Milton Lau

Review of San Francisco Public Library

While staffers and the city that manages it may no...

While staffers and the city that manages it may not bend over backwards for you, they are helpful and give their all to help anyone who needs help. But will not be anyone's doormat, armed city police on library security duty - are the library's security.
The library itself is clean, despite the traffic demands of users. Also the median temperature is a tad too warm, that it encourages napping than studying most of the time. Compared to other libraries I have been in. Perhaps the environmental controls are set up for a warm dry environment to mediate the high outside humidity, so the tomes of knowledge won't be colonies of mold on the shelves.
I am surprised that the pure water coming out of the dehumidifiers aren't being used for drinking.
Despite the PR about the city's water, there are still a lot of old pipes that need to be replaced or relined. It is common to taste heavy chlorine in some areas of the city, and if you put tap water into a clear glass - then hold it up to the light. If you see all manner of rubbish floating in the water, there is still a problem with your water.
Maybe it is the volume of users using the library as a resource so heavily, that the filters for the water needs to be changed out more often.

The desk/table power outlets for plugging in appliances and devices, are pretty worn - contact is sketchy for many of these outlets. An electrician could easily adjust them, rather than replace them, so that when the plug contacts eventually disintegrate from heavy use, the next service will be to replace them with new outlets.

On the occasional, arbitrary change of opening times, I suspect is due to the operating budget going into the red, than hovering in the grey.
Perhaps it would not be outrageous to start installing coin meters on all the free electricity outlets, and bolt down all public access PC's power cords to discourage tampering. Because recharging of users devices must be a heavy burden on the library's budget.
I could easily build a kinetic sculpture for the city, that doubles as a wind energy turbine to generate electricity to off-set some of the power demands on the city. Since it is often windy in the Civic Center.
It would be running, even though the offices are closed.
My alternative wind technology, would be more favorable than conventional turbines, because it is not visually intrusive, and safe for our feathered residents as well.
But the city probably already has to much on its plate as it is, to be exploring new ways to save money or generate revenue for services sustainability