This Carnegie library, housed in a prominent historic Grade 2 Listed building, sits grandly on the…read morejunction of Cathays Terrace, Fairoak Road, Whitchurch Road, and Crwys Road, alongside Cathays Cemetery. In total, Scotsman Andrew Carnegie - industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur and a major philanthropist - funded some 3,000 public libraries in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, and Fiji. Cathays Library is one of them. Apart from its architectural value, the library offers a pretty good range of community library services including free WiFi, a children's area, 15 public PCs (book in advance as they're in high demand) and a 'Rhymetime' kids' session (held every Tuesday morning at 10.30am) including stories, crafts and rhymes for under 5s. You can, however, obviously find a far greater selection of books at Cardiff's main library. Local councillors also hold regular surgeries in the library on Saturday mornings from 11-12, for which you don't need an appointment - you can just turn up and quiz them on local issues.

God bless this library…read more For the student population of the Roath and Cathays areas of Cardiff, time is of the essence. Especially since you've spent the entire term drinking when you should've been studying, and now you have to five hours before your exam starts and you need to get several books. Sure, you could walk into town, but like I said, time is of the essence. Those extra twenty minutes could be the difference between a fail, and a slightly higher fail! This is why we love Cathays library. Roll out of bed, and roll through the door. Check out your books and be home in ten minutes time. I've seen students there in their pyjamas before. It is just the pinnacle of convenience. Granted, the selection isn't as impressive as the five storey book Mecca that's currently occupying a good couple of acres in the city centre, but that is a place that'd make an Alexandrian librarian whistle through his teeth and say "well, that sure is a lot of books", so I don't think I can take off points for that. After all, it's not really possible for two places to have all the books in the world ever, each.

This is a massive library full of nearly all of the books that you could ever want, from all genres…read moreof books, the good and the bad, the historical and the fantasy worlds to escape into. This new improved building is about four floors high or more, and it is a much more stylish facility than the last central library. It has taken a while to come into action, but it is finally here... ready and waiting... Well it has been for a while actually. You can take; up to twenty books out each time you do so and you can have them on loan for several weeks, you just need to keep renewing them either by phone or by going online. The staff are on board and are on the ball, very friendly and very helpful. You just have to be confident to ask them for help, they can't read your minds you know... There are plenty of computers accessible and plenty of screens to scan your books under and to take them back that way to. Great for all ages...

Defiantly one of the best libraries I have been too. Its really open and airy with great views over…read morethe city below. There is no stuffiness about this place at all. You're not going to get shushed by batty old librarians and the staff are really very helpful. Its so easy to get books out, reserve what you want and drop it back quickly. You can also borrow CD's and DVD's too. Its got free wi-fi throughout, loads of computers for the public to use and even a grand piano for you to practice on! Its also got plenty of drinks machines and places to relax. Its a real haven within the city.

I have been a member of Newport library for a number of years and highly recommend people…read morejoining,not only is it free to join but you can rent out the usual books as well as DVDs and Cd's.They have several computers upstairs and you can use these for free,you sometimes have to wait but you can pre book in advance then stay online for up to two hours. The library staff are very nice and will kindly help with anything you need,including finding books,joining,late fees etc. There are some really comfortable sofas in the library which you can sit down and relax whilst reading the newspaper or a good book. In today's hard times joining a library is a good way to save money and Newport is one of the best.

O.K. Lets be honest Llanrumney may not be the most salubrious of areas and a library is never going…read moreto be a social hotspot but I think Llanrumney's library is pretty fab as libraries go. It only opened in the early part of 2008 so the building is shiny new and doesn't look like a 1970s comprehensive school that is about to fall down. The furniture is also terribly trendy but suprisingly it is also really comfortable, pleasant to sit and read in and designed for people with a stack of books (giant circular arms make excellent book stands - you'll know what i mean if you go there). The staff are really friendly and helpful and don't stand ignoring you (as I have run into at some of the bigger libraries) but have a chat, remember what you've been reading and smile at you like they mean it. One quick tip: the doors have no handles and you have to press the giant silver buttons to open them. These are carefully hidden on the inside of two posts by the doors at about hip-height for maximum invisibility (they're very disabled friendly so i'm totally for them but i did spend a good five minutes looking like a goon trying to get in!)

Okay, well I actually really like Penylan library. Whichever library you go to, however big or…read morevaried the collection of books, Cardiff libraries have an online book ordering service so you can just look up the book you want, order it, then when they call you can just pop in and collect it. As it is, Penylan's book collection isn't bad at all. In fact it's pretty good, given its size. Everything is in clearly marked sections and, as I said, if you can't find what you're looking for, you can ask one of the many helpful staff, or order it from home. The children's section is especially lovely, with bright coloured seats and pictures. I have often seen mothers sat reading books with their children here, which is a sight to warm any heart. The community centre offers a family friendly gym with Teen Fit courses for 14-16 year olds aiming to teach teenagers how to use the fitness suite "safely and effectively" (according to the brochure). There is also a wide variety of activities offered for people of all ages, from a Soccer School for 5-11 year olds to adult yoga classes, Soft Play for the under 5s to activities for the over 50s. There are also women only classes for any ladies who are a little self-conscious about wearing a leotard in front of the opposite sex. Penylan Library and Community Centre has so much to offer and no doubt will soon be offering even more. If you have any queries, the guys on reception are more than willing to discuss classes and courses with you.

A new and improved library? I'm actually not so sure about this place. I remember it in the old…read moredays and very much prefer it that way. Why can't things stay the same forever? Why does there always have to be change? Progress, progress, progress... is what they call it. I suppose they have to call it something, the world seems to have to name everything these days. Now the library has a sports complex attached to it; classes and courses to attend, computers to use and books to borrow. It only has so many books there and I find even less than last time, and I found the library's organisational system of books was tricky for me to understand. I found it took me ages to get into the right room in the library as to where the books where at all, and as to where the books that I wanted were difficult to find. However, in the end I did and so I know where to go in future. Others may find that they prefer the place this way. It is right by Penylan park and is near to Albany Rd and Wellfield RD.

When I was a child I was a little bit of a Matilda, in that I used to go to this library very…read moreregularly, and spend hours scouring the shelves for new books to devour. Situated in a classic old stone building, this library conforms to all those lovely ideals of what a library should be. There is a very wide selection of books, CDs and DVDs at this government branch library. They have an especially good children's section (from what I can remember!), and there are regular storytelling sessions for children. A couple of years ago, Canton Library suffered severely from fire-damage. Since then, the interior has been redecorated well, and new books have been brought in. So out of tragedy, comes a nice selection of slightly crisper books than there might have been otherwise. This is a beautiful old library to go and while away an afternoon in.

Canton Library is well-located in the heart of the busy shopping area along Cowbridge Road East,…read morenear the police station and not far from Chapter Arts Centre. Housed in a solid old building, the selection of books, CDs and DVDs isn't bad for a local library - but with Cardiff's central library only about a mile away I'd rather walk there and get tonnes more choice. It is pretty popular with local mums and their children during the daytime, however, because it's easy for them to walk to - and there's a story time and craft session every Tuesday afternoon. There's also an adult reading club that meets monthly, with set books to read and then discuss. There's no really convenient parking outside the library, but it's within a short walk of about four different car parks including the free one behind Chapter.

This is quite a large modern-looking library situated above the Podium shopping centre in Bath…read more The library is in an attractive Bath Stone Building with large plate glass windows. The library also hosts events, for example local authors visiting to talk about their latest novels.

I've been disappointed with the choice of books here on a number of occasions. The study area is…read moregood but it's used by so many loud students that it makes it difficult to work here. The staff deal with it, but the students keep up their behaviour. It's frustrating. Lots of space and not many books. I hope they get lots of funding! I really like the staff here. :D I love the online renewal system.

The Rhiwbina Library is a good local library and it is very worthwhile visit and it is situated in…read morethe Rhiwbina Garden Village area. This is because it has many shops and interesting places to visit. It is such an attractive village, making it too hard not to want to talk about the area as a whole. It is also a very interesting village as well, because it's a northern suburb in Cardiff, in Wales. In Welsh Rhiwbina is: Rhiwbeuno or Rhiwbenia - Rhiw slope + Saint Beuno. Whitchurch lie's by the West side of the Rhiwbina village, which borders the suburbs. This used to split up the village and often it was known as 'the village'. The suburb to the East is Llanishen, to the South Birchgrove lives, Wenallt Hill is to the North: which is a piece of Cardiff's green belt. The Coryton railway line leads to the Rhiwbina railway station. There was even a Bloody battle said to have taken place near by several centuries ago. It has nearly everything that you could need within a smaller village. It has many shops; cafes, banks, cash machines, craft shops, boots, pubs, restaurants, a chemist, card shops and plenty of walking areas and a church or two and schools. I recommend it to all to visit...