Kensington-Normal Heights Branch Library

This is the smallest branch of the SDPL and it is quaint and wonderful and exactly as it should be. The staff are very helpful, the library is clean and well organized, and while the selection isn’t plentiful, they are accommodating and willing to help you get the books you’re looking for.
That was my biggest concern. I asked if I could request a book Downtown and have it sent to Kensington, and they said yes. I asked if I could pick up a book downtown, or anywhere else, and drop it back off in Kensington when I was done, and they said yes again. Hooray!

The staff here is awesome, and they have a decent selection for how small it is. The only reason it’s not getting 5 starts is because it is so difficult to get on a computer here. Do not depend on this branch for computer use it usually takes a minimum 30 minutes wait to get on one.

I always go hear for my books, I’m actually headed here now. The librarians are polite and the people who go there are pleasant. It’s isn’t a modernized looking building but overall it’s a cozy and comfortable environment.

The children’s events they have are fabulous. We saw hullabaloo with my toddler right on the big grassy lawn, there is a gated park right next door, the children’s section had plenty to keep my son interested. We easily make a day out of going here.

This is one of the smaller branch libraries, but it’s a good one. The staff are more helpful than at some of the larger branches, and they offer the usual fabulous library services. They even have some good classes, but size is limited because of space restrictions.
It’s also located in a nice little park. Very pleasant, even if you’re too old to play on the jungle gym.
There’s no dedicated parking lot, but the residential area just south of the library has enough street parking that you should be able to find a spot within a few blocks.

This is a quaint library branch of the San Diego system. The staff is helpful. They have a great selection of dvds. child friendly. bins with EXTREMELY cheap used books. There is a lawn area. great location right on Adams Ave. There is nothing to complain about. This is a wonderful, FREE community resource!

I lived near this library for over six years. To think this library doesn’t have a full five star rating is bewildering to me. Incredibly helpful employees, tons of $ 1 books, lots on the stacks, always organized and lots of community organized events. What more could you want? It certainly isn’t too small, and is just big enough. The parking is more than suitable, so those complaints hold no water as I’ve never had to walk more than a couple of blocks when I’ve had to find parking. There are quiet places to sit and read if you’d like as well. This is a tremendous resource and I honestly can’t find a single negative about this place.

I moved to this neighborhood this year. I like this tiny library. It had new books that are not on hold by five hundred people. You just have to bring it back in two weeks. There aren’t homeless everywhere and around every shelf like University Heights library and a couple of others I’ve been to. The people are nice and helpful.

Love this library because its in an area centrally located in Kensington. Nice thing is there’s residential parking everywhere, so cant complain about that!

Love this little spot in the center of the village! Right now it is super colorful on the outside thanks to the yarn bomber! My book club gets their books routed through here, my kids can get a book and play in the park afterwards, it is a really sweet spot.

I laugh when I read some of the complaints about this library. You have to walk two whole blocks from your packing spot? Oh, wee lamb. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in a city for most of my life, but I’m willing to walk to my destination so two blocks feels like nothing to me. This library is half a mile from my home so I walk here unless I have my heavy book bag. Then I find street parking (yes you’re going to have to walk a couple of blocks, heaven forbid).
Getting your library card is super easy and they make it right then and there (now with multiple color choices). Your first card is free and any replacement cards cost $ 2.00. Not
Too shabby considering all the free books, CDs, DVDs, and Audiobooks you can get from this library. Yes it’s a small library, but it’s a branch library. Want a book they don’t have? You can borrow it from another San Diego library through the inter library loan system. It’s not hard, you just have to make a reservation for the book and pick it up when it’s available. That is pretty awesome if you ask me. Especially since (and I emphasize this), it’s free. Can’t afford that new book for $ 24.95? Be patient and check it out from the library.
The staff here are friendly and always helpful. I have quickly leaned I won’t be able to get a table guaranteed each time I go there, but it makes me happy to see how popular and busy this library branch is. The Kensington Library is one of the gems of the Kensington neighborhood, so to all the complainers please get your priorities sorted out. Think of everything the library has to offer you with no cost to you. Be more grateful.

First things first: yes, this library is small. Some would even say tiny. When my husband and I drove up, we were like «Whoa, is this it?» Our hopes were not high, given the size of this facility.
But you know what? This library proves that good things do come in small packages.
First thing you see when you enter the building is the «Friends of the Library» sale section: books, CDs, DVDs and magazines for sale, to benefit the library. Right on! We scored 4 CDs (including a Boards of Canada collectible EP, what-​what?!) for $ 4 from the friendly staff.
We then asked about how to sign up for library cards, being that we’re new in town. The librarians directed us to a catalog terminal, where we filled out our name, address and email addresses to get a temporary card number. Write it down and head back to the front desk to show them your picture ID, confirm your residency, and pick a color for your new card (all in complimentary red, orange, green, blue, teal, or purple hues) and you’re in there like swimwear. Sign the back and you’re ready to make off like a multimedia bandit.
Next up: the DVD section. Wow! We were impressed by the varied selection, including TV shows (all the Wire complete seasons! 1930’s monster movies!) and art films, as well as a pretty good foreign film assortment. You’ve got a 5 video max, and you get to keep them for just a week, but that seems fair (how many flicks can you really watch in a week?). The librarian also warned us about the $ 2/​day late fees, so be sure to bring that stuff back on time!
Even the CD section, a notorious dumping ground for stuff like Riverdance soundtracks and Yanni, had some gems. I found an early Massive Attack album I hadn’t yet acquired. Score!
Finally, the books — a library’s main draw! Admittedly, I did not venture into the new releases or classics to see what this branch has on file, but I was perusing the craft/​architecture/​art section just behind the DVDs, while my husband pored over the cooking section, and found a few interesting titles there. Granted, the book I checked out on how to design your own logo is from 2005, but if nothing else it should serve as a monument to how quickly our concepts of good design — particularly for the web — truly change.
Extra points for having several Calvin & Hobbes collections, as well as Anthony Bourdain’s (plus his pal Michael Ruhlman’s) entire opus. No dusty, faded 70’s crap here, just an updated, if tight collection. They had some dope Julia Childs updates and — whoa! Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (a MUST read for all chefs) AND Antonio Carluccio’s The Complete Mushroom book!
My huz even found a ’12 Ableton Live advanced controller template book in the music section. They also have a pretty decent Photoshop and digital photography section!
And if you have kidz, or you yourself just need to wear a helmet on the playground, they’ve got you covered in the adjacent park — it’s all rubberized padding. You won’t do your masters dissertation here, but you will find unexpected gems.

OK, so maybe I’m doing a little «compensatory positive ratings» but come on people! THREE stars is NOT fair or appropriate. In these times of city budget cuts and reduction in services, I’m THRILLED to have the library and its friendly, helpful staff available in my neighborhood and providing me with access to some really cool San Diego Library resources.
Some of the other reviewers complain that it’s small and full of people… Like Christina said, gems are small too. And it’s crowded because it’s POPULAR.
If you work the library «hold» system correctly, it’s like having your own free book club and you can basically have access to ANY of the books in ANY of the branches all over San Diego county.
Just recently, my wife and I went on a long road trip and thought about going to Audible and buying some audio books, but before we did – checked the library web site and found out I could DOWNLOAD five audio books at a time for NOTHING.
I’ve found the staff friendly and helpful and love being able to walk to the library (we live in Normal Heights) like I did as a kid in the Midwest.
So, ok, maybe five stars is a LITTLE generous (I’m saving that for the AMAZING Central Branch when it opens downtown – can’t wait), but this is definitely a solid FOUR star library experience. Highly recommended.

Not a bad library, but pretty small. Parking is a challenge, so you may need to go down the block to find something available. There is a nice playground next to the library for kids and fun stuff like Burger Lounge and a wine/​beer store across the street. The librarians are really nice, and you can place books on hold to have them delivered here. There are a few computers for use at no cost, but some folks take advantage of the time limit and refuse to move after they are done. Printing services are available at a small cost, and lately they’ve had old books for sale for around $ 1. Again, small library, check the availability of your book online before going in!

LOVE LOVE LOVE my library! Great family library with a terrific little kids section! The staff absolutely make this library the best! They bend over backwards to help you research and reserve books!
So what if it’s small!!! It’s a gem! They have so many organized events for kids, from mommy and me yoga, to magic shows, and we love their summer reading program! The library has a reading hour for the kids too!
As for my reading requirements, I’ve never had any trouble requesting and getting a book promptly! I read both popular fiction and lots of esoteric non-​fiction as well.
I am so sad to read these bad reviews by people who should know better than to try to do university level research at a tiny neighborhood library. This branch serves it’s neighborhood very very VERY well! WE love you!!!

This library is as outdated as some of the canned goods in my pantry. This whole place needs to be revamped. It’s too little to serve everyone’s needs, so it does a poor job of serving anyone’s needs. Here is my idea. Turn it into a children’s library. Everything in this place would cater to children. Sorry, you will have to get your Barbara Cartland romances somewhere else. This place is for ‘kids only.’ No more old people checking their e-​mails on the old computers. ‘just kids’ Maybe the smell of this place would improve with the elimination of the old books that nobody reads anymore. At least I think the smell is coming from the old books. Freshen this place up, clean it up, make it ‘kid friendly.’ That’s it. This transformation will provide a wonderfully safe haven for the little ones… and they can learn to read rather than play the wickedly nasty video games causing carpal tunnel to their thumbs. If you don’t do this, then close the place down… level the building… and create much needed park space for Kensington. By the way… how do we get the dog owners to stop their pooches from purging their bladder and intestines on the library lawn? To all of you than sunbathe on that lawn or have a picnic on the grass… have you seen the number of dogs that call this space their community toilet? Egad!!! What if I decided to take a dump on their front lawn? Oh, yes I will do my best to clean it up with a baggie. I don’t see anyone catching the liquid. It’s going right into the grass where you sunbathe, do your yoga, and have a little picnic. Get one of those blacklights and shine it at the grass during the night. The whole damn place with light up with urine tracks. Maybe that is why the library stinks.

This tiny library is MEGA retarded.
I am doing research, and since I am no longer a grad student who can access a university library, I decided to come into this branch to get a library card so they can order the material for me FOR FREE.
So I filled out the info to get my card, but it never came in the mail. A few weeks later I went back, wasn’t in their system, so I filled out another application, a few more weeks go by, and still nothing.
WTF???
The staff didn’t seem too concerned for me when I voiced my problems. Probably too busy cleaning the drool out of the Harry Potter and Twilight books.
Complete waste of time.

On the one hand, it’s tiny. There is precious little room for books, only a few computers, and the seating is all kind of uncomfortable. And there is no parking. I mean none. Walk.
That being said, the librarians are probably the most friendly and helpful I’ve met within the San Diego library system, and there is a really nice playground outside for those of you with podlings. So if you need a library for the books or computers, go to another branch. If you need a library for the community, come here.

you’d be lucky to call this your neighborhood library.
every book that a put on hold is waiting for me on the hold shelf within just a few days, the librarians are considerate, and your fellow library goers are respectfully quiet and patient (wait lists for computers).

It’s one of my local libraries and I used to visit all the time, but I’ve just grown exasperated with the branch each time I come in. It’s the smallest branch in the system, more like a large school bungalow than a library, that’s situated at the apex of a large mound on Adams Ave. that masquerades as a park. Strange. It’s noisy and doesn’t have very much computer access (two or three terminals, I think) and doesn’t afford you much privacy if you want to study or read. The CD collection and DVD collection is impressive, though the DVD collection is reliant on branch-​exclusive numerical system and is not alphabetical (the norm for most all of the branches in the San Diego system), thus making it extremely difficult to find what you’re looking for.
The biggest problem of this library? Its parking is absolutely horrendous. Like the Central Library, there is no private lot. You can park along the street on the south side of the branch, if there’s enough space for your car. Adams Ave. is a no go. Its east and south sides are surrounded by residences, which amplify the parking problem and there are businesses with limited parking on the north and west sides. Often times, I would have to park in front of a residence as much as two blocks away and walk north towards the library. It’s terrible. You don’t know how many times I’ve driven to the library only to give up and abandon the branch because I can’t find decent parking anywhere.