This branch is a neighborhood treasure. Always hospitable staff and THE BEST displays of books. Intelligent and thoughtful selection of themes for the book tables with multiple copies of books in some cases -- very nice. Always a clean and quiet space. And we can drop off our election ballots. Free parking lot and clean bathrooms, too. My senior parents really enjoy quietly reading newspapers there that we don't get. Thanks for having those rags for us to read. Great place for students to do homework, too. read more

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Been going to the SPL Broadview Branch since 2002. The only hiatus was March 2020 to 7/17/23...today was my first onsite visit. Kind of fell off my radar screen since pre-pandemic. Ample lot and street parking, plus located at a Metro bus stop. There's also a King County ballot box near the parking lot, very convenient to also drop off my ballot for the upcoming primary. Looks like reserves can be picked up outside like those Amazon locked box stations, as well as, inside on designated shelves. Still the community hub with posted info and other free media to peruse. There's available onsite meeting & conference rooms, seating, and computer area. All the media neatly arranged per the Dewey decimal system and some displayed for current interests or themes. Books and other media can be located via interlibrary loan too. Abundant other resources are available via the SPL main websites. A wealth of information to be had! It was stereotypically quiet while I searched for a particular book I knew ahead of time was available. Didn't want to disturb the library staff, so I used one of the self checkout kiosks. Thankfully, my Seattle Public Library card since the early 1980s and my ancient password still worked! This location is much closer to home versus the two King County library branches in Shoreline. read more

I LOVE THIS LOCATION for #ThankYouThursday I have to thank this location for having a great set up for independent working (sturdy and well spaced out/clean two person tables and chairs along a beautiful large window where rabbits sometimes play outside), for having O'Reilly technical books on hand, for having plenty of parking, for always being a safe, even comfortable temperature in winter and summer, for adapting Covid precautions through the changing phases, and for just being awesome! Funny enough, since Highschool I thought this was called the "Broadview Thompson" Library ( that's actually the grade school nearby where we read with kids back in the day) and just learned this week that it's just called "Broadview" lol. After all these years I never put it together, but THANK YOU BROADVIEW (thompson) LIBRARY you were instrumental in me completing my higher education and accomplishing the career that I have today! read more

Beautiful, Spacious, clean and organized, this library has made it to the top three on my list (so far). The children's area, especially, is wonderfully organized, and allows for a small nook in the corner, away from others to engage children who may be a bit excited to be there. Specifically, the plush toys and the engaging display wall make for a great conversation piece. We also love the variety of activities available, daily, in the room at the front of the library, including Kalidescope Learn & Play, Story Times, and Make & Take. Thank you, too, SPL, for starting the NY Times Best Seller top picks displays. I've already been enjoying the selection this month! read more

Seattle Public Library - Broadview Branch - Libraries Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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In addition of books, DVDs, Audiobooks, Kits and CDs, there's also online resources on the Library's website. There's air conditioning, as well as many seats, tables and study rooms. There's always a great display at the Children's Area. Check out more online programs and services at: www.spl.org read more

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This smallish location is usually pretty quiet and the staff is *usually* pretty cool. However, don't go running late for a reserved study or meeting room and call to let them know. I mean, why would you be so callous as to let the staff know that whoever is in the room before you doesn't need to rush. If you have to cancel, you are required to give SEVEN days notice even if you booked the room only THREE days previously. Apparently, it's just plain unacceptable to not be able to predict something unforeseen, like, say an illness. How DARE you reserve a room and then get sick?!? Anyway, I don't take kindly to being chastised for using public resources by some high handed book shelver. Fuck you, Bernice. read more

I love the Seattle Public Library, more specifically... I love my local branch! The staff members have always been cool and I'll stop in every few days to check out their hold shelves for my items. On sunny days, the place is bathed in warm, natural light and I've never experienced disrespectful patrons. I demoted them one star for the horribly narrow parking spaces. I will sometimes wait in my car to park on the outer lying spaces since someone with no spatial recognition HAD to have painted those lines. Or parallel park on the street for ease. They have a great graphic novel section with loads of comics and manga. And free Wi-Fi for those who bring their own laptops with them. read more

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So, I've been attending Seattle Writes sessions at the libraries around the area. Every time, I get there early to get a seat. And nearly every time, the room fills up, at which point the library staff have found a few more chairs to squeeze into the room for latecomers. Today, I was a early, but then found out they changed the location from Greenwood to Broadview library. I arrived at the new location and was told the session was full. I asked if there was a way to squeeze in a chair (or allow me to just sit on the floor, though in hindsight, I should have just done that without permission)--since I was still on time and especially because I had just come from Everett for the session. The girl at the info desk just said, "No, sorry" and started walking away. I asked to speak to someone else, letting her know I was highly disappointed that she was unwilling to squeeze in just one chair, and she handed me a suggestion form to fill out--as if that would solve the problem. I'm currently standing outside a room with only 20 seats set up despite plenty of space against the back wall for another 10. I'm currently staring at a room of people all with recording capabilities on their phones but none recording. I must say, although the staffer here did nothing wrong, she did absolutely nothing to be above average either. In this world when solutions are easy, problems should be solved. This staffer is not an effective problem-solver. Nor is the other staffer who sat right next to her listening as I made my requests. Bottom line: Thankfully, my other several sessions (at other locations) showed me smart, thoughtful problem-solvers exist. Unfortunately, this library lacks such people or got stuck with those on the left end of the bell curve. read more

Seattle Public Library - Broadview Branch - Libraries Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I'm a huge fan of this library. While it may be beating a dead horse to mention, the selection isn't the best here. Then again, I find myself buying new or used books more often than borrowing from the library, why I love about this branch is that it's truly a "shhhhhhhhhhh" sort of library. It's super quiet and seems to curtail more to adults and rather than kids. Overalls, the staff is super friendly, they have free wifi, the self checkout is super convenient, and apart from the lacking selection... I'm a fan of this branch. 4 shhhhhhh-shhh-sh-sh-shhhhh stars out of 5 read more

I've been going to this branch of the library for about 5 years now. It's a relatively new building compared to some others. The parking lot has a lot of spaces but the parking lot design is awkward and the spaces are too small. Luckily, there's a lot of street parking around the building. The library is like others - they have books, media, special events, and computers for use. I've never had any problems there. The building is very clean and the staff is very helpful. I went in there last week and every computer terminal was filled. I was happy to see that. I take for granted that I have loads of computers at my disposal. Clearly, the library is meeting a need by making computers available for the public to use. I'm grateful for that. All in all, I think we have a great library system in Seattle. I'm glad branches have managed to stay open to serve the people of the City. read more

I switched home libraries from NG to this location. At first I was happy. It was much closer, less trafficky, the branch didn't have a bunch of yelling teens out front, staff was nice while we sorted out my change of address, the building looked like a trendy cabin, parking seemed better... After a while, it's just ok, and parking isn't better than the NG location. I guess it's better to spend the money and space on storing books instead of people's cars, but the parking is lame. Another tiny lot for about a dozen cars w/ more parking outside of the lot. It's not even worth attempting to park inside, unless you can see before you're committed in that direction. But, it's my library, so I will keep going here! read more

Very calm, clean, comfortable, state of the art and equipped with high-speed internet library. The staff is very nice.

Good things about this branch: - convenient location - free wi-fi - quiet with no screaming kids - open, airy, and bright Bad things about this branch: - they don't really have a lot of books - parking is horrendous - they close at 5 or 6 on the weekends?! I'm a fan because it's close to my house and their lack of selection is redeemed because I can put all the books I want on hold and have them conveniently shipped to my library for me to pick up. The self-checkout is a little new to me... you just stack your books on the scanner and the computer somehow magically knows which ones you have! Amazing. I kind of prefer the Shoreline library (or KCLS in general) because it stays open til 9 most nights and you can keep your books for 30 days instead of the 21 here, but it's about time I become a member of the SPL! read more

I cannot say enough good things about the Seattle Public Library and the Broadview branch. I love that you can order materials online and receive email notification when the items are transferred to my branch. I love being able to put things on my hold list. It's like having a Netflix queue for free! The Broadview branch is light, airy, clean and comfortable. The staff is incredibly helpful. They have evening hours until 8 PM! I wish they opened a bit earlier on Sundays but heck, many branches aren't even open on Sundays so I will not complain! If you're one of those people who hasn't used the library in 20 years because the librarians in school were mean to you or you think the library only has crap, well, give it a try! The library has come a long way, baby. P.S. The parking spaces are REALLY small. A drive-through book drop would be fabulous! read more

This is one of my favorite libraries in Seattle. It can be hard to find a place to really spread out and get some good studying done in public places, but this branch manages to provide ample accommodations with lots of seating, plenty of PCs and a great selection. The location of this branch is a little more out of the way, so the atmosphere is generally calmer and not so crowded. There is space for meetings as well as some cool little nooks to nestle in and chill out with a good book for a while. They also have a nice selection of music and DVDs for those interested. I have had some frustrating experiences with other branches that came about due to overcrowding or lack of seating. I am glad to be able to recommend this branch without reservation to anyone looking for a clean, comfortable library experience. read more

Good things about this place: - Convenient location - free internet - quiet Bad: - parking lot is small - not that many books read more

Helpful staff, but the copier is ridiculous. Make sure you bring change if you want to use the copier or the printer, as they do make you pay here. read more

i lived in broadview when i first moved to seattle. i love this library! it is fairly quiet, with lots of windows for really wonderful natural light. the cookbook section was pretty awesome with lots of interesting topics covered rather than just scattershot selection of one or two books per topic. i live in columbia city now, and our library has irregular hours and crummy selection... i either have to place holds or just go to the central library in order to find the books i want. at broadview, even if i didn't find exactly what i was looking for, i still left with armloads of books and CDs and DVDs. as far as parking, yeah, it sucks! i rarely drove here, though. the 5 bus stops right outside the library on greenwood and the 28 is a few blocks down at 127th & 8th. the neighborhood is really quiet and on nice days you can get awesome views of the olympics, so just walk to the library, get some books, and then take the bus home. problem solved! read more

At long last, my local library branch has reopened. It has exceeded my expectation in every way! It is bright, functional, has some cool artwork and is in walking distance of my home! If you haven't had a chance to to check it out, it's worth your time if you are in the neighborhood. read more