Suburban H-town libraries - 2 of 2 - Far north end…read more If any library review needs a tag line, it's this one - the Kingwood Branch Library. As you drive up to it and park, it may portend disappointment, but "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover." Let me explain. Kingwood is a master planned community that has some cachet, containing many named and themed neighborhoods, and it is the farthest northeasterly tentacle of the city of Houston. However, as you approach this library, you are looking at the short side of a big rectangle. The library entrance is reached by following a trellised path down its side. Then, when you turn and enter the library, you finally realize it's a substantial two level facility. Most of the key areas in the Kingwood Branch Library are upstairs. This would include the stacks, open study areas with tables, study rooms, computers, and very comfortable lounge-like reading areas, the latter of which will not be suitable for "lounge lizards." Downstairs, one finds circulation, a children's area, community rooms, restrooms, and even a used bookstore. However, with its high ceilings and big windows, the upstairs makes for a very likable place to be. With Kingwood branding itself as the "livable forest," the windows bring in the abundant verdant aspects of this area and, even if ridiculously hot outside, provide a soothing feeling inside. This is a fitting library for this relatively newer area. The staff at this library is very helpful. They were on point with helping me with my low maintenance needs ... and did so with a smile! Another thing to note is a bureaucratic issue that might confuse some. Since it is within the city of Houston proper, one might think it's a branch of the Houston Public Library (HPL). It is not, although there are many HPL branches. Instead, the library in Kingwood is part of the Harris County Public Library system. That said, some of the libraries in H-town will be HPL libraries, while others in the city, and in nearby municipalities, will be in the Harris County Public Library system. They are not one and the same.

Love the library here in Kingwood. It's clean, the staff is awesome and always willing to help…read moreothers. They have a nice children's area and a spacious quiet room upstairs to work or study. Right when you walk in they have a books store where you can scroll through so many hard to find titles. Reminds me of my days of hanging out in a Half Price Book Store location. They also have a drive thru for book returns. How cool is that. Not sure if other locations have this, the only one I've seen was the Freeman Library in Clear Lake when I lived there. It is open post Covid and they do have their hours and contact info updated on their website. I was looking for a quiet place to get some work done and do some reading. I am so glad I decided to swing by to see what's new here.

A gem of a library tucked on a quiet neighborhood street. There's a good range of books for all…read moreages, fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, etc. Staff is friendly and helpful. Not only is it free to visit the library and check out books, internet is free as well as printing services. You can also reserve a private room if needed. The AC is also cold and strong. Support your local library!

Library itself is small but I like the programs offered. We tried the kingwood children's story…read moreand activity time and this library is way way way better than kingwood. Registration is required unlike kingwood because it's usually full class. But walk ins are accepted and usually taken as many no shows. 10 am Thursday is the over 2 years old, and I believe there is an under 2 afterwards at around 11. Teachers here are much better organized than at kingwood.

I had heard about this place being a little far from Houston, but it wasn't too bad. It took me…read moreabout 30 minutes in the middle of day, but I had to make an appointment the day before and they asked me when I was coming for. I actually needed a quiet place to study that was away from my home because my husband works from home so I picked this place. When you get to the gate, you have to call them and then they confirm that it's you they let you in and then there's a designated parking area which has a lot of spaces. They also check your ID once you walk into the library and then give you a sticker. After that you are good to go and study wherever you want. I even walked around the grounds for a little bit on my way out. It looks very English countryside, even though I've never been to the English countryside. I think this is what it would look like. Library is beautiful and clean and temperature is perfect. Everyone working there is extremely friendly and it's such a beautiful place.

Beautiful! Nice atmosphere and staff, very peaceful to read and study. The theology classes are…read moregreat!!

We used to go here regularly when my child was in toddler time but that was about 8 years ago, and…read moresince the flood happened, the library has been in a smaller tree house along inside of the garden, and is now on the side of the welcome building at the Mercer Botanical garden. I agree with the other reviewer that's that they feel sorry for the librarians who work here because they really don't have a library that they can call home. They are such sweet women and although they don't have a huge selection of books, because of limited space, they are able to request and hold books for you at this location. It is a great place to stop by and also go to the garden. They have sheets that have pokemon scavenger hunts along the garden and other fun things that you can do. I really enjoy it. I just wish they had a larger location and weren't crammed into such a small space. I will continue to visit and support our local library, but I wish it was on par with the other libraries in Spring/ The Woodlands/ Houston.

I went to vote early, and I wound up circling the small parking lot and went back home. The parking…read moreis a joke, seriously it is. There wasn't that many people standing in line and all of the parking spots were gone.

I registered for me and my Children to get library cards here for the summer. This library is super…read morenice and spacious. They have books, DVDs,Computer Programs, and many more for all ages. They have the books sorted by category such as sports, history, colors, and just so much more. You are allowed to check out 30 books at once. We checked out about 20. After we picked our books, the kids wanted to play. They have a play area with toys where kids can play together, mingle and meet new friends. It was a great experience.

Took my two twin two year old nephews. Has many kid friendly toys we played with and checking their…read morebooks out was very easy. Highly recommend.

My daughter and I always enjoy coming here. From the morning story times for babies and toddlers to…read morethe afternoon activities for all age groups even to watch movies. We can find something fun here to do always although it's a library. They have a website that you can go on to see the library activities and it's for most of the libraries in the woodlands area. As with all libraries they have different sections for each age groups, downstairs is for the young kids and pre teens and upstairs is for older and adults. They have sitting areas in the lobby where we'll have our snacks. We come here on school holidays and days off to chill and relax read a few books and play. The toddlers love it here, with the play kitchen and mats with blocks and puzzles. They also have baby dolls and cribs for them to play and interact. Adequate seating area for parents to watch their kids and even to grab a book and read while they play. For me it's half hour away from home but it's always worth the drive.

I've been to this library ~3 times now. It's always been a good experience and the staff has been…read morenice every time I've talked with them. It's usually pretty busy on the weekend. I've only checked out books - so I can't speak for all of their services, but I've had a good experience every time. I wish the library was a bit bigger & had a slightly bigger selection but I understand that this is just a satellite location. Overall 10/10 library

Easy parking and easy in and out. We came about 45 minutes before closing and didn't feel rushed…read more There were a good selection of books and they had a tray of puzzles but other than that I didn't really see a lot of kids things to do but expected more other than that it was an easy library to go to.

One of the staff helped me and he was very friendly today, as well as the security woman…read more Unfortunately it lacks a lot of open indoor seating, and some spaces were unclean. Though all in all, it's a nice quiet space to relax or study sometimes and is nearby a school, Walgreens, Kroger and strip mall district for nearby access to other stores. Truly the kindness of the two people I spoke to though push the review to a 4 instead of a 3 for me personally.

Excellent library!! They also allow non-Rice students to enter which is nice (just need to present…read morephoto ID) with guest WiFi. Plenty of study spaces with outlets. They even have a seed garden! (Can take 3 seed packets per person). Very cool!

My go-to study spot on campus as a Rice student! They stopped being 24/7 since the pandemic (sad),…read morebut still a solid place to work. It gets quieter as you go higher up in the building, so adjust your sound levels accordingly.