Erika Said

Review of Grand Prairie Memorial Library

I hate that I live in Grand Prairie and I m stuck ...

I hate that I live in Grand Prairie and I m stuck with this library, they treat people like if they were making us a favor, after all we are paying for this service with our taxes. I ve used 4 different libraries from cities around Texas (plus the 3 libraries in the universities I ve attended and worked at) and Grand Prairie library is for far the worst and the only one in which I have a horrible experience each time I visit.
Except for one young lady who is very talkative and enthusiastic and the ILL loan coordinator who is very accommodating (they re the only reason I m giving 2 stars), all the other staff I ve encountered is incompetent and rude, specially another young woman and a Spanish-speaking lady, they re never willing to help and I d say they lack of costumer service experience.
Today I had it with this library. I m a high risk pregnant woman so I can t stand up for too long, I dropped by the library to pick up a movie I had on hold and put myself in line for a minute noticing no one was there (front desk was empty) so I thought ok, then I m going to the self check-out machine and tried to check out my movie but it gave an error message, the lady came out to the front desk so, while I was walking there to ask her for help, two individuals that were together and carrying more than 10 books each, arrived faster in front of me (I walk slow because of my special-needs condition) I was like oh, man! and asked the lady to help me out first, it would only take her a minute it was one single movie, she said she had to help them first, I was like I was actually in line before them but I went to the machines because no one was here , but she insisted they were there first. I think is a matter of logic and costumer service manners, she could just ask them is it ok with you if I help her first? She s pregnant , I m sure they would say yes. So I had to leave the movie there being unable to wait standing up for too long. I m so sad that I have to keep going to this library until they re-open the Betty Warmack one (which is the closest to my home but it s currently under remodelation). In general the GP library system is bad, since I was using the Betty Warmack library I noticed that:
1) The personnel wasn t as friendly as other libraries.
2) There s a bit of disorganization for example, no librarians in the front desk or nothing to mark where attendees should start the line (so people just piles up at the front desk and librarians ask who s next).
3) They lack of good materials like high culture books and art movies (I m not even talking about underground movies but regular Cannes or Sundance awarded movies).
4) They re very harsh on due dates and library fees, other libraries give a few grace period days after your materials are due but GP only gives you like one day.
I m not a user of the community programs so I can t talk from that point of view, the installations are nice but oh god, what terrible service!
Now that I have to make a long drive to get to the main library I m always in a hurry just to pick up my holds and not catch too much traffic so I would appreciate a little more of comprehension and better treatment. I m even thinking about just driving to the Irving Library and paying the annual fee, that was my library before and they have a great system, selection, an area to eat and staff always willing to help you out with a smile.