Monroe County Public Library Review

Outstanding public library. Their services are unmatched, as far as I am concerned. I especially love the children's library.

The teen zone has a bunch of slimers but besides that Cha ching.

I was turned away twice when I tried to get a library card I even had a valid photo ID with me. Not happy at all this place needs better help when it comes to the public .

Holy smokes... this library is outstanding! The programming here is so engaging and always trying to meet the needs of the community. "Build Your Own Synth" for teens, "Saturday Morning Cereal and 90's Cartoons" for the 80's and 90's kids, "Adulting 101," Spanish classes, Yoga, Books & Brews in the community, mobile library and homebound services..... The Level-Up equipment is impressive. As a large university faculty & student, I have free access to more advanced technology to use here at my public library than at my university!!

Additionally, the staff are wonderful, caring, and supportive.
For example, a few weeks ago I was checking-out a handful of NPO grant-writing books, and the attendant helping me asked if I was aware of their Nonprofit Central services. When I said no, they offered to walk me over to this resource area in the library and provided me with a direct number to a staff who is available to make one-on-one consultations for NPO assistance. I mean, what more can I ask for!??

They have a great used friends bookstore where I've donated thousands of books after I sold some to Academic Scholarly Used bookstore. So if you have a large library, call Academic Scholarly Bookstore first. They will buy around half your books, and donate the rest to the library. They do most of the leg work in helping you liquidate your library.

This is a great library with tons of activities and a massive children's section but TERRIBLE parking. There is a lot with ~15 spots open during the day, and another one open after 6 with another 15 spots. This would be ok if you were serving a very small town, but this library services 80 thousand people with less than 30 spots. It does no good to have a wonderful library if nobody can use it because they can't get to it.

Great place to borrow books and get free lessons. Mcpl has done a great job bringing free access to coding classes here. Awesome job!

I love all the activities they have for the kids I especially like the fact that they stay open till 9pm during the week it's very convinent for me as a online student.

One of the nice place to visit when you travel to Bloomington, IN. The staff were very friendly and the facilities are complete.

I love it because they are really nice and there really good books they give me

Pretty sweet public library for a college town this size. The movies they have available to rent was a pretty good selection!

This is a great public library! It has a wonderful children's section with plenty of activities, toys, books and games for infant through preschooler aged children. The programming is topnotch as well!

Maybe the best public library I've seen. It's collection and seating are nice. I particularly like the periodicals section which is updated very frequently.

The only thing this library doesn't have is ample parking. :)

It's just hard to believe that a city as small as Bloomington, a county the size of Monroe County, has a library this great.

I grew up in a small town. The Monroe County library was like a Mecca to me when we would visit the "big city" of Bloomington.

As a person who has lived in a dozen different communities, this library is outstanding. The people behind each desk are helpful with a great attitude. The layout of the place is great and vibe really good. You can even do excellent video interviews there. I like the drive through car pick up and and book drop off. Even the recorded phone message is warm and inviting.

Great place, and helped keep me sane when I was homeless and had the day off of work.

Thank they have some great people working there. They always helped with any questions my kids or I had. When I was worried my kids were bugging this lady working there I was so wrong, she was all smiles and helped answer my kids question the best she could and helped them find what they looking for. Just any one know when they will be reopened??

Great library with Soma and Laughing Planet across the street.

Great children's area. There is a baby room with a breastfeeding area and a room for older children. Lots of programs for all ages. Fantastic library!

One of the best places to visit, hang out, meet some cool people, make some art and read lots of books! Such a lovley place with many nice places surrounding it like Pygmalions art supplies!

They keep giving me good books and weird looks. Totally worth the aggg.

Decent collection. Friendly staff. Decent amount of computers available for patrons to use.

Great community library. They have a large selection of books.

Wonderful facilities and particularly helpful staff make this a top-notch institution! My family recently moved to Bloomington from northern Virginia, and we were astounded to find how amazing the book collections and children's programs were. The AV department carries many new releases (the same titles you'll find in Redbox), as well as classics and foreign films.
The Children's Department is incredible! I can't say enough good things about it. In addition to current and past favorites (Curious George, Dr. Seuss, etc), you can find toys, and DVDs for lending!

The only drawback is the large number of patrons at the second floor computers who pass the time looking at inappropriate content. The library security tries to keep an eye on them, but it remains a problem.

Visit this gem of a library!

Nice layout and access to any form of media. Helpful staff. Only concern is limited free parking. If you park on street, meters are strictly enforced.

We are fortunate to have one of the best small public libraries in America. Great services and selection. Many good memories growing up and spending weekends here. The children's department is fantastic even though they got rid of the snake. VITAL is also a great service. The library bookstore is my current favorite, and there are numerous other media services I will let others comment on. I attribute my love of books to this library.

Our public library is a gem in this small town. Our kids and now our grandkids know the lower level children's section and we find books and programs of all sorts that make Bloomington a special place.

Huge selection. Also has really groovy public TV station and lots of other community resources.

Love our public library. Lots of changes lately but none which have been overly disturbing. Staff is helpful and selection is excellent from my point of view with interesting current literature and not just NYTimes selections, though those are there also. HUGE children's room if you have family, and many programs as well as a little used books store operated by Friends of the Library.

Great place. Love the children s area! So many books and activities to choose. My son really likes the train table and the enclosed children area. They have a small puppet theatre, a magnetic letter wall, a big kitchen, a craft table, and a gated baby area. We love looking through all the books and renting educational iPads. The staff are so knowledgeable and always willing to suggest similar books of interest. They host numerous activities for all ages everyday in which the community can partake. Best part? NO late fees for children s rentals. This is truly a valuable asset for the community with supporting education at an early age. I just wish there was more parking.

They have great resources and spaces to create digital content and the staff is wonderful!

I've been going to this library for YEARS and I have to say the staff is always caring, I've become good friends with most of the staff in the teen room and this is also the place me and my friends go to have DND once the teen room opens again

Great activities for children and young adults! Teen area is fantastic! Great service and services.

I've been renting digital books for quite a while now. Their platform is simple, very user friendly. I'd recommend it to anyone with a reader.

Love the library and have gotten great use out of its online services during the pandemic! I use the Libby and Hoopla apps for audiobooks and ebooks all the time and they re incredibly easy to use and convenient, with a large range of books both recent and classic!

We love our library. The facilities are modern, spacious, usable, and clean. The employee are friendly and efficient. The kids area is delightful. There is ample and well-maintaned meeting space. Equipment is all easy to use.

Good library with various selections. Many different meeting rooms.

Really great view of kirkwood and enough books to complete any topic. Also it has more services than just books as well, making it a cozy place to be productive.

This library is modern (despite being built several years ago) and beautiful inside. I love the design. The selection of books is one of the largest I have ever seen. There are a lot of movies and shows available for rent. The audiobook selection makes you feel like a fool for purchasing an Audible membership. There seem to be a lot of events going on at the library, both educational and recreational. I also appreciate the ability to rent books and stream movies digitally.

Don't miss out on this incredible resource while you're living in Bloomington!

Here on a Saturday, not too busy. Very quiet and a place to be able to get things done. They also have a book/CD/DVD/records/etc. resale shop, the most expensive used item is $2.50 for hardback and they are in great condition. Wish I would've visited sooner!

It's a great place to sit learn, study, and review. Further, the library has a nice selection of language learning materials as well.

What would I do without the library? Our community is so lucky to have such a fantastic library! The children's department is incredible and the drive-up window is probably my favorite thing in the whole city of Bloomington. Thank you for providing such a wonderful esource to our community!

Great place to hang out, read or study. Really nice views and comfortable chairs. You can also bring food in parts.

MCPL is slowly getting back to normal. Computers are available-but no tables or chairs to use for yourself-maybe by end of year.

Could use some updating, but the quiet area was good and the internet was SUPER fast. Ultimately, good place.

It's a very good library with lots of resources and excellent staff. Children's section is amazing and they also offer activities and classes. They also have activities and classes for adults. In addition, the library hosts meetings for different local clubs and groups.

The only negative is the often times the place is overrun by the homeless population.

We're lucky here in Monroe County to have such a nice library. The Indiana Room has a great selection of microfiche newspapers back to the turn of the century.