Palmerston North City Library Review

Nice place to study and lovely people working for you...

Nice place to hang out, comfortable area to read and use your laptop, free WiFi provided. Nice range of books available

What a great resource fornthe whole family. A great space and very well laid out. The staff is very helpful and lots to do for the kids. The entryway and unique art make this a very nice space for reading and study. It is the 'living room' of the town!

Returning to Palmerston North to live, I was initially very excited to rejoin the Library. I had virtually lived there as a child and teenager and had read and re-read volumes and volumes of books and so was equally excited about revisiting my "old friends".

Whilst the physical setting is spacious and attractive I found the categorising of books - both fiction and non-fiction confusing and made for disjointed browsing - what is wrong with alphabetical order and the Dewey system?

Hoping to revisit some old childhood classics I was dismayed to find all the good quality children's books had been discarded in favour of paper-backs. With the exception of Enid Blyton and Beverly Cleary it appears that any book written pre-2000 has been discarded. Where are the classics like the Bagthorpe series by Helen Cresswell, those by A Rutgers van der Loeff, the Noel Streatfeild books and others by John Christopher (author of the Tripods series), Madeleine L'Engle (yes granted one or two titles but none of the actual series) and also books by New Zealand authors such as our own Anne de Roo? The list goes on and such a pity. I was surprised to find there were a few CS Lewis books but several were not actual books. The wonderful YA section has been replaced by graphical books and recent paperbacks....

Moving to the adult fiction section I could find none of the books by authors such as David Nobbs (yes later books, but not the earlier ones in the series), Susan Howatch, Margaret Bingley, Paul Gallico, Jay Anson... and several other searches turned up zero. I did see a prolific collection of VC Andrews and several others of that genre. Again - it appears that anything from last century has been culled.

The space hardly appears over-crowded and it's ironic that there appears to be less of a choice than there was at the old library which was contained in a much, smaller building. If I did actually find what I was looking for in the catalogue it turns out to be in e-book format (such as another classic - George Orwell's Animal Farm!) which is useless if your device is not compatible. If I wanted e-books I could have stayed home. I want a library.... I WANT BOOKS and GOOD QUALITY ones. Bring back those and bring back the classics! Please!

Try to visit here whenever I'm in PNth. Looove this library.

Great place ,for the family to read or use the free computers

A beautiful library with some nice quiet spots for a peaceful read. Some amazing services available. I get my genealogical research done here. Free internet/WiFi, 3D printers, great selection of books, and really nice staff that are always willing to help.

Wonderful spaces and so much to explore, the librarians are brilliant!!! And we live hanging out here!!

Great place. Friendly, helpful staff and always new things to see

you know the whole point of a library is to read books and things in peace, that's really hard to do when they're moving furniture around and playing loud music while people are trying to work, if you feel the need to redecorate maybe allocate a time after hours to be really loud and annoying, because taking up my quiet time is not fair at all. the whole stereotype of libraries in movies and tv shows is to bE QUIET

I've been going to the library for ever and ever but as time goes on, the library seems to be getting worse...

The free wifi attracts unwanted people to the library who are there using the computers for who-knows-what. And I do have a problem with this.

These people aren't types that have a job, have a house etc etc. If you have children, you have to keep an eye out at all times because these people aren't the sort you would want to be leaving your kids around.

And yes, I am making assumptions about who they are and what they are doing, but if you are coming to the library and you are not there to read books and you are just there to use the WiFi and make people feel uncomfortable with your BO and lack of respect for the other people using the library then you need to have a look at yourself.

And I do feel sorry for the people who work at the library putting up with these types. I am reluctant to go to the library because the place smell, I feel unsafe at times and I can't read in silence because others are using the WiFi to call home or watch videos on speaker mode and generally make me feel uncomfortable.

Please turn off the free WiFi, its not helping anyone at the library, the library is becoming more of a homeless shelter rather than somewhere where I can find books, read or study in peace without the smell of unwashed people around me.

As soon as I am able to join an online library, I will, simply because this place isn't somewhere I can go to read or relax in anymore.

Please fix this place up before it is too late.

I love this library if i come again visit my son i must go to this library. Iam always visit all library if i come to all city n country.

Great local library! It has a lot of things on and a great selection of books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, newspapers and video games!

This library should be open similar hrs on weekends. Napier library open 9.30-5.30 - 7 days a week!!For a major city like P. N. its not good enough!!!

Love this place! Not just a library but a place to engage in your wider community. The staff are innovative in their approach to what they offer, covering a wide range of interests and needs.

Attractive Library, well set out, with obliging staff

Went to a very good presentation. Very good facility.

Best place to sit and use a laptop; amazing selection of books and magazines.

Great for the whole family.
To enjoy the experience of
Book lesson.try it I did and
Found a great source material.

A new person may get little bit confuse at first visit. But it is a cool place with perfect location and very good choice of books and literature. Staff is very friendly and helpful

Shifted to downstairs. Friendly staffs.. few free services

As usual perfect.Nice to say "hello"to Jill who is always kind and helpful

Get out of the Netflix algorithm and get into this library. I've lived in Auckland and wellington and been to multiple libraries in both cities. I don't really remember a library being this good in either city. Huge selection of information, friendly staff, transfers to different libraries, incredible selection of DVDs too, It's really one of the best libraries I've been to and used.

This is such a great place the staff are always friendly and the new books are always a welcome sight in my eyes.

I love this library. It is perfectly build. The atmosphere is friendly. All the people are genuinely friendly.

I only use the library to get books for my toddler. Today i had one very helpful lady. when it came to actually hiring dvds i once again had an awfully rude lady serve me. no manners. everytime i go to the child section i have a bad experience with rude staff. sort it out guys.

They are simply amazing in all aspects of customer service. Over the phone, in person and in regards to any query.
Also the library is quiet well stocked and has a nice vibe to it......

Awesome place to relax and get work done. Lots of great resources.

Huge. Cool interior but the layout was a bit unusual, I'd go as far as to say it is confusing.
The library itself has a good range of spaces including places to work, read, do research etc. It's a warm respite during bad weather.
Would be better if they had more power points to charge laptops and phones.
Sometimes it's a place of refuge for the homeless and people with nowhere else to go.

The library is a great place I fell asleep in my seat. Whoops.

Lovely spaces to sit, good range of services available. Staff always friendly and 100% helpful and patient.

Libraries are great places.
This one is a little noisy, but it has books and that's great!