Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County Review

The setup and the staff are extremely nice here. The facility is top notch. If you don't mind homeless people roaming around, this is the place for you.

Jeanie Mathews is very unprofessional, rude and nasty to citizen who wanted to do a tour of the building. She could have made herself look professional, but chose not to.

Plenty of computers for public use at the new branch on NW 122nd. Usually no wait for terminal. Love it!

It's a decent size library with a good selection of books and media. The homelessness problem isn't totally within their control, where else would these people go especially in the winter? The library staff are very helpful and accommodating.

I love the OKC library system. I love the way I can search for books online and have them at my local library. I love the World Music programs. I love the children's programs, like Children Reading to Dogs, etc. I love that I can order DVDs I couldn't otherwise afford to see. I love the Friends of the Library book sale. I'm looking forward to learning even more new things to love about our library system. Thanks for being there!

Horrible place, a complete disgrace to the Metropolitan Library System. It felt more like a gathering spot for junkies than a library for people wanting to read or study. Terrible vibe and not somewhere I'm likely to visit ever again!

I've lived in several US cities of comparable size and this is the only metropolitan library I've ever frequented that has hours similar to that of a library you would find in a small Alabama town. Closed on Sunday? What kind of library closes on Sunday? And open to only 6:00pm on a Friday night? These are the hours of a library for a town of 30,000 people, not a booming metropolis of 620,000 + people.

Other than that, the OKC metro library system as a whole is very good.

My kids love this place. They have great resources!

A nice place to study, research or even take a time to read newspapers. It is clean, comfortable, has free computers and space.

Despite the rantings of the insane on maps, I got my okc downtown library card today and spent the afternoon there. Very clean and well organized. And a active security presence on hand. There is no homeless problem, it was raining outside and the place was not overrun. Or maybe I just don't care about your holier than thou attitude regard those less fortunate. Great place, with great facilities. Go. Enjoy it.

wonderful place for the kids they really had lots of good time

Nice Library, There are lots of books. All the staff members are good and helpful.

We love the Children's Area. The staff are amazing and helpful. Huge selection of books.

Great place for building smarter communities, one person at a time.

This library system is one of my favorite things about Oklahoma City. They almost always have exactly what I'm looking for.

Five weeks ago, I brought some books home. Within the week, my partner was having a reaction to something biting him. Three and a half weeks ago, we found the culprit-- bed bugs. Found never-fed babies on a book a short time later and bagged the books I had up. Given that the books were only within five feet of the infested area for about an hour before I finished copying down recipes, I can only see one reason there would be eggs there-- seems a lot more likely that an already-hatched bug would crawl off a book seeking a dark space than one would come out into the light to lay eggs. The math almost does itself.

Apparently, as I found out when I went to take my (bagged) books back and try to negotiate late fees, the MLS has no treatment plan in place for infected materials. They just toss them (assuming someone actually tells them that they're infested), and penalize honesty instead of recognizing that OKC is the now sixth worst city in the COUNTRY for these things and getting a heat treatment oven, or even just spraying the items, then bagging them and putting them in storage for the next two years like other libraries apparently do.

Tell you what. I'll pay for the books, and the MLS can pay for our new furniture.

TL;DR: Library materials gave us bed bugs and now the library wants us to pay for the "privilege".

Disgraceful and disgusting behavior from this library's staff. I just watched this library's employee attack an American citizen in retaliation for engaging in his First Amendment Right to record matters of public interest. AVOID THIS LIBRARY AT ALL COSTS IF YOU VALUE OUR CONSTITUTION AND YOUR RIGHTS!

PS, since it is obvious this library cares nothing for the Constitution or laws of this country I have to remind them that these comments are a matter of public record by law since they are government entity and any tampering or removal of this comment WILL provoke a lawsuit and this comment has been saved as evidence should that virtual inevitably occur.

Wonderful place to read and study, very large selection of books and biggest library I've been too in a while.

This library was great. My girls had a great visit. The help desk lady, Chelsa, help a lot. She gave great service. The Metropolitan Library in downtown OKC has a good selection of books.

Some librarians there are extremely rude and unfriendly. Will not return.

I had the ultimate "Library" experience. The staff are always friendly. Its my favorite place.

Helpful and knowledgable staff! Helped us in acquiring a reciprocal card for more library resources to supplement our current resources!

They are great, awesome staff always willing to help. Great customer service. Way to go!

I have the same experience with the big downtown library as everyone else: The place is full of homeless people. This should not be treated as a shelter and they should limit people's computer time in a total way. 1 free hour per day, then you pay for it would probably solve a lot of the issue. (Bonus thought: Maybe donate the proceeds to the homeless shelter so they can get adequate space and facilities.) Just strung out people playing peggle or similar games on 3/4 of the huge computer bank, which was entirely full.

As for the staff, they were a little terse and rude. How can they not be, though? They are professional librarians, I assume, very educated people who wanted to work in a learning environment, not what clearly acts as a secondary homeless shelter. I hope that they're EXTREMELY well paid, because they deserve to be, for the level of existential despair this situation must cause them.

And really it's not the fault of any of the people in question. This city is a joke; its poverty level is obscene. It's a sign of a much larger problem, which the library cannot control. Get involved in politics and get this damn city's public resources up to par and this wouldn't be such an issue. Clean up the police, which is full of corruption and doesn't actually solve crime. Create job opportunities for all these people.

Don't be disgusted with the library, be disgusted with Oklahoma City. This library is a direct, pathetic reflection of what it really is. It can have a shiny veneer if you're an affluent person, and all you see is the pretty stuff. The library's architecture, for instance, and all that. But what the city really is, is desperately poor, with little opportunity, and huge endemic problems. I'm ecstatic to be moving to Denver soon.

Very spacious, quiet with a wonderful working staff...

Library staff does not understand or support our constitutional rights and became nasty and rude while a gentleman exercised his right to film public areas . What a shame since it appears to be a really well done library .

There really good about notifying you about due or upcoming due books.

get yourself a library card if you're in the OKC metro area! there is so much digital content you can get from the metro library site, you don't even have to go there!!

I am afraid to go there.... security might assault me...

Horrible guidance from Geanie Matthews! Clearly she did not like job, and was exemplified through her tour she gave. Absolutely unacceptable, this is of no place to bring kids if you are to be greeted by her.

I love this Library I love how they security the staff they're very nice to the public people they have a lots of great books there most of the computers are free I love how they have three floors so you know a lot of people don't have to wait for a computer to do their work on.

Friendly staff and great selection of books, but the computers are always taken by the enormous population of homeless people that live here during the day.

One creepy librarian followed me around the whole time I was there. He even did that stalker move where you move books to look at someone threw the bookcase.

The place is like a gathering spot for homeless people who come here for the free internet, the smell is just unbearable, maybe a public shower onsite will help. I must admire the staff, how can they work in such horrible environment?

Friendly staff and very clean, but overwhelmed by homeless people who are extremely loud in the lobby area, sleep in the bathroom stalls, and constantly ask for money. WiFi is kind of slow, too.

Library: a complete disarray of a mind museum. AWESOMENESS.

Denied food service. Don't respect no one who disrespectful to people. Don't trust people. Over price establishment. Don't waste your time hanging around. Food cart left in hallway with prepared items. Direct contamination.

Currently open for curbside pickup of books on hold. Books can be put on hold by telephone or on the MLS websitep

Nice facility located in the heart of downtown. Special Oklahoma Collection room is a great resource for local state history.

The summer reading program is great and the library is always neat. The staff is always really helpful is so many ways. I enjoy my time at the library.

employee made me vacate a private study room after two hours to assign it to another person. There were several other rooms available and when I asked why he didn't just leave me in the room and assign her to a vacant one he said because my time had lapsed. She had not specifically requested the room I was in and there were others without reservations. He said he could put me in a new room. Inefficient, rude, and stupid.

Really nice newer building with a huge selection. I visited here often when writing my final papers for my Master's degree.

It's a very nice structure with historical artifacts, but it's starting to stink like the old one.

The downtown library is great. The staff are helpful, book selection is good, charming children's section, and it's a nice space. It's not the most amazing City library ever but it works. I have no complaints and I enjoy my time there.

Definitely not a safe place to go. If you try to practice your rights, they try to tell you their rules trump your rights or have you physically assaulted and battered. They don't care that their building policies and rules are not more important than human rights. They have disgusting, rude people working for them. They have full access to all the materials in the OKC library system and more, but are a bunch of grossly uneducated rights violaters.

The best part about this place is leaving. The staff is RUDE, arrogant and unhelpful. I witnessed multiple woman on staff harassing a man who was simply taking a tour of the building. They constantly berated him in front of customers, some with children mind you. This individual was nothing but polite and was seemingly chased out of the door.

My family of five recently moved to the city, and my 5-10 year olds were ecstatic about having a new fancy library to visit. All three are HUGE readers. All three are advanced in reading comprehension and writing composition, as you can imagine we typically visit the library twice a week if not more during the summer.

After witnessing those employees, a younger, unfortunate looking female with brown hair in particular treat a local customer with such disrespect I absolutely REFUSE to bring my family there, nor recommend this library to ANYONE I meet. Instead, I will rather share my story in what I observed, and how I too have been treated with disrespect when in contact with that woman I mentioned earlier. She could not answer any of my questions without a ghastly sigh and horrid eye roll first. When I asked her name she simply pretended not to hear me as she walked away behind closed doors. Rude. No excuse for that behavior when at work, especially when dealing with customers (public in this case).

0/5

I simply do not feel safe with my children in that building.

One of the many places I miss in OKC. Was glad to see it again. I always loved their music program, and the friendliness of the staff. It's a place to relax and enjoy.

Its big and relax they have study rooms and theres restaurant i go there everyday

Employs off duty officers to attack members of the public,be careful if you let your children go here without supervision, videos can be found on YouTube channel news now okc