This is without a doubt, the worst library I've been to, including school libraries and even the Lake Hazel branch, which doesn't even bother to organize their books.
My cousin and I went to the Collister library to do some simple things, mainly pick up a couple games, movies, books, and use the computers to watch some things on youtube and play a few online games. Unfortunately, their selections were very bizzarely put together, with many collections split in half with each half located in seperate parts of the library. We moved on, finding a few games and movies, most of which had broken cases because the library couldn't be bothered to fix them. I'd excuse that if it weren't for the rest of my experience. We then moved on to the computers, where instead of simply logging in like in almost any other library in Boise, we had to go and ask for a sign up sheet only to find that there isn't one, and the person who told me such seemed so confused I wouldn't be surprised if it was that employee's first day. We got on the computers once we recieved permission, and attempted to play simple flash based games for a minute to relax. Unfortunately, you can tell the computers were in no way maintained due to the fact that everything from the operating system to the browser had clearly not been updated for several years, I'd guess it had been ten years since the last OS update.
That's another thing. Their computers were Macs. Unlike every other library I've ever been to.
Not only that but it appeared that there was no flash system even installed on the computer, giving the impression that they bought the computers, changed the wallpaper, and didn't bother to do anything else for setup. We tried to watch a video on youtube, but the WiFi was so horrible that we weren't able to get past the first second of the video.
Obviously the computers were wasting our time.
We moved on to checkout. I didn't have my card with me, so in order to check out, I tried to use the self checkout, as all you normally have to do is put in your Library card number. Their self checkouts, however, were even worse than their computers, as the entire device began to glitch and refuse to let me check out, after accepting my number into the system. We waited at the front desk for ten minutes because the staff of the library was having a relaxed conversation on the other side of the building, before someone finally came to help us, only to tell me that that library requires either a physical library card or a driver's license in order to check out, whether you have your number or not. Even if you provide your Library ID, your PIN, your birthday, your name, your phone number, and your address, they can't verify that you are you unless you have a photo ID. This basically means most teenagers are very limited in checkout, as they must carry a card that can be stolen instead of using an ID they can memorize.
Overall this is the worst experience I've ever had at any library, and if I had the power to close it I would. If you want to use a library, the Boise Main Library, the Hillcrest Branch, and even the low budget Ada Victory Branch are far superior. I will not be returning to the collister branch and I do not advise you to. read more
