Westminster Branch Library

Dear City of Westminster, please spend some time and money to fix this place.
Sad to give this a low rating. This is the main library in Westminster so one would expect the city to put a little more effort into maintaining it, but it’s been years and nothing has changed. I remember volunteering here 15+ years ago when I was in high school. It is still as loud as ever in here. The library is small, no matter where you sit, all the sound and noise will travel to you. People talking with maximum volume is a norm here… even the front desk and librarians. If you need some serious studying, don’t come here.

If it weren’t for convenience, I won’t even go here. It’s always loud af (kids are really rude, not to mention the adults); like, aren’t libraries supposed to be quiet? I’m pretty sure they would do something to fix this if they, ahem, read the reviews on Unilocal.
I love the librarians and volunteers, but I hate the ppl who go there.

This is a really simple and to the point library.
They have great customer service, everyone will always help you find what you need. I mostly come here for the book sales, or to donate books.
They have a huge selection of books for sale to choose from at great prices. Some are also very old, which is always a fun find! They have a great selection of cook books and self help books.
I definitely recommend giving this place a try if you’re looking to rent a book or buy a new book. :)

Quiet even with the kiddos in there

Pros: Librarians are friendly. Environment is cozy. Sound level is minimal.
Cons: Wifi is slow. It’s so slow, I might as well use the wifi from my cell phone’s data plan. Food and drinks are prohibited.
Tips: Get a new router to increase the speed of your Internet as up-​to-​par with technology from the 21^st century.

I have gone to almost all the OC Public Libraries and have always had a wonderful experience until I made the mistake of going to the Westminster branch. Staff is unhelpful, rude, and incompetent in person as well as on the phone. Will never go back to this branch. Save yourself some time and maintain your sanity by just skipping this place. Awful!

This place is awful! Noisy with all pp keep talking and chatting as if in some coffee shops. They just do not know what they should keep quiet in a library! Then the cell phone ringing, the dim light and all others distractions. Even though this library is really near my house, i would rather drive 15 min to Huntington library to study.

This library used to be empty & quiet back in 1997. Now it’s loud & overcrowded with kids & their tutors. They finally added central air after all these years. The Wi-​Fi is super slow. The library still look old & dirty. I think you’re better off going to the Huntington beach library.

No need for details. All you need to know is: dirty, loud, and busy.
I mean I went here today and saw someone wearing gloves to use one of the computers… It has to say something about the place. The Internet is SOO damn slow and the place is filled with loud kids. Bad concoction for someone trying to study. There’s also a lot of old pervy looking men here. I’ve caught some people on porn sites before, ew!

Another library that instills that nasty, gross feeling of having to shower after you study here. Just read my review of the garden grove library and that review will echo this one. Poor lighting, loud, and has a weird smell that’s unsettling. I’ve come here as a kid and even nostalgia can’t help give this library an extra star. Don’t expect to study much if you’re here, you’ll just end up ppl watching and then wondering why you ever stepped foot here in the first place.
Extra notes:
Free wifi that doesn’t even work
Hardly any outlets at tables
Small library
Dirty restroom
Loud

I have been coming to this library for many years. As a matter of fact, now my own children come to this library. This branch offers just about everything any library offers. Internet access, a place to sit and read, restrooms, drinking fountain, and books. They have a small little bookstore where you could purchase books for pennies on the dollar.
The library bookstore hours are not consistent with the hours on the website. The bookstore is closed on Sundays. This library suits its purpose. It doesn’t seem up to date like some other nearby libraries.

News Flash!
It’s a library. It’s supposed to be quiet. You’re talking. Something’s wrong.

Pro’s:
— Tutoring services for kids; access to Vietnamese-​English speaking tutors/​helpers for ESL students
— I could usually find books on topics that I search for
— Computers you can borrow (with a time limit)
— The bookstore sells older magazines/​books for really cheap
Con’s:
— SLOW Wi-​Fi. Forget working from your lap-​top if you plan on using the internet. This is a big turn-​off, since a community resource like the library should provide reliable access to the internet. It’s the 13^th century, come on.
— Limited seating sometimes
— Limited plugs for lap-​top chargers (unless you sit at the table for lap-​top users)
Huntington Beach and Irvine have either bigger, better, or more charming libraries (more funding, wealthier communities = better resources). The next closest library to me, Garden Grove Library, doesn’t have fast Wi-​Fi either. I end up traveling further for a library or studying at a business.
If you’re looking for a space to study or check out books, and you don’t plan on using internet from your lap top or phone, this place might do.

A year ago, I rented a handful of books, some books for research for my college courses. When that spring semester was over, I returned my books thinking that I returned all of them but apparently I forgot one and apparently the library personnel did not tell me, which I know is not their responsibility to do so, right? So the summer goes by (approx. 3 months later) and I get a mail from a collection agency asking for $ 75 bucks for the missing book. =(At that time I really did not even know I didn’t return a book, but I searched all over and found it, went to the library, and worked it out with them. I asked them if they had my phone and email address all this time and they said yes. I asked them if they give courtesy reminders to their customers about these things and they said yes. So I asked them how come I never received a courtesy reminder within the last 3 months and the person who helped me said, «Oh, that’s just a courtesy reminder…» and then says nothing else. HUH??? I guess the person was implying that they don’t have to send out courtesy reminders to everyone in my situation. Fine. Anyway, I got my fee lowered and returned the book, but a year later I’m still trying to figure out if the collection agency actually cleared my fee in their records…
Three weeks ago I was returning yet another handful of books for college course projects. This time I made sure that I had all my books. I wanted to check out some of the books again because I was still finishing up a project. However, the lady who helped me told me that I couldn’t check out half of my books again because I cannot check out the same books more than two times in a row. Really? I’ve checked these books out over 3 times in a row and nobody gave me a problem. She told me that I could check them out again but I would have to wait 24 hours. I asked her if it’s OK if she could reserve them for me and I will be back in 24 hours but she said no because these books have to be open to the public to check out. So, I figured that if I come back in 24 hours, I would have to locate all the books where I found them, which is fine because they were all in one location. I wrote down all the names of the books that I needed to check out again and then I left.
I returned the next day and went straight to where the books should be located. I found none of them. I then went to the front desk and asked for help. The lady who helped me the day before was not there so another person helped me. She went to look for my books in the office, returned without finding them, and then
directed me to the middle table where another librarian can assist me. I told another librarian about my situation, he told me that the system shows the books are available, so he wrote me the codes for the books. The codes lead me to the shelves I was looking at when I first came back, so I double checked if the books were there and they weren’t. The librarian who gave me the codes went in the office to look for my books as well and wasn’t successful. I just returned these books yesterday so I know they have to be somewhere in this library. Unfortunately I was told that the books shall be on the shelves in the next week. Next week? My project was due this week… *Sighhhh I totally lost a chunk of my references for this project but I think it was the missing principles that bothered me more. First, you won’t let me check out the books. Second, you won’t let me reserve the books. Third, you tell me to come back in 24 hours to re-​check the books. I abide the library policy, return 24 hours later, and the librarians have no clue where the books can be found?
Here’s the last thing that happened: Two days ago I was yet again returning books at this library. Since I checked out a lot of books, I asked whoever was helping me to check my records to make sure I don’t have fees and late books. The person who helped me told me my record is «fine». Two days later I found a book and went to return it and was hit with a late fee. Okay, I understand that it is totally my responsibility to return my books on time if I don’t want late fees, but I personally asked the person who helped me about my record and he gave me an inaccurate response and left me under the impression that I did not have any missing books. If I didn’t find the book until this summer ends, I’m sure I would get another mail from the collection agency!!!
So the moral of the story is everyone needs to be responsible for themselves, that includes the library not just the customers. I recommend that this library stands by its words. If you tell a customer that he/​she can come back in 24 hours to check out books, please have a good explanation why the books are not there when the person returns. If a person ask about his/​her library record, please give accurate answers. As for the customers, make sure you turn in your books on time!!!

It’s a fairly old library. the furniture remnants of the 70’s– the stacks unimpressive in height, computer screens small and lack luster. The seats are rigid and wooden comfortable only to gluteal sandbags.
Wifi is painfully slow. Speedtest clocked downloads at 0.11 kb/​s. yeah that slow. I was about to load up practice exam questions but could only load layers upon layers of frustration. Do not come here for the wifi.
Don’t come here in general, come to think of it. There are just better options for research, studying and network access. But if you are in the area and need a dr. seuss book, by all means, this is the place for you. For all other reasons, spend the gas money for a more worthwhile time.
I can only hope that when i finish publishing this review, that the wifi will accept a few paragraphs in a reasonable amount of time– by today.

it’s a library. how can it be bad, really? idk. i mean, i can see WHY it would get lower ratings, but let’s give it the benefit of the doubt, shall we?
books lent to you for free = win
internet for free = win
magazines and newspapers for free = win
electrical outlets and study tables = win
reading programs and computer classes for the elderly or ESL citizens = win
and all that our tax dollars have contributed to! between free wifi at starbucks/​barnes & nobles and the library, i never have to have an internet bill at home anymore. w00t!
side note though: there are a lot of kids here. noisy, don’t sit still type of kids that play hide and seek in the aisles and under the tables. ugh. that’s not the library’s fault, that’s more like the parents’ faults, but we can’t control that too much now, can we?

Over crowded, old looking, and not very quiet
I came here twice. Once to get a book and once to drop it off. They don’t have drop off outside when the library is open. They want you to park and bring your book in. It’s extra annoying.

I’ve been coming to this location as a kid, and stil do come here every once in a while. However, there’s just been a lot of (Asian) people that have been coming in a lot that just likes to be obnoxious and takes up a lot of space in this library that I’ve given hope on this place.

Most libraries that I have been to have been really updated. I’m wondering what ever happened to OCPL since most of their branches seem too out-​dated. This library is small/​has a few tables/​and definitely needs improvement as for structure/​interior/​and DEFINITELY their selection of books. :-(

Five stars because I bought My So-​Called Life: The Complete Series on DVD at the used bookstore for $ 6 a couple days ago.
Also, I discovered I can bring in my piles and piles of old teen magazines. My high school fashion teacher told our class if we had any lying around, to give them to her for future classes to use for projects. Too bad she was a total bitch.