- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Los Angeles Public Library - Palms-Rancho Park Branch
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
2920 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 840-2142
2920 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 840-2142
7 reviews for Los Angeles Public Library - Palms-Rancho Park Branch
There are good things and bad things about this library. If this was anything but a library, it would get two stars. But it is a library - a building full of books - right there it is a five star establishment.
Now, the details. A lot of moms come here with young children. There is much screaming and crying. But, there are books that you can take home with you for free. Also, the Internet on the oodles of computers that are there for your free use, is stone age slow. But there are books. And, some would say, even better there is free WiFi that is surprisingly speedy. The selection of books, audio books, Cd's, and DVDs to choose from is rather limited, but the hold system is very efficient, so really you can get any book you can think of. Damn I love libraries, especially ones I can walk to.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (2)
Five stars for the concept of the free public library, five stars for the LAPL's awesome hold system that delivers the book of your choice to the branch of your choice for free, but this particular location leaves a lot to be desired.
They've closed it for renovations twice in the six years I've lived in this neighborhood, but what they really need to do is make it bigger. It's always crowded, there aren't enough computers or even chairs to meet demand, and I do not at all enjoy spending time here.
Parking sucks, too, and I normally roll my eyes at people who complain about parking situations that turn out to be perfectly workable. Parking on the street, which I normally don't mind at all, is also no picnic. Walking here from points south is equally (if not more) unpleasant unless you like love the sound and smell of the 10 freeway.
You're right, none of that is anyone's fault. However, this is also the only library in the world where I've ever had a check-out person be rude to me.
On the upside, you might run into Ray Bradbury here. I saw him talk here a few years ago and he claimed it's his local library (he lives in Rancho Park).
Once there was a crazy codger using a computer and hollering at the screen. He might not have been crazy - it's possible he was an attorney - but it was so colorful.
I love small libraries with limited means. You must know they won't have every new release or every obscure book, but the limited selection is a real gift. For example, I look for something I want, they don't carry it, I look for something else, ditto, and then I forage and find Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, which I have always wanted to read, but never picked up. It was great! The classics they have are random (Northanger Abbey, no Pride & Prejudice) but I always try something I never would have checked out if I had located my first choice. A reasonable biography section, CDs, DVDs, large print for the oldsters, cooking and self-help are all there. My wi-fi was not slow at all. There is plenty of light, clean bathrooms, and a bunch of places to sit. I do wish it were open more often- but that's city funding for you.
PS I found Pride & Prejudice. And most other Classics. They're kept between the young adult/kid section (right side) and adult fiction (left side), along the back wall. I guess it's a special area for middle/high schoolers to patronize for assigned reading. So if you can't find As I Lay Dying, The Great Gatsby or The Divine Comedy, look for this section.
People thought this was:
- Useful (4)
- Funny (5)
- Cool (3)
My new favorite library. I do love that Rancho Park, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills Libraries (all within 5 miles of each other) , each require their own card and you must fill out a separate application for each one. Not only that, but they give you the smallest pencil ever created to use (come on, can't you hook me up with a pen?).
This library is great (also right next to a nice playground with jungle gym and slide :) Their library is much smaller than Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, but it is really nice for the space they've got. An excellent selection of free New Releases (7-Day) and DVDs (2-Day). Minus 1-star because the librarian/lady at the front desk had a little attitude, but it was lunch time, so maybe she was just hungry.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (4)
- Cool (3)
Great local branch library. They keep late evening hours and allow you to borrow DVD's for 3-7 days. Really beats renting and Netflix. The head librarian is very helpful and fields comments/complaints/suggestions smoothly.
Go online, reserve your books and movies, have them sent to your local branch. It's ingenious. Why buy books and DVD's when you can borrow for free?
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
It was loud there sometimes. Parking is good. Free. Never had a problem with the printer, internet or the staff. Some people stay too long in the 15 minutes computer. And the DVD selection is small.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
I have got to be honest. I am giving this library 5 stars only because it seems cruel to give an underfunded free service a bad rating. I mean, the staff's fine, the selection's serviceable (and with the library's handy hold system, the collection of an individual branch hardly matters).
When I first moved to LA and Time Warner was giving me the run-around about getting internet at home, I spent a lot of time here using their (very slow) wi-fi. If I had known at this point that all Whole Foods have free wireless, I would totally have been there.
Alas, I spent a lot of time here (which is hard, considering they are open a random smattering of hours--and are closed on Sunday! What? Why are almost all LA libraries closed on Sunday???) and I spent even more time circling their parking lot.
This is where I first gave someone the finger the first time for stealing my parking space. An old lady in a jag. I considered ramming her too, I had been circling that long.
And I'm not some snotty ho-ha about parking. I'd gladly park far away and truck it on foot to my destination. But not here, at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch of the LA Public Library. Because their location at Overland and the I-10 means there's no street parking around. So you are stuck circling the fairly large lot which is always full, as it's shared with the park & rec center or whatever.
Finally, the library is nice inside, but as I'm equidistant to the Mar Vista branch, I typically head there. Palms-Rancho Park has bitchy old ladies and too many freaking kids.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Cool (3)
