Benjamin Franklin Branch Library

Small library. Children’s section has an open area with seating. It’s in a central location. There are tables with outlets for laptops. There is parking behind the building.
I wish they received a grant to revamp this library. It’s desperately needed in this area. If only it could be a 2 – 3 story building. It’s sad they restored the building across the street but have done nothing to the library.

I used to study in this library. I really like it although it was pretty small. Once in a while you will get to see a crazy person high on something but staff will take care of the problem quickly. After all it is in East LA. The Chairs are not comfy, they are made of wood without cushion. It’s an ok place if you need a place to study. If you need extreme peace and quiet, you won’t get it here.

Eh… it’s a tiny library. Definitely not like the central library. Lots of empty spaces on shelves like they don’t have enough material to fill them up. :-(And the parking lot is DARK!!! At least it’s across the street from the police station if you get mugged. Haha.

I was so impressed the second I walked in this Boyle Heights branch. It makes me wonder if the other reviewers have ever gone to another location (especially in the South Bay) because they don’t know how good they have it!
The reason I ended up at BF, a branch 40 mins from my home, was because the sole copy of the book needed for my fast approaching book club meeting was sitting on their shelf.
Really, this is the best library I have been to in the City of LA network. Free parking, super clean, friendly staff, and well laid out even though it was indeed small. My absolute favorite part is that there was a pretty even divide of stock between English and Español! For those who think the selection is lacking, you’ve got to remember the entire LA library system is at your finger tips. Any book, CD, or movie can be put on hold and transferred to your branch… because really, why would we need one copy of every book at every branch? Spending that money on new and different books is much better than loading up on duplicates.
I wouldn’t hesitate to come back here again. And don’t pay attention to those 3 star reviews… this branch is oh so good.

Area is small but quite. On new books you might have to order it for it to arrive at the closets library.
Well maintained.

Overall it’s a decent place, parking is free is you find a spot in their lot. But it could definitely use one of those librarians most libraries have that go around shushing ppl up because it gets loud here after 3pm. I prefer to come here in the morning and their hours have recently changed. The hours on Unilocal have not been updated yet. It is kind of small but does have lots of ample table space and chairs everywhere.

This is a small library, so I didn’t expect to find a good selection of books. I wanted to get a library card, but I didn’t have my ID, so I couldn’t get one. I returned months later to get a card, had my ID, but then they said I needed proof of my new address, which bothered me. I want to check out some books to read, but no, I need to have proof of address. That really bothered me since they didn’t ask for that last time. They gave me a card that only lets me check out ONE book at a time until I bring proof of address. I like to read a lot books at one time, so boy, did this bother me to the core of my being.
The staff has been nice so far. The library is clean, even the restroom. But this is a library and I’m disappointed there are not enough books on ONE subject. For example, if you want a book about pregnancy, there is a small selection. Ok, you’re probably thinking, It’s a SMALL library so of course there isn’t enough space for too many books, BUT I used to go to a different SMALL county library where I used to live and they had quite a great selection of books. Need books about women’s health? BAM! You get 2 – 3 damn shelves. How many shelves at Benjamin Franklin? Most likely just ONE shelf. You’d be lucky to get one shelf and a half.
For novels, you’re more likely to find a «bigger» selection, but for non fiction books, wow, disappointing. I used their database to search for books I’m interested in reading, and guess what? They didn’t have most of them. They’re all at the downtown central library. Next time I’d rather go all the way to downtown since that library has a HUGE selection of books and is not stuffy like this library. I think they need to find a new way to organize those shelves so it can look more roomy; it looks cramped.
Also, most of their books are a bit old. Where are the new editions? Probably at the Downtown Central Library.

This is MY library!!! Well not mine, mine… but it seems to be a big part of my book life. I got my first library card here at the age of 5 and lost it countless times, I got my official library card at age 10 and built up a huge bill because of my forgetfulness to turn in books I borrowed. I got a peck on the cheek by a boy between the book isles. I worked tutoring children for a while here as well. This library has seen it all!
Anyways, enough of me!
The people who work here have changed over the years but they always stay friendly and helpful. They have a large section just for children, with tiny tables and tiny book cases. They have a whole wall full of computers to browse the internet and get your homework done. They have a pretty large collection of books, however sometimes they don’t have quite exactly what you need, but you can always order the book and it should arrive here in no time. Most of the morning time it is quiet and peaceful but once it turns 3pm, expect kids using up everything!
And now that most of LAUSD doesn’t DO summer school… the library is what protects kids from the heat while they play computer games or look at the latest Teen Vogue. I like this library, and it is in the middle of being renewed, so who knows… I might come back and add one more star :)
PS. free wifi