vancouver public library is a wealth of information and resources for the community, housed in a…read morestriking building designed to resemble a modern day coliseum. the library provides accessible services to help ensure everyone can use the space comfortably, along with social services and community support resources. it also regularly features events such as talks, workshops, and activities for different age groups. the architecture is organized across several levels. the lower level is currently under construction. level 2 contains the main entrance, information desk, children's collection, library card services, and borrowing services. level 3 focuses on digital creativity, featuring the inspiration lab. this space provides free access to soundproof recording studios, including three sound booths for small groups and the larger terry mcbride recording studio for video and photography. to use these, you can book a session online up to two weeks in advance with your library card, allowing for a maximum of three hours per day. level 4 has collections related to business, cookbooks, esl, and fashion. level 5 is a quiet floor with newspapers and magazines available. level 6 holds dvds, music cds, and spoken word materials. level 7 includes special collections and human resources. level 8 features meeting rooms, a reading room, an eating area, temporary exhibit space, the family theatre, and several outdoor patios for fresh air while you work. level 9 includes additional meeting rooms and a very nice rooftop garden that serves as a great escape with a panoramic view of the city skyline. this green space is even equipped with solar panels that help power the ninth floor. beyond books, the library hosts a musical instrument lending library. you can borrow a variety of instruments free of charge for up to three weeks, including acoustic and electric guitars, violins, ukuleles, and keyboards. to borrow one, simply check the library catalogue to see if it is available and visit the service desk at the central library. inside the building, there are also several convenient services and businesses, including a td machine, blenz coffee, a convenience store, gift store, dental clinic, bike shop, and onigiri ya. together, these resources make the library a welcoming and useful place to study, learn, and spend time.

If I lived here, I'd go to the library at least twice a week (unlike now, where I only check out…read moreebooks online, and go in once every two years when they make me verify my residency). What an incredible resource for the citizens of Vancouver! We had a long layover so we explored every single floor of this library. There were so many computer stations if you needed to do work online, but also so many little nooks with comfy seating to settle down in with a good book. The rooftop had an incredible view of downtown Vancouver, and the atrium was nice and warm. There was currently an "electronic concert" going on where there were chairs set up so people could listen to recordings played over the speakers in the atrium. I thought it was a really neat way to get the community together to listen, discuss, and engage with one another.

Quiet place to work or study. Plenty of space to do so (pictured). Open to everyone. Hours are ok…read more- it closes at 5pm. You can stay after hours if you are a member of the Law Society of BC. If you need to do some basic legal research, the front desk folks are very helpful. Free access to the legal search engine, Westlaw (law firms normally pay thousands of dollars to have this). Most importantly, FREE WIRELESS!!!!! FREE WIRELESS!!! FREE WIRELESS!!!!

Cool, quiet, well staffed, lots of computers, copying,free wifi, and even some books for kids…read morewhile they wait! Greatly used and needed in the busy and crowded downtown core.

A very clean, quiet library beside the fire station. The computers and printers are easy to use…read more I have had my library card since 2008 and it still works well. The staff are friendly and helpful. Inside the library there are enough tables and chairs and of course books. A very happy, spacious place.

All of my friends know that I spend a lot of time reading books. I can plow through a book in a…read moreday, so this is where the library comes in handy. The Firehall Branch is the closest one to me, so I end up going there the most. The Firehall Branch is on the second floor on W 10th Ave between Granville and Hemlock Street. It's a short walk from the 99 B-Line stop at Granville Street. The library itself is pretty small. They have a decent selection of children's literature, fiction, magazines and dvds. They also have computers available that you can pay to use. The best strategy with this library is to put books on hold online, then request them for pickup at the Firehall Branch. I find it can take up to 4 days for a book to be transferred from a different branch, but you receive an email as soon as the book is ready for pick up. The books you put on hold are alphabetically organized on the shelves to the right of the check out counter. There are two express check out stations, as well as two librarians available to check out books for you, which makes things really efficient. The hours of the branch are a bit lackluster compared to other locations. It's open on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 AM to 8 PM, and Thursday to Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM. It makes it easy enough to pick up books after work, but I wish this branch was open on Sundays as well. Also, I find the librarians aren't as friendly as you'd expect. I donated a huge bag full of plastic bags since they had a sign up asking for some, and the librarian seemed annoyed. If you're looking for super cheap paperbacks and books, this branch sells books for as low as 50 cents each. It's a great deal if you want a new book to read and don't mind its condition. I give this branch 4 stars because I've had no problems getting in any book I've desired in a reasonable time frame. For a small branch, it's in a great, convenient location. If you want a new book to read, save yourself some cash and borrow it from the library!

Nice compact library with 3 floors. There is a cafe downstairs. A recording room on the 3rd floor…read morefor podcasters? The kid area is spacious with tables and different bags you can borrow for different themes of interest. There is a water fountain outside the library and within walking distance to Lonsdale. Easy street parking around the neighborhood. I didn't have to pay for garage parking.

Why as a City service are your hours closing early on a weekday of work and school on a Friday at…read more5-O-CLOCK!?

I think libraries are an amazing institution. Can you image somebody, today, saying "Let's buy…read more1000's of books and let people take all the ones they want. They can keep them for 3 weeks and, if nobody else wants those particular editions, they can keep them another 3 weeks. Free. No charge. We trust them to bring them back." You'd say they were crazy. I find the staff at all libraries fantastically helpful and my local branch, Mount Pleasant, is no exception.

This is a great library. It is welcoming and the staff are friendly and helpful. Wandering the…read moreaisles you will discover books you never knew you needed to read until now. Libraries represent the people they serve and this library does so beautifully. This means that you can expect to rub shoulders with a variety of people, some of whom may be having a harder life than you due to addiction or mental health issues. If you are snooty and entitled you may find this unsettling and feel compelled to write an unhelpful review on Yelp. That's great. Let out those bad feelings. And if you are an actual adult with love in your heart, you will enjoy this library as much as I do. It's not as cool as the Squamish library, but it's pretty great.

Le Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver houses a library, a restaurant/café and has any number…read moreof resources for the francophone or francophile. The restaurant is high quality French cuisine at a reasonable price (about $20 - $25 for the table d'hote), and the service is charmingly French. In addition to the restaurant, there is a nicely stocked library of books, magazines, newspapers and videos all in French, and the centre also hosts a number of regular and special activities such as their Wednesday night French speakers gathering, outings, cultural events, French classes and some events that are family/child friendly. This is really an excellent resource for anyone who has a love of French or a desire to learn.

From the owner: Come and discover French-speaking culture through music show, French classes, summer camps, library…read moreservices, and more!

I love this branch of the library! I use it as a study space often, they have limited seating in…read morethe main area, but there's a room with some tables and chairs that is nice to use (although, can sometimes be closed for events). Every time I've interacted with the staff, they've been the absolute best! Helpful, kind, and clearly happy to work there. My only negative about the location is the washroom. It's normally pretty clean, but the location is not great. They don't have paper towels, only a hand dryer, and it's so close to the rest of the library that you can often hear when it's being used. It's not that big of a deal, but makes me not want to sit as far away as I can get.

As I don't live or work in the area, I rarely use the Kensington branch of the Vancouver Public…read moreLibrary. However, it's near my boyfriend's house, so it's convenient for me to drop off books when in the area (I love how you can return books at any branch), and unlike the Central Library downtown, my primary library, you don't have to use those horrible, slow, often malfunctioning scanners to return books; just hand them to the librarian/leave them on the desk. And like all branches, if the library is closed, you can return books in the drop box. Even though it's a small branch, having a library in an area I frequent is always a good thing. On Friday I needed to print something, so I used the printer at the library, and I also found just the books I was interested in -- travel guides for Portland and San Francisco (I have an upcoming trip to Portland and San Francisco June 28 to July 8). If I lived in the area and this were my primary branch, being small and having limited books wouldn't really matter, as you can request any book in the VPL system to be delivered to any branch of your choosing. The one main downside to this branch is the limited hours. They are only open 1pm-5pm on Sundays, and closed on Mondays. [Yelp collections: Libraries and Bookstores]

Helpful, charming, quiet, equipment is the best available on a tight budget. I love the library…read more Needs to do something to attract pre-teens and other youth in West End.

Well, it's not the biggest library around but it's not too bad for a community branch. It is a…read morelittle bit old and sketchy, and some of the regular patrons are a little bit "interesting" to say the least, but it's still an a-okay library. They do have a fairly decent collection, and if you can't find what you're looking for its no hassle to order a book from one of the other branches and have it delivered and waiting for you to pick up.