San Diego Public Library – Mira Mesa Branch Library

What ever happened to having a quiet space to study. Damn these modern libraries… I couldn’t even concentrate and internet is shut down 40 minutes before closing time. One of the librarians was walking around slamming books and shelves. Talk about hating your job.

Facilities are dated but will do the work. But kids are running around so sometimes this place is really noisy.

Really friendly helpful caring staff. The women at the counter answering the phones and checking out books are always the sweetest and full of information and great book advice!

Nice library, but between the construction next door, the loud people and the loud beeping computers, I couldn’t get anything done in peace.

My capstone group needed a place to meet up to work on our project and so we came here on a Sunday. It opened around 12:30PM and there was a crowd of people waiting outside already. Since it was our first time, we weren’t sure if they had any rooms we could use as to not disturb other library patrons. The lady in front was a little confused at first telling us we have to reserve a conference room and the guy in charge of that only works M-​F. But then she later realized what we were asking and directed us towards a small room past the bathrooms and book sale area.
The room isn’t that big — there was a long rectangular table with 8 old and uncomfortable chairs. Everything looked pretty dated. There was even an old typewriter in the room! There was another tutoring group in there so we shared the table with them. There were outlets along the wall so that was nice. However, because of its close proximity to the bathrooms, it can get pretty loud.
There is free wifi, but I think it might kick you out after a certain amount of time. You can easily log back in though. They do shut down the wifi about 15 minutes before library closing time.
They do have a no food and drink policy but they said they were pretty lenient on drinks — a lot of people had waters/​coffees.
I’m not sure if there were other rooms study groups can meet in (without having to reserve ahead of time), but if that room was the only room, you’re better off meeting elsewhere. It gets a little loud at times and since there’s only 8 spots, there’s a good chance all of the seats might already be taken. But it does the job if you’re able to find a spot.

The library is a little dated and can be loud sometimes, but overall a good place to study.

Could use a facelift — getting old and a little worn out looking. I seldom use it anymore, except to try out some of the free events. I wish they’d add more like meditation and Qi Gong.

The Library
I once had a stupid moment a while back when I posted on facebook, «Does anyone have (insert book name) that I can borrow?» After no one said they did, I started looking at buying options. Then my roommate reminded me, «Hey stupid. Go to the library, its’ free remember?»
It was so long since I had even thought of the library that I didnt’ think of it then either. Well, Since then, I’ve been to multiple libraries all over San Diego. The Mira Mesa one was visited when I had to pick up a book for the wifey that was on reserve.
Issue #1 (My fault which I don’t count against them) — The hours posted on Unilocal were wrong! I have since submitted an update to the hours based on the 2015 hours, but yeah… I looked like a fool (again) when I tried to open the doors of a closed library. D’oh!
Issue #2: When I walked in, I’m not sure why but I was hit with an overwhelming smell of urine. I hope that it was just something that accidentally seeped out, or someone had an accident, but what the heck. Full on stank on the nose!
Issue #3: The scanner for the self check out was not playing nice with the book I had nor the library card. I had to sit there and move the barcodes in and out a few times (about 2 minutes) while the person behind me was chuckling at me under her breath. I’m not even being self conscious! I heard her!
So with the urine smell and the barcode scanner, I would knock it down maybe to a 4 star. So why the 3 star? Overall the place was dark and didn’t seem that nice. Not like some of the more modern libraries. This is mostly due to the LED lighting (Yay!) and the many windows (I went at night). I also didn’t think the reserves were really well marked. Maybe its’ because I wasn’t used to the layout.
In the end, I’d go back and hopefully the urine smell is gone. It’s a nice library during the day, I’m sure.
TL:DR — Standard library that’s just ok.

This Library has THE most helpful people ever! They’ll go out of their way to assist you. The hours are funky, but when open, this is a great Library! kudos to all!

its an ok library the kids just get too noisy sometimes and nobody wants to tell em to keep it down

This library is an example of what a well cared library should look like. The people who work/​volunteer here are helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.

Decent library in Mira Mesa. The staff is friendly. It’s kind of old school and such. The noise level seems a bit loud for a library.

I regret having to write this. I just hope that the Director of the library reads it. I volunteered here for years, so it isn’t like we didn’t try to fix things. I’m not complaining and doing nothing about it. The place has just gone totally down hill.
I understand that this library serves an insane amount of people. The staff is overworked, underpaid, and stressed. However, they do turn away volunteers constantly, so they are partly to blame for their own stress. People in charge micromanage programs, which in turn, make it impossible for them to get their own jobs done. The staff can’t complain that they don’t have enough resources… they just use them unwisely.
Example, when the new Director took over, she was interviewed by Mira Mesa Magazine. She was asked what her top priority for the library would be. She said she wanted updated furnishings. Really? Not newer books? Not a teen or young adult area? Not even fixing the bathrooms? Readers… please take note that the library was totally refurbished less than 3 years ago.
This library has taken on the role of the main Rec Center in Mira Mesa (which has absolutely no programs for anyone but toddlers. The manager should be fired.) The new programs have less and less to do with education and more to do with exercise classes, toddler meetups, and religious festivals. There is absolutely nothing for teens except «pretend» volunteer credits. They sit around and eat pizza instead of learning anything or doing anything productive. The administration isn’t doing these kids any favors by giving them pretend credits, as the kids aren’t getting what they are supposed to from the experience… volunteer service.
Between this place just being poorly run and the City constantly changing the hours… it isn’t worth visiting. Unfortunately, it is the only one in Mira Mesa. Scripps is a short drive away. But if you are needing a real library, you might need to go to the closest county one in Poway.

Use to volunteer here for high school community service hours. The lady workers are honestly beetches unless you suck up to them. There use to be a nice old man who worked at check out, but I can’t remember his name. He had a long beard and looked like Santa Clause. Super sweet and friendly. Only decent person to talk to there. Too bad he’s retired. The other male workers here look miserable. It’s just not a pleasant experience to go up to them. Good thing they finally have self check-​out counters now. They use to have summer reading activities where you read 12 books and write down the titles then turn it in for a prize, but now those are gone too. The kids book section smells like pee just an fyi warning. The computers are limited to 15 minutes. You need a print card to use the printer. The print card costs a dollar and you just refill it. There’s also a separate computer room with about 20 computers are cramped together so everyone sitting next to you can see your business. The computers outside are at least in cubicles. They do have a great collection of YA books and DVDs. There’s also a pretty big Asian music collection. I just adore the cookbook and travel guide section. They have way too many paperback romance novels. The one nice thing about this place is their outdoor patio that overlooks the parking lot. There are trees and concrete benches that are nice to relax on. On Wednesday night there is also a line dancing class in the conference room. That’s mostly for old married women but it’s fun to join in on the Saturday Night Fever dance. There’s also a tutoring program for kids hosted where volunteer parents and high school students come and help the little ones on their homework assignments and math or reading skills. The library is overall great in programs and materials but they seriously need better service.

I wish they had more computer stations for printing and also for internet. I also wish they had earlier hours.

What everyone says about the noise level is true. I wouldn’t study here. However, I’d say this branch has one of the better on-​going book sales. I’ll stop in every couple of months and come out with a handful of books for fifty cents each.

Overall everything is ok, except for lady security. She keeps bothering us when we are studying. She tells us to do some manors like can’t put our feet out of flip flop, even I still put them on my flip flop. That’s a habit, i need comfortable so I can concentrate on my study. I have been here since 2000, and no problem with anything at all.

This is a very nice community library. Plenty of places to sit and study with outlets available for laptops. The staff is helpful and friendly. Books are available in several different languages and collections for all interests. I have been here twice and have not been bothered by the noise level (it is a public library with a children’s section). Can’t comment about parking since I walk here. While no food/​drinks are allowed, the staff is tolerant of bottled water. Computers available for public use.

Its a library that never has what I want — but I can definitely order it and pick it up. It should be called more of a «hub» than a library, for sure.
Anyway, besides never having what I want, they have limited hours. I know thats just a library deal — just kinda sucks when you also have a limited schedule.
Anyway, order your book at the library website and have it shipped here. That way, you can save yourself the headache (unless its fun to you, you masochist).

I come here occasionally to use the Internet access. While I sometimes am able to get into the one hour computer room, more often than not I end up using the express Internet terminals. There’s plenty of younger kids here because of the proximity to the schools, so it can get a bit rowdy.
The building itself needs a bit of an overhaul. The restrooms are quite messy; a fresh cost of paint needs to be applied to them. Also, there really isn’t any place quiet to read or study.
The staff are nice, though, and I occasionally check out a book from here. However, the shelves have older selections — I’m thinking of donating some of my books & media to alleviate this problem.