Killingworth Library is located within the White Swan, a community centre in Killingworth…read more It's a nice, modern Library with friendly staff, Internet workstations, a good selection of books, a children's area and a number of community and special interest group activities to be found. I often visit, find a quiet spot, pop my earphones in and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi to get some work or research done. It's (as expected for a Library!) quiet and relaxing here. The Library also has a great selection of comic books and graphic novels for the more geeky learning amongst us. All in all, this is a lovely local Library and a credit to the staff and the local community.

Very nice and modern library in the centre of Newcastle, with a huge selection of books, a large…read moreamount of seating and study space, excellent views from the upper floors, and a nice café as well. This has everything I want in a library. The modern building is quite attractive and welcoming, with a very open and spacious lobby. There is a glass lift, which offers a pretty exciting ride to the upper floors, but also nice wide staircases. I realise I'm commenting on fairly irrelevant things for a library, but I enjoyed the overall feel of the place. As already mentioned, the views from the top are very nice, all the way over Newcastle. There are comfortable seats provided by the window, so you can relax with a book or newspaper and take in the view. The Laing Art Gallery is just across the street, and it was just a lucky coincidence that we saw its advertisement for a Leonardo exhibition from the library. Of course we had to go see that as well (review to follow). Before leaving the library, we tried the café, which is good value, comfortable, and serves good products. Worth a visit.

Libraries have had a hard time lately so it was great to visit Newcastle City Library and see that…read morelibraries are still something we can be proud of. Newcastle City Council really should be proud of this place, it seems to be a real community hub and the staff were justifiably proud of the place which provided not only space for an impressive collection of traditional library items but meeting and community areas, good quality retail stock and a rather nice cafe.

This is a superb library in Newcastle, and I would recommend anyone to check it out. We arrived at…read moreabout 12:30 on Saturday, half an hour before closing time, but the staff were so welcoming and told us we were welcome to roam around the whole place, including on the balconies. I was surprised at how welcoming it all was, and was slightly worried it would be a bit too elitist for us lowly tourists to visit. I was wrong. It's a quiet place, but certainly not a silent library, and murmurs of chat were heard all around the interior. People were reading newspapers, drinking coffee, catching up with friends, and generally relaxing. It was a lovely atmosphere. The interior itself is gorgeous, with vast collections of old books, music scores, and more. Arranged over two levels, access to the balconies is by some spiral staircases, and they offer a nice view over the library. It's completely free (though you can donate or buy some memorabilia), so please pop in for a visit if you're in the area.

Listen, ever since I was a schoolboy, the Lit&Phil was a desirable and mysterious place where you…read morewere guaranteed to get set texts for O and A level exams - the public libraries were good, but your name was just put on a list. The only problem was that the Lit&Phil was a private library and you had to pay to be a member. That gave it a mysterious caché for a struggling schoolboy. Eventually, I could afford to buy my way in and my only regret was that I didn't do it sooner. If you like to work surrounded by stacks of books, this is the place. It has a long pedigree of prestigious past presidents including Armstrong and Stephenson whose ghosts greet you on the stone staircase as you come in. We get student visitors from the other universities' libraries. Because it's good to see young people in a library, I always ask them why they prefer to be in the Lit&Phil. They always say, "It is so much quieter!" In fact there is an even quieter space downstairs in the Reference Section - almost too quiet unless you appreciate pure silence. I could go on for ages about this "Club," about how it has a special room just for the ladies, the legendary little hatch where you get cups of tea or coffee, the staff who know everything, the musical, poetry and literary events that are part of its regular programme, but all I'll say is that if you want a social meeting place in the middle of town, a place you can work and have serious conversations, and are able to enjoy its in-built charm, then the Lit&Phil is the place for you.

This library is located just near the railway lines at Bedlington Station, just off the main road…read more The building is situated a little way back from the street with a wall around the area. It is an older building but is always clean and well maintained. It is not as large as the main Bedlington library. There are no obvious parking spaces nearby but there is a little carpark around the corner to the left which would mean a ten minute walk. There are a wide selection of books to loan free as well as CDs and DVDs which you may rent. To do this you need to have a Northumberland Library Card. This can be used at all libararies in the county. To join and get this card you will need to fill in an information form (available at the main desk) and show two forms of ID including an address. DVDs/CD's can be rented at a rate of around £2.00 for one week's loan. I find they always have new and exciting movies to rent, but with the more popular ones you will need to ask about their availability. The staff here are lovely and have a gentle, intelligent manner. They can perform many services for customers including information searches and helping to find a particular book. You can telephone the libarary for more information on: 01670 822211

Situated in the elegant Northumberland Square in a huge but out of place dirty looking building is…read moreNorth Shields library. It is over two floors and has books for everyone. They have computers and local records are stored upstairs along with a reading area for daily newspapers and magazines.Books can be reserved and ordered from other branches and the staff will advise you if asked. All the staff are very helpful. A nice experience.

This is a great libary. It has the fiction books downstairs along with the childrens corner. It…read morealso has a row of computers that can be used for online. It has all the new books and is quite good at ordering books in if they havent got it at all or putting a reserve on a book if its out. They also hire out video, dvds and audiotapes. Upstairs is the non fiction area with a great range. It also has newspapers and a reading area. This is one of the best libarys I have been to if offers a great service and the staff are very friendly and helpful

Situated on the main road running through Blyth the library is based inside an old building which…read morelooks quite shabby, although this si due to its age and it is currently having some work done on the outside and the inside of the building meaning only downstairs is open til the work is completed. There is a big range of books to view and take home with you. The staff are friendly and very willing to help and assist.

The library is brilliant and in a nice old building. There is a good collection of books and even…read moremagazines that you can check out. It has a self service system and you can use your card online to renew/order books. You can order books from any Northumberland library for 90p. The staff are really helpful and friendly too. The family history section is brilliant also. I have also noticed some baby groups and knitting groups that seem good.

This is a large library.You'll find it opposite the police station at the High Street end of…read moreFerndale Avenue in Wallsend.It's housed in a very outdated looking 60s style building which looks pretty shabby by any standards. The library does have a good range of books and the staff will happily order any that are available in other libraraies in the borough. You can hire cds and dvds and there are the usual daily newspapers and magazines to read. Internet access is free too. The libraray may not look good but it does offer all you need and the staff are realy efficient.

South Shields central library is a large building situated around the corner from the main shoping…read morestreet and the Denmark centre. Recently they have installed large computing areas, only accessible if you have a membership card. This includes internet access for a maximum of two hours, but this is a free service provided by the council so you cannot grumble! There is a wide selection of educational, fiction, non fiction books available and if the book you want is unavailable, the staff are happy to reserve it or even order it in from other libraries in the borough. They also have a media library, where they stock new dvd releases. There is a 1-day service on newly released dvds and a 7-day service on ordinary/older releases. You have to pay for this service and must have a library membership card, but the prices are much lower than those of other rental shops and if you get a premiere dvd on a Saturday you can keep it over the weekend so you get an extra couple of days to watch it ;) Great library, best one in the area. Often quite busy during exam season as there are a lot of students from South Tyneside College that use it, but in general there are ample facilities available for everyone.

Central Library or the South Shields Library is located in the heart of the town centre and is used…read moreby quite a few people in South Tyneside. The stock of books is quite good and the facilities are very good as well. They also have a dedicated kids library where they have a range of children's books and also have about 5 machines in there where the kids can surf the web and play games online. They also have downstairs a library of DVD's and music CD's that members of the library can borrow using their library card. The library also has a quiet room which is mainly utilised by students and other people who are revising for exams and need peace and quite to study. They also have a nice range of reference books within this section.

This is where I joined the Northumberland library although your card can be used in any library in…read moreNorthumberland. Big selection of books, DVD and CDs. Computer section. Often have events for children and adult readers.

There's a reasonable selection of books and audio-visual items in this library, along with friendly…read moreand helpful staff. They run events for children during holiday time which tend to be popular and are the result of much hard work by the staff. The library also offers internet access as well as access to some subscription-only reference sites.