Silver Lake Library

This is one of my favorite NE LA libraries WHEN THE WIFI WORKS. wifi works well sometimes and sometimes it’s useless. Besides that it’s a great library, cool vibes, nice and quiet for studying or working on a laptop. Would give 5 stars but the Wi-​fi is such an annoying issue

What an incredible location ! ! In which different could you see initial essential oil works of art of well-​known previous presidents, do researsh, view the initial Winnie the Pooh packed creatures. Only right here as well as the cost to find out these treasures is free of charge. My children enjoy the «classic» telephone booths and pay out cell phones in the earth flooring. Only a great location to choose family members.

Quiet, peaceful, relaxing to read– study; clean, good for kids, friendly staff. Loved their covered parking with no limit as long as you are in the library :) … Very very nice place to study.

Nice and clean with outlets under the tables. Lots of street parking available. Friendly staff and awesome location right next to the reservoir. Very quiet with lots of daylight.

This is my favorite place to go and read. A wonderful open area by the piano or the quiet room in the back if I need to buckle down and study. The staff are patient and available. Great spot :-) with good food just across the street.

Have to agree with the other reviewers, wonderful architecture, great for children apparently because there are always noisy children activities, but god awful place for studying, working, or any quiet reading.
there are very few desks with outlets, and the quiet room is not even enclosed so you can hear everything going on outside. Dont’ really understand the point of that.
Also there is absolutely no regulation re: sound. Not only do the staff not monitor talking, between adults, much less screaming children, they are usually carrying on loud conversations themselves.
The library does have odd hours, but they have improved somewhat, even opening on Saturdays now. The wifi is hit or miss. But count on it being slow.

It’s beautiful inside. the people are genuine. not a lot of homeless people. Parking sucks. Smells clean inside. Security here every other day with police presence everyday.

It’s a State funded daycare center.
I’m new to the area and went there to work for the day and study. It’s as loud as a Toys R Us and I have more books in my apartment than they have in the library. Wi-​Fi is a joke. Don’t bother.

Sick of all the coffee shops in the area, I decided to tried coming to the library last week to get some work done. I was pleasantly surprised. This library is relatively quiet (especially in the quiet study room), not too crowded, and very well lit. The parking structure, while free, is really tiny so just park on the street!

Horrible acoustics. Impossible to study or read here. You can hear staff talking, carts being pushed around, and children’s zone is out in the impossible.
The idea that this is a library for people other than children is a joke.

Although this place has its pros (free wifi, free parking, clean space), it definitely has its cons. First off, a few hours ago they held a «musical concert» which the librarians called it «a treat for us» (as they said on their intercom) in their main room. Mind you, their main room is where most, if not all people study, as this is quite a small library. Is this a library or the greek theater? I came here to study quietly, only to find out I had to leave as the music was a significant distraction. I was also studying in their so called «silent study room,» which was not very effective as you can HEAR EVERYTHING FROM THE OUTSIDE! As I looked at other patrons, they had similar facial expressions on their faces — annoyed and frustrated. I do not understand how a library would allow such activity. They have a private room downstairs, which is definitely big enough to fit these musicians, so why not have it there? Instead they decide to have it out in the open. A treat? I DO NOT THINK SO. I also agree with other reviews on how other noise is not regulated. For example, many parents take their children here to what it seems like to play. Again, is this a library or a park? If the noise level was much more regulated and certain activities were held in OTHER PLACES, I think this library would be perfect.

This review is for parents, specifically. :)
Beautiful space.
So-​so parking lot– small and awkward but we get a spot most of the time.
Kids area is really good– they have stuffed animals, big rug, and small tables– make it easy for the children to get what they want without help.
Lots of selection in the kids books.
Sometimes there are volunteer readers, who will read to your kid, which is sweet.
I haven’t been to a story time yet…
But I have to write that he librarians themselves are kinda… mean? Rude? Completely lacking warmth or any sense of customer service? I mean, their jobs are paid by our taxes, aren’t they? There could be a hint of polite service… instead, the feeling we get every time we go is that we are being a burden. It is a real turn-​off. I guess I could return the favor and act like a bitch too, but so far I have resisted. lol

It’s been said here before, but it’s true — this place is really perplexing.
Pro: There’s tons of light, lots of space, and a decent collection of the basic freshman-​reading-​list classics & necessities. Plugs, wifi, windows.
Big, weird Con: It’s loud. Like persistently, coffee shop-​level loud. To the point where it seems like they’re actively campaigning to be a library for people who love everything about libraries except the quiet.
Librarians have conversations with patrons at full voice. Children’s story hour is right out in the open. People take phone calls. The photocopier’s always churning. Tutors work with students like they’re at a kitchen table. Once an hour it seems like someone’s noisily loading or unloading something, and it seems to be a favorite hangout for people who like to whistle while they wander.
Lower your expectations and bring headphones and you can have a pleasant afternoon of work here.

Great library space. Open and light with adequate table to work. Free WiFi and printing wireless is available!
Perfect place to get an hour of work/​research done. Some parking is available under building …

This library is fantastic. It’s aesthetically pleasing, has clean bathrooms, covered parking garage with no time limits, it’s open until 8pm, and has a silent study room.
However, the person who decided that the silent study room should be wedged in-​between the children’s storyline area and the information desk, needs to be slapped. The room is unfortunately not sound proof, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I REALLY hope that they consider moving the children to a room or possibly downstairs? Nobody wants to hear a child scream or cry while they’re trying to focus or read.
If they moved the story time area, this would definitely be a five-​star library.

I wanted to update my county public library card bc I hvnt used it for a long time. I approached the lady behind the counter on the right side of the entry way. She said that it was a city library. I checked the website of la county public library, and silverlake is one of the branches. So this lady is unaware of it? Not friendly staff, and she was sitting at the first spot helping folks. Oh no

At first I really liked this library. It’s very pleasing to the eyes and the natural light is great. However, unlike many other libraries the concept of silence is almost non-​existent. Not only do parents let their children talk as loud as they want, the librarians have no regard for silence either. I have witnessed them have loud conversations and «shriek» during interactions with coworkers. It also doesn’t help that the study tables are right next to the children’s section. I am really disappointed because it would be a great place to study and get some work done otherwise.

I have a love-​hate relationship with this library.
Aesthetically, the Silverlake Library is perfect. You have lots of natural light, and a plethora of chairs and tables. They have a great dvd selection and if they don’t have what you’re looking for you can always have them request it for you.
However, one thing I deplore is when they do story time or baby story time in the library itself and not in the community room. I find this very annoying because as someone who goes to the library to study and need to concentrate, it is very distracting when they have morning story time and they have babies crying their heads off and kids just running around and their moms/​nannies don’t do anything about it.
It makes for an awful time to be at the library when you’re trying to study. Please move storytimes or playtimes to the community room or at least designate hours in the community room so that those who like/​need to work in peace can do so.

I live so close to this library, which makes me really appreciate it. I honestly cannot review on the book selection, since I haven’t checked anything out yet. I have only used this facility as a place to study. As a study location, it did it’s job, but there is definitely room for improvement.
The «cubicals» (which really don’t block you from others) are located directly by the kids section/​play area. With that being said, make sure to bring head phones or ear plugs. There are a number of unattended children hanging out here. My first experience when I was trying to study, was listening to pre-​teens fighting over a juice box. There was also a slight smell, which I want to say was of vomit, but I could be wrong. Once I got into the zone, and had my music a-​playin’, it was fine. I did go back a few times after that, and basically had the same experience, so just be prepared for that.
Oh, and one other thing. They have some lights that are on sensors. Which… to me, doesn’t make any sense. People sitting at desks reading/​studying aren’t usually moving, so the lights go off pretty often, which is distracting.

I’m going to respectfully lower the rating after realizing that the book selection is pretty slim (for adults, as it seems most of the paperbacks carried are for teens or tots).
However, they do have the automated checkout which is advanced, and a lot of DVDs, so they’ve obviously got the whole library meets technology concept down to a science.