Toowong Library

I’m a card-​carrying library member and I’m not afraid who knows it. You see sometimes, as much as I love books and how they look gathered on a book shelf, there is a great disappointment when you buy a full-​priced book only to realise it just isn’t one you’re into. Somewhere in early 2011 I made a deal with myself to not read any more books for the sake of reading them and if I wasn’t «feeling» a book then I stopped reading it. Enter the beauty of the library for being able to loan said books rather than buying. I also love the ability to reserve books online using the Brisbane City Council eCatalogue and pick them up from your nearest library. And magazines — why pay $ 8.95 or more each month for the same glossies when you can reserve and loan them for 80 cents?
Toowong Library may be smaller but don’t judge it by it cover (I went there!), there’s still plenty of choice and for times when you just want to sit in silence there’s plenty of nooks (and free wi-​fi) to study or get that much closer to Inbox Zero. Yes, I am a nerd and proud to admit it.

Toowong Library used to be my favourite Brisbane library for it’s separate fiction section of fantasy and science-​fiction books. Sadly for me, they integrated the books into the regular fiction section but they still have the most fantasy books out of any library I’ve been to. It’s more functional than stylish and doesn’t have any cosy corners to hang out in like a lot of other libraries but its conveniently in the Toowong shopping centre so you can pop in for weekend reading material when you pick up the groceries. It’s also pretty empty most of the time and if you need the Internet or printing services there’s usually one free within the hour.

This is one of those public libraries where it pays to book ahead. What I mean by this is the book selection is tres limited, however you can go onto the library website and order any book in the collection in. It’ll take a bit of time, but it’s worth it — and let’s face it, you’re not paying for it so don’t get huffy!
Otherwise it’s not a bad place to study if you need quiet, airconditioned spaces well away from the temptations of your lounge room.

As far as public libraries go, Toowong is alright.
Smaller than most other libraries in the area (Indooroopilly being two suburbs over and a fair bit larger), Toowong library is still a great place to go if you need some quiet time, or would like to use the free Internet (but get in early, you may have to reserve a spot). You need to be a member of the Brisbane city council library though, but the staff are more than willing to help and it only takes two forms of ID and about ten minutes.
As far as book selection is concerned… well, it’s concerning. While the popular bestsellers are available, you may want to check ahead (on line) if the book you’re looking for is available at this branch. If not, the staff can always order it in for you from another branch but this can take up to a week of waiting.
The library does stock up to date magazines and some pretty good comics and DVDs though, so no complaints.
May be worth a trek to the City or South bank libraries if you want more choice though. But to escape the summer heat and to kick back with a free magazine, it’s not too bad. The couches are comfortable enough, and the air conditioning works.