Super fun for kids. Keeps them entertained and gives them a comfortable place to hang out and read. We will come back for sure. read more

Orange County Public Libraries - Libraries Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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The librarians are pretty cool but the security guard is a rude and judgemental JERK. Today the men's room is out of order and since its a single use bathroom it would be fine at most places to use the women's under extreme circumstances so. I asked. Dimbo the security gives me this weird look and says "uuu cant. That ain't right " ok. AWESOME. Dude if you're reading this you REALLY need to go get your self a big tall glass of CALM DOWN JUICE. How in the Heck did you get your job? Canned by the police force for being a JERK? Then later ten minutes before closing this jerkoff starts HOVERING OVER ME. I'm sorry you hate your job but that us NOBODY ELSES FAULT. Seriously. GROW UP. There are better libraries. read more

Small library with a cool retro look and old fashioned feel. They do what they can here with limited space and resources. First thing you notice here is their heavy steel security doors, like it's a jail. Many have mentioned a homeless problem, but that seems to have lessened since it's peak 3-4 years ago. But they still show up sometimes since they live in nearby Lion's Park. Library has limited areas to sit and read but have a good selection of children's books. They do activities for kids of all ages and families. I feel the staff is extra wary and eyeball everyone too much, like they're expecting something bad to go down at any moment. That feel of this place bothers me. read more

They now have electricity at the study desks. Yea! On the south side each floor has about an 8 foot overhang....I assume to shade the floor below.......unfortunately, owing to sun angle (it's late Aug, about 1pm.) the sun now blasts those white-marble covered overhangs, such that all the users of the study desks must contend with unimaginable glare. It's like sitting on an airport landing strip.....and likely will get worse w/ declining sun angle until Winter Solstice. Basic cr/\p like this was figured out by Greek and Egyptian architects, 1000s of years ago.......but somehow that sailed right by current day library architects. Whoever designed this, designed a what would be an excellent bus terminal. As a library it is a spectacular failure. To the execs @ OC LIbraries - That's what you get for trying to be smarty-pants and hiring starchitects. You've f*-ed up in every way imaginable. Too bad you are government drones and can't be summarily fired from your useless jobs, as you well should be. read more

I loved my time at this library today. It's beautiful and gives the perfect environment to study. One worker there was very helpful introducing us to the library and was extremely nice. I also love the teen study room they have upstairs. There are many outlets in there and lights as well as a fantastic selection of teen books. If you haven't visited this library yet, check it out!! read more

It's right around the corner. They have this awesome story time on Tuesday and Thursday that last about an hour. My kid loves it so much. They read books sing songs dance play with toys and do arts and crafts. read more

Okay, so let me just say, the remodel is nice. The outdoor area is very nice and there is a lot of natural light in the building. That being said... I will never go back. I showed up right when it opened to study for law school finals. I got a study room... for one hour... and it's first come first serve... and the person that showed up after me, approached the librarian 30 minutes before his turn in the other room ended to extend his session, even though I had already asked to be kept in as long as possible, and his was extended and I was kicked out. So that was the first issue I had. The next, is that there were no good alternative desks to study at with my classmate - Unless we wanted to have a giant divider between us or sit in chairs that were basically one inch off the floor. There was a great big table in the teen center, and there was not a single soul inside, but for some unknown reason, the librarians would not allow us inside the teen center??? Not a single soul inside. A giant empty table. And they wouldn't let two girls studying sit at it. Because we weren't teens. Blew my mind. Literally no where else to sit and we still couldn't sit there. The women there were so rude and unhelpful. Literally acted like straight robots. I don't know why they are so pretentious about the teen center, it's a library... it's a desk. If you wanted to keep people out then don't make the teen center the main room attraction of the entire floor. The whole bottom floor is children and then the big tables upstairs are for teens ONLY. Does not make sense. After that I was so floored that I left and went to the Newport Beach library where they are beyond helpful and friendly. Stayed in my study room there for 6 hours. My recommendation is to skip this place, it's overrated, and go to Newport. Ps. 12 minutes in to the library opening, security had to escort a disruptive homeless man out. And there are barely ANY books there. read more

The lady at the front desk was kind and helpful. The computers were fast but oh my goodness the smell!! I would suggest putting some Vicks vapor rub under your nose read more

The librarians are pretty rude. I love that the kids area has a neat area to climb and read books. But my kid is 18 months old and we have always been made to feel unwelcome here. Also, the kids area restroom doesn't have a changing table. read more

It's a quaint little library. The selection is a little limited. There's a massive homeless population here. They tend to keep to themselves though, but they so seem to take a lot of tables inside. One of the saddest things about this place is that a number of the books I checked out had never been checked out before or in decades. On the bright side their books are in great condition. read more

This is my go-to library because I live around the corner. They handle all the inter-library loans I request quickly and happily. I appreciate their reminders about when my next book(s) are due when I check out new ones and I think the library has a great children's book section. I haven't gone yet, but I'd love to take my daughter to their story hour on Tuesdays. read more

As far as libraries go, this one is aesthetically charming given its small size. I come fore the wifi which is free and you get a front row seat of what Costa Mesa has to offer as far as their variety of homeless individuals. You can be replying to emails or reading a book and be greeted by the woman 3 seats down yelling as loudly as possible of the man breathing loudly next to her. Or perhaps by the man who sat down at the computer next to your who is clearly coming down off his meth high and start pulling cigarettes, lighters, and pipes out of his bag as he looks for a pen. ( speak from experiences I've had this week) Again all part of the charm. Luckily there is security and the employees really don't take much cr*p from anybody interrupting the library experience. read more

Not sure if this is a daycare center or a library. Sure, it's beautiful, but with the unsupervised toddlers SCREAMING and RUNNING and BANGING on stuff it is not a library. It is a daycare center with books. Yeah, I know, it is new and everyone is just starting how to figure out how to make it work. Please librarians, enforce the low-noise volumes and keep the kids downstairs in a room. It is nice that the little kids get a free lunch, but having the tables in the foyer creates more noise than is tolerable. The marble walls echo, causing frustration and an inability to study. read more

Yes, there are quite a few homeless people in the library but that is not even one of my complaints. I went there today to get some studying done and not only were there VERY few tables with plugs for your laptop, but I spent nearly 15 minutes trying to connect to their WiFi. Then it was unbearably slow that I just had to leave!! The lady next to me was having the same issue with their WiFi :( I don't think I'll be returning here again! read more

You will find this library comfortable and inviting. So do many homeless people. I'm ambivalent about that. As a library, this is just so-so; relatively small holdings with no particular area of specialty. Since it's part of the Orange County system, that's not so bad; you can get interlibrary loans. The library has a bank of computers, but good luck getting on one of those. The workers are generally friendly, and there's some nice park space nearby, so it's not bad to get some light reading and then laze outside for a while. But if you're a serious researcher or looking for anything very specialized, you might not have much luck. read more

The best part of this library are the hours. It's open every day. The worst part is the fact that it's in a park where a lot of homeless people hang out, and they often frequent the library to use the facilities. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but that's what I think. read more

This library is small. And the staff are very helpful. And the computer are improved . There good variety in the dvd's