collection. There's usually some extra stuff going on at the library. They have a huge community bulletin board of events. Every 2-3 months they host a blood drive, and there is always a craft and a scavenger hunt available for kids. With your library card you also get a limited membership to Hoopla and Kanopy, for digital resources. There is an automatic renewal if no one has reserved the item and a generous grace period.

Nice 2 story library with an online system. Huge children's library, genealogical section, and…read moreplenty of books to choose from. Access to computers. They have book sales every so often. They also hold many events here. Check out the local paper or online to find the recent events being held. If you can't find a specific book, ask. They will try to find it at one of their sister locations and have it sent over and held for you.

This imposing, century-old building stands in the heart of Three Oaks, and houses not only the…read moretown's public lending library; it also contains a bicycle museum and a museum of early 20th century life on the 2nd floor. I've stopped at the library twice in the past week, partly because the library is giving away some older books, but also because the museum areas are so interesting. The building itself was erected about 1898, when the town of Three Oaks clearly had some money. The steps leading up from the front door are marble. As you enter, you see some amazing woodwork and molding along the ceilings, and beautiful chandeliers that hang in the public library. It really looks more like a rich man's private library than a public building. On the 2nd floor, accessible by either an elevator or another marble staircase, there is a room of antique bicycles. One two-wheeler dates from around the time of the American Civil War, with wheels made of wood and covered in iron. There is a side-by-side tandem that looks like it was supposed to be a love seat on wheels. There are bikes from the 1920's through the 1970's, including a child's carriage powered by pedals. Down the hall are 3 or 4 rooms that illustrate late 19th-early 20th century life. One shows a parlor, and it contains a female mannequin wearing a lace dress. There is a tool room that contains woodworking tools as well as spinning wheels and the equipment needed to card wool. Beyond that is a huge wall safe that looks like it belongs in a bank. I don't know why that was originally put in; I did not see any signage describing it. On the other side of the 2nd floor, there are computers for public use. We saw a number of 10-12 year old boys working on projects, singly and in pairs. We also saw signs that indicated that the library was running summer school programs. Can't tell you any more about that, other than that the library does seem to be a real community center. Admission is free to the library and its museum exhibits. You're welcome to take some of the free books, but it would be courteous to leave a donation. Beautiful, interesting building that will doubtless impress and fascinate students of architecture and history. It's well worth a visit as you wander the quiet streets of Three Oaks.

This is a great library, better than the St. Joseph one in terms of policies. You can rent up to 50…read moremovies at a time for 2 weeks at no charge, yes 50. At the St. Joseph one you can get 5 for a week and they want to charge you $1 a movie like you don't pay a ton in taxes as a resident. Friendly staff at both places but this is a library that really respects local patrons.

Absolutely love this library. More than once I've come here just to get out of the house and the…read morestaff are always friendly and helpful when I need something. They have awesome renting policies and a really nice selection of books.

I love our library. It's always been one of my favorite stops in St Joe. Reading a real book is so…read moremuch nicer to me than a kindle. It's also a lovely building that is well cared for and has the feel of what a library should be, right down to the brick exterior and interior old beautiful hardwood floors.

I love this public library because I grew up in St. Joe and as a book lover I basically grew up in…read morethe library. I love this library so much I remember loving a series they didn't have all the books for. I contacted the author with the missing books and got about 6 books sent for free to me to donate to the library. The YA series Replica? That's mostly complete because of the author. That's the great thing about loving your local library: you can choose to make it better. I did reading events here as a teen (including being able to spend the night), listened to story time as a child and recieve my first library card here on a school field trip in elementary school. I will always have fond memories of this library. Thank you to librarians everywhere that encourage kids to follow their love for books and never stop reading.

What a nice little library to stumble into while in downtown Valparaiso. I like to visit libraries…read morewhen I'm visiting a new-to-me town, so it was fortuitous that I happened to need to use the john at the same time that I saw the Valparaiso Public Library in the distance. I'm happy to report that the restrooms are clean! And the restrooms are close to the entrance! (Whew!) But more importantly, this library has books. And movies! And magazines! (Remember those?) And it has nice places to lounge and read or work. I posted up at one of those nice places for a while with my laptop, in a quiet nook off in the corner with barstool seating. This particular nook had big windows and plants on the windowsill, which was nice. I was able to connect to the free wifi, and plug my laptop into the library electrical juice. The second floor is mostly the children's floor, but there's also a genealogy center up there, too. The children's / youth area has some fun things to play with, plus computers, games, and, of course, children's and YA books. It's a cozy little place just for kids. This library isn't huge, and it's probably due for an update, but it's a great little library right in downtown Valpo.

My 2 year-old and I visited this library to beat the heat, and we were pleasantly surprised! We…read morewalked in the main entrance to a bustling first floor. Although all the staff were busy, the bright colors in the stairwell made it easy to see the way to the kids' area. Upstairs, there are tons of books, toys, and even a craft station. When we visited, the craft was decorating crayons. The crayons from other kids adorned the walls, and it was so cool to be able to leave our mark while we were traveling from Michigan. We loved all the toys in the play kitchen, but I felt guilty that my son was over there because it was right next to the reading area. So, as other parents were quietly reading to their kids, my little guy was whipping up a 5 course meal with plastic food and utensils. He loved it so much that I couldn't pull him away, so I wish it was a little more separated from the quiet area so kids in both spots can get the most out of their experiences. There are restrooms right next to the play area and an elevator in addition to the stairs. Overall, a great place to hang out with littles on a hot day!

Really nice library. My group used a meeting room which was perfect for our needs. The staff was…read morefriendly. Restrooms were clean. They also offer lots of events at the library.

This is a great place to checkout new release DVD's. If this location is inconvenient, you can go…read moreonline and have any book, DVD, or audiobook shipped to a more convenient Lake County Library location. New release DVD's are due back in a week.

I come here nearly every weekend. I've only been on Saturday and Sunday so I can't comment about…read morethe weekdays, but if you're looking for an easy place to park without a lot of traffic I suggest visiting on Sunday. Just be careful in the parking lot, it's small and no one really seems to pay close attention to their surroundings-I've had a few near misses. Also be aware that on the weekends there's typically one or two homeless people out front. They've never been a problem but if you're uncomfortable about that sort of thing consider this your warning. The main branch is where I typically go. I usually request a few books to pick up and then browse while I'm there. I've never had a problem checking out or waiting in line etc. The staff is friendly enough, not very outgoing in my experience, but friendly and knowledgeable whenever I've interacted with the staff.

Good library to use for students to study.But where the one star goes is the teen room!Being a…read moremature 10 year old seeing the sign that says 12-19 and can't come in.while seeing a 8 year old makes me a bit frustrated.But over all it deserve a 4 star