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Boston Public Library - Honan-Allston Branch
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
300 N Harvard Street
(between Oxford St & Brainerd Rd)
Allston, MA 02134
(617) 787-6313
300 N Harvard Street
(between Oxford St & Brainerd Rd)
Allston, MA 02134
(617) 787-6313
- Hours:
Mon. 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Tue. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wed. 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
8 reviews for Boston Public Library - Honan-Allston Branch
I stopped in in this library on the way from Cambridge to Brookline. It is on the 66 route, which is great, and has lots of street parking.
My friend actually works here, but this was my first time. It is probably one of the best of the branch libraries and actually is kind of like a smaller Central library. It is quiet and peaceful. Has a children's section on one side and on the other side has carrels and tables for grown up folk to get their homework, studying, and laptopping on. The reason that it reminds me of Central is that it has a small courtyard with lots of plants, sunlight, shade, and tranquillity.
Wi-fi of course. They have movies to take out. And bookmarks, which I love.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
One of my favorite places around Boston. I grab a book and sit on a comfy leather couch looking out onto a serene court yard. Add coffee and Im happy.
I really love this place and am hesitant to share it with anyone else. This place is a short walk from my apartment and I come here about once or twice a week to get away from life for a while. I'm not a huge reader, but I find this place a great place to read. I go in the late afternoon and it's usually very quiet, which I love. I love that it's not loaded with college kids. The book selection could keep me occupied for years at the pace that I read. But for me this place is more about tranquility than it is quality or quantity of book selection. I give it five stars because it is everything I expect, never ever fails to deliver, and is as cheap as it gets in Boston. What more could you possibly ask for? Just don't lose the VHS tapes;)
I eat books. / Chomp / Chomp / YUM / As in, I read very quickly and every night, and sometimes during the day when I'm feeling antisocial or in a bad mood. I've been going to libraries for as long as I can remember. Buying books wasn't ever an option for my voracious appetite.
That being said, as soon as I moved to Brighton, I checked out this branch of the BPL. It is very stylish in a modern Zen way. Selection is fine, I'm not a picky eater/reader. My beef with the place is two-fold:
1. The "all open" structure inside (aside from the study cubes) is bad. Very bad. Kids should be allowed to be kids. However, in this library when a kid cries or screams about a book or (more likely) a DVD, EVERYONE hears it. I'm very kid friendly. I love kids. I wouldn't bring kids here if I had them. You don't need to shut kids in a soundproof cage - just a few indoor walls to dampen sound is all I'm asking for!
2. The book shelves in Adult Fiction (not adult like porn, adult like not picture books) are low. They go up to my waist. The Young Adult fiction section has tall shelves. I don't get it. Teenagers are shorter than adults. The result is that since I don't like crouching, I only read books on the top shelf of the 3 shelves. That is sad. Maybe I will have to grab one of the easily available kids and get him or her to get me books off the bottom shelves.
Why four stars? Well, it IS a library. And despite myself, I love it.
People thought this was:
- Useful (4)
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Take this more as a warning and less as a review.
I'm stupid and left two VHS tapes on top of my car when going to return them. I realized halfway there that I had done this. When I arrived I told them that I lost the tapes. The woman kept prying, asking what happened to them until I had to admit that I'm a moron.
Anyway, she said they had to be replaced or pay $50 each for them. A little steep. I went online to find the tapes, but they were out of print and I was told that used replacements would not suffice. I called a few days later and offerred to replace the movies on DVD. They said they couldn't do that. So it was either shell out $100 or stop using the library.
I chose the latter and I'm not sure it was such a good decision.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
This is my library, meaning, it is like a 46 second walk from my house to the "liberry." I actually do pronounce it correctly, but I have heard others call it a liberry, which sounds so bad. Anyway, this place is very quiet, and dare I say, relaxing. It is so modern so please check it out. The 66 drops you off right in front too!
I love books. I like the modern, open feel of the library as architecture. It's crappy design for a library, because as Casey says, sound travels. I think their selection of books is crap. Their scifi/fantasy section (you know they couldn't be bothered to make separate scifi and fantasy shelves) is smaller than mine at home, if you don't count their Star Trek books (I don't). Their craft section is interesting to browse to find new crafts, but if you're looking for more advanced books or something specific, they won't have it. The only upside is they will order books from other branches for you (do it online if you have a PIN, or see the reference librarian) and hold them for pickup at the front desk.
This librarians here are very nice. They have a courtyard in the center along with several large rooms in the back which serve as an art gallery and piano room. The adult computers are pretty quick and there is the 66 bus stop right in front of the library.
