I'm from California, but every time I visit Utah, I try to make time for the Provo City Library. Honestly, it's one of my favorite places in Provo. There's a quiet reverence in this place that makes it perfect for just sitting and reading--or even pretending to read while you enjoy the stillness. They've also got a little used book section where you can buy books for super cheap, which I appreciate since I can't exactly get a library card here. And their digital collection through Libby is part of the Beehive Consortium, which seems to have way more audiobook and eBook options than my own Sacramento County Library back home. Major bonus. read more

Last year my son and I went there to get papers notarized the lady was so polite we just walked in and the lady was so nice no appointment and it was free! We go in this year same woman this time she screams HELLO informs us that it's usually by appointment only we let her know we couldn't come back because we were moving out of state she was just sitting there eating candy! Refused to help us WOW what a difference a year makes read more

This is the most run down library. I have no clue why the ratings are so high!... Staff is rude and discourteous (picking their nose then using their hand to help you) Less than helpful front desk Kids center is AWFUL Look at the couches and the chairs-- barf Kids event calendar is subpar.. was expecting much better activities Compared to other libraries, this is one of the worst I have ever been to read more

Nice place and pretty easy to work with. Wish it was a bit quieter they'll take just about any noise level

This is a great library with so many great book choices! There's so many things for children to do. There are at least two levels. There's a basement to walk into the top floor. I also LOVE the amazing app and website they have. It makes it so much easier to check out books. It feels seamless. The only thing that I really don't like about this library is that there are a lot of homeless people. And it's in an area that is really old and run down. There are too many good things to say about the programs they have to put my review anything lower than 5. The librarians here are all so helpful and kind! read more

See all

I have been VERY impressed by this library, especially in how they handled the COVID closures and precautions. I love reading, and this is the perfect place to get any book I'd like with quick and easy service!! There are a variety of genres of books filling the shelves, in both the adult and children's sections! As an elementary school teacher, I appreciate the website that allows me quick access to see what's in, place holds, and come in and grab it right after work! There are also some great study spots, with comfy chairs and a quiet atmosphere. I would recommend this to any college kids who are tired of the walk home from campus and would much rather study right near their apartment! And did I mention this all takes place in a stunning old building? The lawn or front stairs are a great place to hang out with friends for a picnic or ice cream from William's Dairy Bar. The upper floors on the west side of the building hold ballrooms and staircases great for photos, bridal showers, and proms! It is simply gorgeous, as well. read more

See all

Very nice library. Not the biggest or the most modern, but does the job comfortably. Not a huge amount of table seating / power outlets, maybe 10 or so tables along the back with outlets, then you have random outlets near some of the comfy chairs that are scattered all over the place. I dunno about during the BYU semesters but during the summer it was totally fine, there really wasn't much traffic. Very good open WiFi, no PW or library card required. Provo has very little for visible homebummery and that extends to the library. So you don't get people filling the place up as a daytime shelter, wilin' out and stinking up the joint. The tradeoff is a lot of mommies with kids come in who only view libraries as their free Redbox / day care center so it still isn't great for peace and quiet. Restroom situation would be bad anywhere else with just one stall and urinal, but again with the low traffic and almost total lack of homebums, it really wasn't an issue. People are so polite here dudes line up at the urinal even when the stall is open, just in case someone comes in really needing to #2 I guess :) Most Cali and Nevada cities you'd be lucky if a dude wasn't in the stall nodded out on heroin all day. read more

Gorgeous building! I've only been here twice--for a wedding reception and for an author lecture/book signing event. Parking is good. There weren't floor or room number signs inside the center south entrance; the elevator only went down, so I wandered around for awhile. An employee retuned my phone call about the book event. There were several classrooms, study rooms, art galleries, and even a ballroom and kitchen. I love the woodwork, tile and staircases. The outside is beautifully architecturally. Classy. read more

Provo City Library - Young adult/elementary level author Lindsey Leavitt. Can't wait to read her books! - Libraries Near Me - Provo, Utah

Love this place. It's well cared for and they have a good selection of biographies I especially like. They also have lots of magazines each month and are always holding classes and events for the community. I've been coming here my whole life and credit my love of reading in large part to their Summer reading program they do for kids. I still participate each year in the adult Summer reading program and look forward to it each year. :) Nothing better than winning prizes for reading books! The building is also really nice, the ballroom upstairs is beautiful and the librarians are really nice and friendly. Plus I like that they have self-checkout when you're wanting to rent a book because sometimes you're getting something that is somewhat embarrassing and it's just nice to have that privacy. ha! read more

I don't know what it is about public libraries, but they're always 5 stars to me. I just love the atmosphere inside them. Even the ghetto Billings, Montana (my hometown) library, is like Mountain Dew--Code Red is to a redneck (ie. I love it). What makes the Provo library even better is that it is the perfect place to study for students that don't want to walk all the way to BYU campus. They have a strict no talking zone on the second floor that is perfect for studying. Plus the second floor has little desks with lamps and outlets for your laptop. Finally this library is just classy. It looks like a castle. It has a ballroom. It's classic and modern. I love the glass middle of the building between the two sections. It lets in so much let. One of my favorite libraries. 10/10 read more

This is my second review because my computer hates me and the backspace key. Which has nothing to do with the library. Just wanted to passive-aggressively snipe at my computer. Back to the library. It's pretty awesome. Fairly good selection of books, though they have a tendency to get rid of older books periodically to make way for the brand new ones they order constantly. Separate sections for adult, non-fiction, young adult, children and DVDs. Actually, there's a whole separate wing for children, which is great because you can sit and read your adult books, knowing that small children won't be screaming at you while you do so. And small children aren't required to be AS quiet as they would in a normal library. The DVD selection is also fairly good, though they tend to not have brand new movies on hand, understandably. There's also a lot of natural light here, so it's a nice place to hole up with your books. They also have a few study tables for people who are interested in that sort of thing and free wifi for card holders. I've even seen some people conducting ultra-secret business meetings here, which why? Not really sure the public library is the best place for you to discuss the patentability of your new idea, but if you really want to, you can do that here. All that is pretty standard, in my opinion, but what sets this place apart is the ability to put books on hold online and have the librarian put them on a shelf for you to pick up within 3 - 4 days. Which means no looking for the book, no checking back constantly to see if the person before you has returned the book yet, etc. Granted, this only works with books that have at least one copy checked out, so for others, you'll have to go the traditional route of actually going to the shelf, but this is amazing to me. And makes me so happy. Just so happy. There are also a few solid programs here, mostly for teens and children: author signings, slumber parties, etc. For adults, they've got a few events here and there, the summer reading program, which is usually pretty fun (I say usually because 2015's was... interesting) and the Valentine Day's Ball. Great place to kill some time and get your book fix. read more

The Provo City Library is a magical wonderland. The building itself is the original Brigham Young Academy and it is old and lovely. They have a great selection of books, DVDs, magazines, etc., and I can generally find what I'm looking for. The only downside is that sometimes I have to put things on hold to be able to get them, but even that is a very convenient process - I get an email when the item is ready to pick up, and it is waiting nicely for me on the hold shelves. The library also offers programming like classes and concerts, though I haven't partaken in too many of them. Overall, I have had nothing but good experiences at this library. It is a beautiful place. read more

On July 10th I went with my sister and niece to the Provo Library to play a game of Who Dunit. They require about a week's notice before playing but we were able to set both the time and the date on the website. When we went to the circulation desk it was all set up for us. My niece just turned 8 and we were able to take this opportunity to teach her how to read and navigate a map. The game is very much like clue. The staff sets up cards for clues in several of the different library rooms. Each of the locations has a snippet of information about the room or the location which is informative and fun. The game took about an hour to play but we had to use the elevators to go from floor to floor and we were teaching how to use a map so for older or more experienced players I'm sure the time would be shorter. We told the circulation desk our accusation at the end and won a small prize which was unexpected and a very sweet surprise. Overall, everyone in our group had fun and would like to do it again sometime. read more

Provo City Library - The cool clipboard, a clue and the placecard in one of the locations during a Who Dunit game. - Libraries Near Me - Provo, Utah

I have lived in Provo for 3 years and I've been able to enjoy having a library card here. The library is large. It has 2 floors on the newer-east side and 3 floors on the older-west side. It has plenty of computers available to the public to use. It has a large supply of books. It's historic too. This building used to be Brigham Young Academy before BYU. I like the used-book sales they do (really cheap books - just a dollar or two). We even got a couple free books from it for signing up for the summer reading program. My toddler loves the play areas in the children's section. They had a book about my ancestors but I wasn't able to check it out because it was in the special collections. I was able to check it out from the BYU library though. I do like that they send you text/email reminders when your books are due. Checking your books out is fully automated. It's really cool, you just set your books on the table and it very quickly can check out all your books. They do story time and puppet shows and have lots of family-friendly events throughout the week. The website could use a new user interface. It's not very user-friendly. I have also used the study rooms they have here. Overall, a great library! read more

Oh Provo Library, how I could sing songs unto thee. Let me try. "OOOOOHhhHHHhhH There ONCE was A MAIDEN froM PROVO and SHE LOVED READING BOOKS. BUT WHEN SHE COULDN'T FIND ANY.... SHE ...WENT TO THE LIBRARY." Okay, so it's now apparent that I have no future in song writing and should never try that again in a yelp review. But at least I tried. The Provo library is one of the most beautiful librarys I've ever been in. Granted, I've only been in like 6 or 8 at the most, but my opinion is still valid. It's historic and beautiful and looks like a castle. I spend most of my time in the fiction section and the biography/non-fiction section. These sections are always neat and well-organized and generally have what I'm looking for. The librarians are really helpful, and a lot of them look like young, librarian students (is this a thing?) which makes it nice to talk to people my age about our love for books. I only have a few gripes about the library and they're not entirely the library's fault. The first is anything new or vaguely popular is checked out, and only has one copy so there's a hold or wait list that goes to at least 60 or 70. Now, this isn't really the library's fault and is just a fact of life. BUT, I wish that they would get more copies of books that seem to be popular so the love can be spread about. The other gripe is the weird hold system. It is run almost entirely on the honor-code system. You reserve a book (I reserve mine online) and when it's your turn, they print out a little receipt with your last name on it and put it on a shelf in alphabetical order. At first, I was like "hmmm... what if someone sees the book they want on the hold shelf and just takes it.... is there any sort of system that will make it impossible for a book stealer to check out the book under a different name than the hold name?" Then, I found out, there is not such a system. I reserved a book and waited for WEEKS because the wait list was so long. I finally got off the wait list and the book was supposedly waiting for me on the hold shelf. Couldn't find it anywhere and even enlisted the help of 3 librarians to help me find it. Apparently, some rude BOOK SNATCHER took it off the shelf with MY NAME!!!! and checked it out. So... I love the library and love the plethora of resources there, but I do not love making it easy for people to snatch my books on hold or waiting 50 years to get off a wait list. read more

Really great atmosphere and wonderful selection. It took a while to figure out the manual interface with most of the books but it wasn't too bad once I got the hang of it. read more

Pretty great library and selection of books. Fantastic place to study. The top floor no talking allowed pretty much. You will get the look of death from the librarian. My 17-year-old had a fit of the giggles, so I removed her before the librarian did! The main floor is a lot more low key. read more

great fiction & non-fiction section. Spacious, plenty of space to study or read. I love their summer reading programs. The reference librarians are wonderful. Easy-to-use website. read more