What makes this library so awesome, besides the be...

What makes this library so awesome, besides the beautiful building itself, is the incredible staff. They are friendly, helpful, and generous with their time and resources.

Other posters have noted that a large proportion of the clientele are homeless, which is somewhat understandable in a city with so few other resources for them to go to during the day and a constant cold 15-mile-an-hour wind on the street. This is where the staff really shines. They treat even these unfortunates with professionalism and dignity, and have even arranged with other city departments to bring social workers into the library to help the marginalized connect with vital services like shelter beds, food, health care, and personal hygiene.

The library has nice little study desks with comfy solid wooden chairs, but the real winner is that, if you get there early or at slow times, you can score one that is UPHOLSTERED! Each floor has special subject study rooms on different subjects, which provide a little more table space if you are working on a project that requires that you be able to spread out your stuff a little bit.

The atrium was controversial when the library first opened-- all that wasted space!-- but I like that the library has that airy feel and natural light.

There's a cafe on the basement level that serves quality coffee, so you don't even need to leave the building when you need a study break.

Negatives:

* The bathrooms are a no-go zone. The stench is unbelievable, leave it at that. It's not the staff's fault; I see them in there cleaning all the time. It just gets too much traffic.

* WiFi access is spotty, which is unacceptable in the nominal tech capital, and access to the internet such a must have for research.

To those who whine about the homeless: The city has proposed to convert a building at 440 Turk, about 3 blocks away, into a 24-hour service center for the homeless. Contact your representatives in city government and support this proposal. Put your money where your mouth is, or, better yet, put a couple of dollars in a homeless person's hand. WWJD?