Desert Broom Library

This really is a nice library. It is noisy, and I never minded that until… I was talking to my daughter about a book when one of the librarians asked me to keep it down. I was kind of in shock because I was keeping my voice much lower than the screaming kids in the rest of the kids area. Oh, well at least you can keep the books and movies out just about forever!

Initially, this library would have gotten one star because it took four visits to get in! Besides the reduced hours which caused me to show up when it was closed (one Monday and then one day before opening as it opens kinda late several days), I managed to find two days when it was closed for staff training and some such on a Friday! All within a four-​week period. Argh. But, once inside, I found a lovely sanctuary and very helpful people. During the closures I went to several other libraries and this one is by far my favorite.

Love this library. Always take my kids here. We always find neat books and CDs. The kids play area is great !

My initial experience with this library was poor. My family just moved here, we will only be here temporarily and we get all of our utility bills electronically — all of which posed immense barriers to getting a library card. We were, initially, turned away from getting a card and I left with a crying child. I’m checking out a book not priceless diamond jewelry! After scrounging up proof that we would not be leaving hastily in the night with a car full of library books — we obtained an elusive library card.
This library does have a nice children’s section and it has several copies of popular books. The kids section also has Legos, puzzles and cool activities for the kids to play with. We have also taken advantage of the family story time on Thursdays and Ms. Ellen is a gem! Our two kiddos love attending and look forward to it each week.
I cannot speak to any other aspects of the library.
Overall, a nice library with good kid amenities. I’m still miffed about our initial experience but I’m a mature adult and am moving on… sort of.

Checked this out last week for the Friday Walkers class. I was very impressed. The woman who instructed the class was very calm, sweet, and patient. My little guy was not super impressed, due to it being around nap time. However, when she brought out the bubbles, he was all in.
The Library itself has a nice layout and is very neat. The location is cool, because it seems like it’s a secret library hidden in the desert. The children’s area (thought small) is functional and clean as well.

Very spacious library. I don’t feel like the books are going to eat me! The way the library is layed out is very easy to get through also. Lots of parking and even a circulation for easy book return !

As far as public libraries go, Desert Broom is probably one of the better ones — and certainly within the Phoenix Public Library system. The building is very pretty and a great location right on the edge of the desert. The staff is always very friendly and helpful, and when my kids were younger we really enjoyed the storytimes.
However, due to City of Phoenix cutbacks, the hours are really frustrating! I always find myself needing to visit at times when the library is closed. 3 days per week the library doesn’t open until 11am. So Desert Broom is closed from 5pm on Saturday to 11am on Tuesday — almost 3 full days straight. This isn’t really conducive to a regular library visiting schedule.
Like every other Phoenix Public Library that I’ve visited, the computers are in DIRE need of an update. When Desert Broom opened in 2005, it was an architectural and technological showpiece. Today, the computers are too slow to even browse the internet… and the monitors are too small. I mean, they are probably 7 years old at this point — I can’t remember them ever being replaced. You used to see a lot of kids using the computers in the kid area, but I’ve noticed that they’re always open now because most of the time they aren’t working.
For the past couple of years since the hours changed, I’ve been using the Appaloosa library in the Scottsdale Public Library System (10 miles away from me) because the hours are way better, the computers are newer with huge monitors, and I even feel like they have a wider book selection for kids and young adults.
I really wish the City of Phoenix would invest in some new technology for the library system!

Books are Books are Books! But this library has three other assets working for it too.
1. Technology! They have really modernized the library experience.
2. Staff! Just about the friendliest people around.
3. Architecture! I LOVE how this building blends with the scenic 45 acre wild life preserve that it is part of.

This library is perfect. It has a modern sophistication with all the seating you could want. The Music collection is huge and they are so efficient at holding your requested items from the website. This is a perfect neighborhood library.

Nice facilities, nice AC, but two FATAL flaws:
1. Children running around yelling and screaming at all times. This is a failure of the parents and, more importantly, of the staff who apparently REFUSE to enforce any kind of policies against noise whatsover.
To parents and staff: THIS IS A LIBRARY *NOT* A DAYCARE!!!
2. The «collection» here is 90% DVDs and «Dummies» books with trashy novels thrown in for good measure.

I love the Phoenix library system anyway but this library is the top of the heap! It is great.
First the architecture is great. Very unique especially for a library.
They have a good amount of books, audiobooks and DVD’s. The kids section is vast. My oldest son absolutely loves it. He could sit and read books in there for hours. The librarians and staff are great too!

I love coming to this library even though it takes a little more than half an hour to drive. It’s set right on the corner surrounded by an array of fast food chains, supermarkets, and gas stations. I’ve checked out many books and movies over the months and have started to go through the cd’s which surprisingly are up to date and unedited when you see the parental advisory. Funny enough I rented Scarface here. They have a kids section, several computer stations, and when you go to check out they have three electronic sensors that put the item on your account without scanning the bar-​code, you just set the book or dvd on this black pad and it knows what you put there. You can put more than one item down at a time too and it will read all of them, pretty neat. Then you press a button and it prints you a receipt with the due dates.

This is probably the nicest library I have been to, other than the huge Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. Definitely smaller, of course, but the ambiance of it is pretty cool. It has a beautiful design inside and out. Very peaceful surroundings outside, and when the weather gets cooler it will be awesome to sit outside.
I live 6 miles down from it and just barely «discovered» it. This will be my new study spot =)

A total oasis from the summer heat. This friendly and well stocked neighborhood library is never crowded, so you can alway grab a free PC or a free table if you’re lugging your own laptop. The selection of books and dvds are really good too.