I came here with my husband and kids to kill some time and expend some energy before nap time for free. It was a good time! The children's playroom is a bit small but contained which is very helpful for toddlers. They have a toy doll house, barn, and kitchen along with some dinosaurs, trucks, and blocks. They also have a good selection of Disney and Pixar books which my son loved. I also saw a bunch of private study rooms, an auditorium for events, and what appeared to be a good selection of adult books. read more

Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library - Separate children's playroom - Libraries Near Me - Plainview, New York

Library renovation looks terrible! Still no Cafe replacement. Outside stand-alone book return box still not replaced!

Plainview Old bethpage library in conjunction with the Town of Oysterbay (Joseph Saladino and the Town Board) presenting the Distinguished Artist Library Concert Series 2024-2025 tonight had a finale performance of The Day Trippers melding and transforming into and with The Come together band. The former, playing Beatles songs to a full house auditorium. The five musicians today consisted of Singer Camille Fiato, Joel Levine on Bass, Mike Borkan, Rhythm Guitar, Bill Brady, lead guitar and Harmonica, and last but not least Rob Perrotta on Drums. Favorites as Yellow submarine, Ob- La- de Ob-La- da life goes on, Hey Jude, and a variety of Beatles love songs were in the mix. They very professionally did a sound check and warm up before start of the show ( Pop-tarts the key word of the night, for those who caught it) As for entering- Note: this one needed-tickets which I'm told all were taken the first day. Also: the library closes at 5:30pm with no allowance of entry for people, into the lobby, until after 6 pm. Communication being a key here; we were able to get 2 tickets ( as someone had turned them back in) and have entrance to our seats. {tx Andrea}Having music inherit down through the family line Joel's son Jake also plays lead guitar and he and his wife and son are playing and perform at Christopher's , a restaurant in Huntington next Friday night. read more

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I enjoy POB library very much! Staff always pleasant and helpful. I also love the Libby app which I often use to borrow books to read on my phone. read more

Went to this library today because the one I usually go to was closed for the Holiday and I was so beyond disappointed in the noise level in the library. From the people visiting to the librarians, everyone was so loud I was unable to focus or get any work done. There were no available study rooms either and I got in a study room for an hour and could still hear people talk outside the study room that's how loud they were! read more

I pretty much exclusively have been in the kids section, so I can't comment on the other parts of the library, but what I have seen is good. My daughters love coming here, which is pretty impressive for a library. The summer reading program was fun, and they gave prizes to continually encourage success. The iPads add to the fun. I can see why some would discourage them, but I like that they're there. Now the kids want to go, partially to play on them, and when they're there, they read as well; up to the parent to keep the game play in check. Last time I was there, more than half of them were broken though, so it's not all good. read more

The POB Library has so much potential, and it's tragic that they can do so much with their space but choose not to. First, it's huge! There's a media center, a children's room, and all the amenities you'd come to expect in a library. Yet, there are so many untapped resources, and I wonder what is going wrong behind the scenes that this has continuously been allowed to happen. Not many libraries have a movie-sized theatre inside, but this one does! So you'd think there'd be performances or shows or something... but there's not. They hold a book club in that space from time to time, and sometimes community meetings, but that's that. It's a very average library in a very above-average space. It's time for them to step it up.... because the benefits could not just be wonderful, they're oh so necessary. read more

Great potential in this library. First off, they have a full sized theatre where they can show films or put on performances. There is so much they can do with this space! Sure, it's mostly the geriatric, but don't cut your nose off to spite your face. There are a lot of seats there, smell can't waft that far... The movie selection is vast, but they have an overwhelming amount of VHS tapes. Not as many un-mainstreams there, but there are a ton as it is - a large room full - you will definitely find some Tom Arnold classic you've never heard of before. The movies are seperated by genre (!!??!!!) so of course its impossible to find anything there. Location is convenient. Across from the stop n shop and other stores and restaurants in the shopping center. There is a drab feeling to the library. We need an infusion of youth here. I see the potential though... The potential for 2 more stars... read more

Excellent place to study and to read.

What's the problem with the workers here? I borrowed a book from syosset as tried to return it here. The lady gave me a sour face. Next I picked up a book I reserved here. The lady complained it was too heavy. Why does every worker here act like they are inconvenienced when you ask them for help. I hope they make this library as digital as possible, and then reduce staff and save public funds. If the workers here hate their job so much, let them retire, maybe we will be better off. read more

It's just incredibly sad that there is an iPad station smack in the middle of the children's section. There's no better way to extinguish a child's interest in books. We have to travel to the Bethpage library, which has a friendlier staff, more robust children's programming, and good old fashioned BOOKS. read more

Why should a library have iPads in the children's section? Every single study coming out about technology warns against the amount of exposure that children are exposed to. The evidence on child development supports the importance of books, pretend play and peer interaction. A children's section of a library should be a place for interaction, exploration and learning. As a community, can we please tell our library that we want appropriate activities for our children? read more

I have my fair share of library visits - of all the libraries I have visited, one thing they all share is that as soon as you walk in, they are all very quiet..not this library. Here are the things it can improve: 1) Make it QUIET - the patrons and the staff talk very loud and don't seem to care. 2) NO iPAD in the Family Center - I get it, we are in the 21st century and everyone's BFF is his or her phone. Don't we want our kids to learn about books at the LIBRARY? Or move the iPads to a less obscure spot? POB Library is one of the problems why kids don't read more. 3) More helpful and less rude staff at the front desk Amid all of the above, I still think this is a great library. The summer reading programs are phenomenal. Keep up the great work for everyone at the Family Center! read more

I agree with the other reviewers that the staff in general gives off a negative vibe. I don't think that I've ever seen one of them smile. I have noticed this since I moved into the area 6 years ago. I hope that the librarians read this and take note. The library itself is very nice. If the staff improved their attitude, I would give the library 4-5 stars. read more

Great library, helpful,friendly librarians. they have a great selection of magazines books and videos. A separate childrens section downstairs too. There is a separate book section with large print for seniors. It is wheelchair accessible, and plenty of parking. There are Zumba ,yoga , computer classes etc too. During the day there is a notary to help you too. It is located very conveniently off the expressway. read more

after multiple visits, i have come to the conclusion that,this shouldn't be a tax payer supported institution. As the staff that work at this branch are beyond rude. they seem bothered when you ask them for help. They are all immersed in their own conversations and do not seem to do their jobs. Once overheard the library staff bad-mouthing a client as he left because he was wearing shorts in a relatively chilly day calling him "crazy" as he exited the library. I think the board of trustees should revamp library staff, and hire people that are interested in helping clients not the ones that are too good to help you! My tax dollars are being wasted! i think we should device a system, where these public employees if they repeatedly get bad reviews, should get demoted or fired. PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO GET RESOLUTION FOR THIS UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR BY OUR TAX SUPPORTED PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. UNFORTUNATELY I WILL NOT BE PATRON AT THIS INSTITUION ( TO AVOID BEING PATRONIZED) read more

I, my wife, kids and grandkids have used this library for over half a century and it keeps getting better all the time! The staff is usually friendly and alway responsive. The programs are geared to the community. The reservation system brings me books from evertwhere, and array of public computers is constantly upgraded. Sole complaints are lack of computers with older 3.5 inch drives and absence of important WordPerfect program. Overall, FIVE STARS! read more

We pretty much only go to the children's area in the library and the workers in that area are great. Very friendly and helpful. There are also many programs throughout the year for kids. read more

This library has a lot of resources but the staff are very unfriendly and they never seem to be happy. Asking the librarians a question is like if I asked them for their social security number. They are difficult to deal with so I avoid going to this library even though I am in Plainview a lot. read more

This library is filled with activities -- with a multitude of community offerings, with generous librarians, with new books along side 'ebooks' along side DVDs along side children and teen's programs as cultural programs for all. read more

The Plainview library is nice however the staff is REALLY loud when trying to study in the "quiet" area..wait isn't the library always suppose to be quiet? The funny thing is the people working at the library have no issues telling others to "keep it down" while they continue to speak REALLY loud! read more

This is a lousy excuse for a Library. The town has wasted millions of our hard earned tax dollars building a theater on it, making it look modern and unionizing the workforce, adding plenty of no show jobs. The local Teacher's Union runs it. Since they took over, you can see rows and rows of desks with name plates that nobody ever occupies, and more people behind the counters than is even remotely necessary. Most of these folks just stand around all day at the taxpayer's expense. Try using your cell phone to listen to your voicemail and watch the aggressive busybody employees come out of the woodwork to scold you about talking on your cell phone. But you are not talking on your cell phone, you are listening to voice mail...doesn't matter, they will still treat you with disrespect. One morning, during a snow storm I arrived there with my 2 year old, since no one was at home to watch her. The doors were open and I was returning books. The 2 women behind the counter literally scolded me about their not being open yet. I told them the door was open and I was just returning books. The book return counter was 2 feet in front of me. One of the women told me that I would have to take my books outside, in the freezing weather, with my 2 year old in tow, to deposit my books in the book drop outside. I asked why I couldn't just leave them on the counter, since that is where the book drop books would end up anyway and I didn't want to have to drag my 2 year old back out and around the building in that weather. They looked at each other and relented, but not before telling me that they were, "doing me a big favor just this once" (actual words they used). You can imagine what my response to these assholes was...not worth repeating here. The employees are your typical entitled government workers who don't give a damn about the taxpayer who actually pays their salaries and benefits and think nothing of yelling at or scolding their patrons who they perceive stepping out of line. The waste of taxpayer money is astounding and if this bothers you, then avoid this place like the plague. The books are generally neglected and as old as the hills, unless you like reading the latest fiction, which they seem to specialize in. The old folks in the community love this place, its the younger folks in the community who have the giant pain in their wallet paying for this massive fraud. read more