Schenectady County Public Library

I like coming here they have nice cubbies on the side to come and sit to do your work or also tables on the side of the library. They have the best selection of books in the region due to it’s size. I wish they had rooms to rent so that people who like to talk or tutoring can go in there and not have to speak low to not disturb others. But it’s a great place to rent books, read magazines, newspapers, and even some wifi.

In the early 2000s, I worked here as a ‘student worker’ page. That meant I put books back on the shelf in the evenings, and early in the morning on weekends. My tenure here was about 9 months, but that was enough. As my first job, it was ‘special’.
The problem with this library, is that it’s used by tons of disgusting psychopathic bums. In the winter, they use it for heat. In the summer, they use it for air conditioning. During my short stint at this library, bums were:
1) Arrested for masturbating in full view of the public
2) Passing out drunk
3) Harassing women with sexual/​weight-​related epithets.
4) Drying their dirty socks on the heaters
5) Masturbating some more.
So, if you have small children, be sure to supervise them while they’re here. It’s definitely not a place you want to take your eyes off of them.

I LOVE this library! It’s so big, and so many books! The staff is very friendly and helpful. I love that it’s in walking distance. I’ll definitely come here, as much as I possibly can!

This review is for the «branch», not the county library system as a whole, and is relative to public libraries in general.
It’s a medium-​sized downtown branch and the flagship of the county library system, housed in a somewhat dreary and dated 1970s building that suffers from the nadir of institutional architecture. The new addition is supposed to open later this year and should make for a much nicer children’s department and open up more space in front for adult readers. In the meantime the building is a bit depressing to linger in, and does not have a lot of the comforting aspects for the reader. The construction project has no doubt not helped.
Free parking just next to the library, and it’s in a neat downtown location across from city hall and catty-​corner to the Jay walk.
The collection is decent for a public library — not «downtown» quality, if you will, but as a very large library for a city this size and for a relatively small county, it’s pretty nice. The county library system in general seems to function well (we’ve come from another part of the county so have some points of reference), and the staff are very nice and helpful. The collection does seem to be in need of sprucing up – culling a number of older titles and adding new books more quickly. The computer facilities are below average, but they are entering the age of loaning e-​books so I suspect this is a function of budget and not managerial foot-​dragging. In any event it’s a mixed bag with respect to ability to use the library for research as a whole.
I’m a little torn as for rating this, since I can’t quite give it five stars — I’ve seen five-​star public libraries and this is not one of them — but in terms of patron service I think they’re doing better than average for the country as a whole. Can you compare them to the brand new libraries in Saratoga County? Or do you compare it to the storefront library branches in the same county? Or to the smaller but swankier libraries in the towns in the same county system? I honestly don’t know, but my sense is that the sheer (relative) size of the collection and the vigor with which it survives in a shrunken user base merits the fourth star. They’re adding on: they’re moving forward — full credit here where credit is due. For public institutions to actually expand in this day and age means there’s something worth paying attention to about this place.
That said, it is not a «destination» library, like, say, the Carnegie in Pittsburgh PA or the main branch in Berkeley CA, et alia — it’s not the kind of library you’d go out of your way to visit if you were coming from out of town. It’s an old armchair that’s probably far more comfortable for its affable familiarity than it is for its design. Great to have for locals who can appreciate it.
The attention of readers everywhere, however, should be drawn to the Whitney Book Corner, just down the street at 600 Union, which is the used bookstore operated by the Friends of the Schenectady County Library, which is really quite something and which we’ll review separately now that there’s a Unilocal entry for it.

This is what a library is supposed to be like. This is a quintessential community space and I’m glad to see so many programs and extremely good use of available space. I’m also glad to see a full parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. The library was bustling with patrons.
We attended the Winter Concert Series in the McChesney Room. A FREE, one-​hour concert inside the library! We heard the Silver and Gold Brass Quintet and they were terrific. The room is pretty much soundproof so students can concentrate in the stacks while a trumpet sounds… loudly! The acoustics are amazing for such a small space!
Kudos to the library staff to envision such a combination of learning! Every Sunday there is a live performance of music or storytelling. It’s FREE!
The library is clean, there are plenty of places to sit with outlets available for your laptop. There is lots of light and the staff is more than accommodating.
The video selection is extensive and the cooking section takes up an entire stack.
It is quiet.
This is my local library of choice. Great programs and a great community service.

I’ve been coming to this library since I was a kid and have only recently realized my intense appreciation of it. It’s a very clean library with lots of tables in the windows to sit quietly at and look at City Hall. I used to bring my homework here to work on during breaks from college because of this.
Then it became The Greatest Place On Earth over one of my summer breaks. They got a DVD section.
Amazing. Firstly, they have a lot of TV on DVD (I watched the entire series of the original The Office and season one of Six Feet Under my first summer of renting from the library), they have a lot of new releases and they have a lot of foreign films. I majored in Film and TV at NYU so I could always feel like I was actually «doing work» over the summer even when I was renting «Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!» If you’re in the area and can belong to this library, do it. It’s right next to the post office, it’s near Jay Street and all the shops there, it’s in the middle of downtown. Perfect spot to hang out and then wander around Schenectady.
I am in love.

BY FAR the best foreign film collection I have seen in any library (or video store for that matter). And a cool ca. 1969 building with what looks like original furniture, fixtures and a panopticon upstairs for the bureaucrats.