I attended a free Chinatown Food Tour conducted by the North Beach Branch head librarian Mr Lee. It was free. There were free food samples along the way! What a delightful surprise! As we walked along, we learned about Chinatown history and also historical Chinese food facts. Attendees on this walk/tour came from all over the City. The two hours flew by! What was great was: people were chatting with each other; the stories we heard were quite fascinating; and Mr. Lee was a lively & fun personality. Plus the snacks! This might have been an inaugural event / tour for adults as a new activity for the NB Library. If it is, I'd say it was a winner! read more

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U should find good outlets for your time ..come hang out spend time ..read ..write ..be positive ..the war is over but the struggle is real usa..don't get it read more

The story times are always amazing . very fun and interesting! Thank you for proving such a fantastic programs for the younger kids . read more

Tiny library in north beach. Open 7 days so we can get in on Sunday! Although it is small, it has everything including a bathroom. I saw people was using computer there. Located next to the playground/sport field with good view to Coit Tower and Salesforce building. read more

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We did the free walking tour with the library. The tour guide Richard was full of Northbeach history and very funny. It could be a bit shorter / faster. We highly recommend read more

This is a really quaint and beautiful library, maybe one of most charming in the city, with nooks and a mezzanine. It's airy, bright, and glassy. But the employees are really nasty to certain people. They seem to think they're all that for working at the North Beach Library, in the historic and affluent North Beach neighborhood. They can be rude, unrelenting, and immature to certain types of patrons, and that's the same as everywhere in the city. Go here if you belong to groups that are desirable in this city, and don't go here if you're the type that looks like you "belong" elsewhere. read more

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked" Howl by Allen Ginsberg I recently went on a pilgrimage to the North Beach Branch Library walking all the way from SoMa on a sunny December afternoon. I walked past Jack Kerouac Alley & past City Lights through the heart of North Beach past heaps of Italian restaurants & city streets that ascended high as skyscrapers. The North Beach Branch Library is fairly small yet they have some good programs. In Fact today was a two hour presentation on Beat Cinema focusing on how the writers of the Beat Generation used Cinema to influence their writing. There is a Poetry Reading here every Tuesday from 6:30-8pm focusing on internationally renowned poets & also showcases local talent. I went to the 800 section of books where the poetry books lie looking for a copy of Allen Ginsberg's Howl yet found none. I was bummed. Ginsberg wrote his famous poem Howl in North Beach & read it at the famous Gallery Six reading here. It fought censorship & was published by City Lights Books a short walk from here. I was delighted as I further explored the library to find four large book shelves of Beat literature as this section was called the Beat Collection. They had almost every Jack Kerouac book ever written & decided to pick up the 50th Anniversary of Dharma Bums where Gary Snyder is the inspiration to this book as Neal Cassidy was for Kerouac's classic On the Road. I also picked up Howl & Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg along w/ Fast Speaking Woman by Anne Waldman. I am a proud graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, CO that was co-founded by Jack Kerouac & Anne Waldman in the 1970s. I took some classes w/ Waldman during my studies there & consequently wrote some of my best poetry in her classes. The Beat Collection at this library is easily the crest jewel of this library & rightful so feel that this branch deserves five stars for that alone as it is quite a collection for those who have an appreciation for Beat Literature. It is quite a walk from the Embarcadero BART station yet feel it is worth it for reasons mentioned. read more

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I am so glad to have such a great library in my neighborhood. I utilize the printer often.

The futuristic library is clean, well lit with more tables for laptops. The children and teen sections are separate. Lots of DVDs and magazines. read more

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Hubby and I did a long walk from Market to Fishermans Wharf back to Market, exploring our changing city and reminiscing how it was as natives when we only had 600k to over 800k residents now. It does feel more congested. Even our kid is complaining it is more crowded. We were across the street when I told hubby I wanted to look at the library as it was where I spent my school age years and early teen years hanging out on Saturdays browsing thru the stacks looking for books to read. I haven't been back to see the new building. It is a lot smaller than I recall and so few adult books. The librarians were all women then and now they are all men. There is a child section then a teen section. Hardly any tables. Upstairs was a conference room. Women's bathroom with 2 stalls which one was handicap access. The building looks smaller as if some of the space was used to create a nice stair case outside. The playground has a nice children's area and I can still see a tennis court and basketball court. Today, it is no longer the old, spacious library of yesteryears I would hangout in. So sad. read more

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I did not grow up in the city, but I have been living here for almost 10 years. Recently I moved to this neighboorhood and started coming to this library. I have no idea how great the old one was, but I am totally cool with the new one. I can always find a seat whenever I come in. The wifi was fast and stable (still remember the awful days when all the libraries' wifi were super slow and you cant even connect to it sometimes). I also find that this one has better ventilation compared to most of other sf libraries I have been to. This is a huge plus to me. At other libraries I alwasy feel sleepy, likely due to the lack of oxygen. This one it's not. The librarians were nice too. They would say hi to you if you are the first ones to walk in when they open. The only one thing I don't like is the hours. Uggg, why they are so short? The facility is so great, why not fully utilize it? Likely due to budget problems. Well, if you already put in that much of money to rebuild it, why not.... I have no idea. read more

The good thing about this library is that you can always fine a good seat to work with your computer. Internet speed is blazing fast. I still remember the horrible speed before they remoded the library. Their staff is friendly as well. The bad thing is that the their tables and chairs are smelly. Even though they look clean, but you will find yourself surrended by a strong smell when you sit down. Yes, this is a public library and everyone can come in to use the facility here. But, can you guys wipe clean the tables as well? That would be so nice if the librarians can do this too instead of just sitting there and doing nothing. Also, the library hour is kinda short compared to other branches. It's not like no one is using it, why keep it so short? I don't understand. Despite all the negatives, I still like this library. read more

This library is a HUGE improvement over the old north beach branch. It is two stories, with two separate sections so children and teens have their own space. There are plenty of desks and computer terminals, as well as a table of iPads which are set up so you can read hundreds of different daily newspapers in just about any language. There is a community meeting room upstairs. This beautiful library is a great addition to North Beach. read more

North Beach Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Where is the "like" button on this thing? Just kidding. Yes, the latest newest library is LEAPS and BOUNDS above the old NB one. My likes: *Picking up your books, dvds, etc. and checking them out yourself. *The new floor plan *Soaring ceilings *Clean and new furniture and floors *More public computers and different rooms. *Love the fun colors in the kids' area. *Staff seems much happier in new digs. My not so great likes: *Bland and blank taupe stone tiles chosen for the exterior. A missed opportunity for color, mosaics, something to jazz up the building facade. The building lacks a distinct character / personalty as it could be from any town. We are in vibrant North Beach. Why so conservative? *Poor planting plan. Why are there trees only on the Columbus side? And what about the weird plaza area on once formerly Mason Street? Will it become a temporary staging area for the future construction of the Joe DiMaggio Playground? It looks unfinished and awkward. Another missed opportunity to frame an important view corridor and provide more pedestrian scaled amenities or be inviting to walk through. *Same books. With the infusion of $ to build a new building, it would have been nice to add newer books to this branch. *Interior feels smaller than previous branch even though it's a couple of times bigger... This bibliophile is still pretty happy. read more

I feel like this library would be great towards children and teens because there's a lot of children and teenagers there. Also, lots of manga. read more

Have been coming to this library since birth, literally for 23 yrs. My dad used to bring me here as an infant. Not sure how I feel about the new renovations. Sorta, kinda disappointed. I personally feel like they could of utilized the space better, especially for the 2nd floor upstairs which doesn't have much to offer (which is odd because there's a huge staircase leading there = waste of space). Instead of having a several really small work/study spaces (more like hidden corners) spread throughout the library, they could have a couple of larger, more airy spaces that would have been easier to find. On the bright side, they do offer more computers now. This goes to show not everything new is improved. Looks shmancy from the outside, but didn't find it to be practical on the inside. I guess this is what's becoming of San Francisco. Okay, I'm done. read more

It's a nice bright library. I agreed with other reviewers saying the library is very small. I hate the homeless smell inside the library and restroom. The chairs and area were dirty in kids area. The computers were covered with dust. One thing I like is large selection of books. read more

Nice library, but one of the loudest places I've ever been, especially the "quiet" "study" room.

The new facility is good, but the other libraries might be better. They cut off a majority of the library for the teens and children, and there is not much table space at all. The upstairs is mostly for other things and is generally nothing without an event. The mens' restroom only has one urinal so you will have to wait awkwardly outside as the other person finishes their duties. However, it is still better than the old building which didn't have a restroom. read more

A wonderful sanctuary with books. It has a pretty small selection of books, but I am so grateful that it exists. Bathroom is very clean and much more accessible than the old North Beach library. The automated check-out machines are convenient, too. However, I really I miss seeing Posey, who was a really sweet and happy employee in the old branch- any idea where she went?? read more

they obnoxiously funnel bad music/random noise loudly out to columbus street. the irony of a library being the loud ones on the street doesn't escape me. they purposely play the weirdest shlt possible (e.g. people talking excitedly in a different language, cars honking, indian music), like they're a modern art museum and starting something new. when they're just starting something f7cking obnoxious/being as creepy as possible. message: "WE OWN THIS BLOCK B8TCHES and you'll listen to any weird shlt we want to play from our useless outdoor speakers!" I don't see how this could possibly attract children. read more

I really like this library. I don't know what the old branch here used to be like, but this one has a little bit of everything you want, and then some. I think the size of the library (relatively small) makes it more welcoming, and homey. There is a great selection of books, movies, comic books, and periodicals, and the tables are always full of students or people reading, and studying. I can't say enough about how great this library is, and a change of pace from the other libraries in San Francisco. read more

Very nice books and is very helpful. Great place to stop by and read. Also has many computers so if you don't have Internet access you can stop by and use one of them read more