i love this library. the children's room is cute. the teen room is Awesome, this place has nearly everything i could ask for. also, the grounds have some great climbing trees did i mention... BOOKS!
Sunny studies areas. Great lecture at night !
I love the Second Floor for its study areas, particularly the Silent Study Room, where you are free of distractions. Power outlets at certain desks are very useful for using tech devices. Restrooms are on the same floor. There's plenty of natural light that comes in through the windows. The ceiling is high enough for your thoughts and ideas to bounce around in without getting lost. And if you need inspiration, all you have to do is look out the window and take in the natural surroundings.
Excellent for books and can reserve study rooms for groups; however, WiFi here is completely unusable. On speed test, couldn't even get to 0.5 mbps download speed. Would highly recommend if you want a sunny place to read a book or two, but don't bother bringing a laptop if you need to get any work done that requires an Internet connection.
One of the nicest libraries I have ever been to and beautiful high ceilings. There is also an inscription of the Ten Commandments that cannot be removed from the building as it was a gift to the city by Frederick Rindge, fun fact
The kids room is awesome I always take 13 books home because it so hard to chose a book I feel like I just want to take all the books but I won't
This is everything a public library should be. The community English language courses are ill-conceived, however.
Beautiful modern clean design with historical twists. A balance of media and space to work and study. Best if all there is tons of natural light and it's LEED certified.
Most organized and beautiful library I've ever seen.
Beautiful library. Great book selection. Kids level is wonderful. Free WiFi. You can rent a desktop or a laptop for 3 hours. Bathrooms are clean. Nice little outdoor seating as well. Meter parking underground with access to library. Staff always friendly and helpful
This place is just amazing. Interior and exterior are both so beautiful, it s just crazy. They have wonderful staff who help with any problem you have! The aisles are all labeled so that it makes it easier to find certain books. All 3 of the floors have staff working so that you can get help any time. I love all libraries but this one, definitely a favorite. They even have a park right outside the library which is perfect if you want to take a break and read while your kid plays or even if you just want to read! They also have computers that are free to use whenever you like. All in all, I recommend this library to ALL library lovers. Thank You!
Really helpful staff and a good collection of books. It also has a lot of good places to sit and read. Overall it's a great place to relax and read a novel or to concentrate and work on a project.
We love this place. The third floor is entirely built for kids all ages with books, toys, and other things to play with.
Great book selection and a beautiful space. Also, there is a parking garage under the library.
great use of space plenty of seating and books for all ages
Great public library - beautiful blend of contemporary modern design of the interior and historical design of the building. The library is spacious and fully equipped with any tools anyone might want in a library - plenty of desks, chairs, electrical outlets, and of course books. They also offer many specialized rooms for many groups of visitors - research room, meeting room, teen toom, kids room. Most importantly, free fast wifi.
Pleasant working on the second floor with company of others.
I like the beautiful architecture of this library, and of course it has a great collection of books.
I had a pretty terrible experience at Cambridge public library. I was looking for a quiet and free place to study. On the first floor, library workers shout to each other. So that was out. I went to sit on the 3rd floor and was told by a very nice librarian named Jamie that adults are not allowed on the children's floor. I then decided to sit, quietly in the second floor. After 3 hours of studying, a worker who identified herself as Amanda Gazin came in and accused me of opening the space. She stated that the 2nd floor is an "event space" that is not public, despite being in a public library. She threatened me with calling the police if I didn't move, because I was trespassing within a public library. If this is policy, it really needs to be reconsidered. Public libraries should be meeting places enjoyed by all members of the public.
One of the best public libraries around; the staff are always superb.
Awesome place!!! I love this library!! Architecture is amazing!!
There are a lot of spaces to read or study. You may not find a space if you come in the time that college students have their finals. ( May, December )
Beautiful library, well set up and wonderful staff.
Amazing place with nice landscape I loved :) I recommended for everybody :)
Better than Boston Public Library because of warm community
Staff thorough and friendly. Excellent handling of reserve requests.
Librarians helpful, positive and very knowledgeable! Great lectures as well.
work during travel. cool
Amazing library. Several different types of spaces for studying or reading (quiet, loud, bright, open etc). A truly lovely library.
Lovely place to study, hang out, or just hunt for a good book. Amazing selection of books and friendly, helpful staff. Plus near multiple bus lines for those dependent on public transpo! (like me) Just an all-around great library!
A good selection through the Minuteman network. This library has a cool and convenient self-checkout machine which registers all your books after you place them on top of an electronic pad. Staff are friendly and competent.
Nice library with lots of open spaces around. The library itself is clean and nice with high speed free wifi :)
Is it possible to love a public library more? Great selection of books and media, beautiful building, complete with areas for reading and doing work with coffee and a snack, if you like. The teen room is quite impressive, as is the children's room. I wish every public library were like the Cambridge Public Library's main branch!
Beautiful building, spacious and well-organized stacks. There's even an area where coffee or a light snack is permitted! The sci-fi room is huge, with an unusually good selection of graphic novels. As others have noted, online ordering from the Minuteman Library website rocks. Closes early on Friday.
Beautiful place & lots of different books collection. Employee are so helpful..
I love this library. Modern architecture, open spaces, and a tad bit of historical architecture that almost makes you think you're in a Harvard study hall. 10 free pages printed per day with free minuteman library membership, then 15 cents a page. I usually don't struggle too much to park in street as cambridge resident, but it might be hard if you are not. There are tennis courts in the same lot, but I'm not sure how to book them or if they are free. You can check out up to 20 DVD for free each day! ...and even xbox games or CDs. books are checkout for 3 weeks, DVDs 1 or 2 weeks depending on how recent. My personal favorite is audio books on portable players you can borrow (use your own earphones).
Fantastic selection of books and film. Excellent, friendly staff, and well-designed space.
Great place to study. It s peaceful and the rooms they have are up to date. Free WiFi and anyone with a library card could use their computers for free. I have one flaw though and that is they don t have that much room for sitting down. It could get over crowded at some points and it s hard to find a seat; especially on the weekdays.
Excellent user focus and community connections. Great resources including laptops you can rent out. Also a very beautiful place.
Great facility. I visit this place all the time. It's a pleasure to code, read, watch a show or just hanging out here.
nice building... seats under sun shine.... Tons of things not only books, and u can borrow 150 things. Best part for me is I can online order the books I want to borrow, then go pick them up while I get Email notice from library.
The staff, the design, and the facilities are all so wonderfully first-rate that the library is often overcrowded with hardly a place to sit. I d further venture to say that the newly installed vending and coffee machines on the first floor are unneeded and second-rate addition. All in all, I thank my lucky stars to be living within walking distance from this library, particularly when compared to the satellite ones which should in all fairness be similarly upgraded.
Great wifi coverage, comfortable chairs, and plenty of power outlets. I am really glad that there are designated areas for quiet, eat/drink, and conversation.
I love libraries in general, but this is one of my favorites! One of the things I love the most is the variety of spaces - they asked for feedback about what people wanted and put it into practice. There are quiet spaces to work or read, standing desks with outlets, a row of desks with outlets where you are allowed to eat and drink, a cafe table seating area, and outdoor seating area (weather permitting), a large computer area where I can usually find an open computer. They also have a variety of classes and opportunities like summer reading bingo that keep things interesting!
The best place to spend a rainy Saturday, or any Saturday.
This library honestly takes my breath away. The building is amazing and there's a stunning amount of books and a whole floor devoted to children. WOW.
One of the best libraries around. Ample space to study, great resources, a variety of seating. Excellent outdoor area. Great place.
I love this place, very nice and extremely good temperature inside. Wi-Fi, power sockets, tables.
*Edit Coming here for three weeks and no problems with me having a backpack and messenger bag for my laptop. Now all of a sudden one particular employee decides to pick on me because I apparently look "homeless". Really? What is this world coming to? I spend maybe 2 hrs a day there to charge my devices and use the Wi-Fi to look for work. Kept to myself, never bothered anyone, but apparently I look like a bum dyke and that is against the rules. Have video of the old prick, smug as can be telling me he is the only manager on duty after asking to talk to a superior and if I did not leave he was going to waste the police time by having them come and escort me out. Since this place is going to discriminate, I can no longer recommend. Shame. Up until this incident my experience here was swell. But long behold there is always that one bad apple. One star. Original review Can't think of anything to fault this place on. One of the best libraries I have ever been to. Amazing selection of books and movies. Lots of quite areas to study or just relax and enjoy the free WiFi. Bathrooms are clean and staff are very polite.
Quite possibly the most vibrant and wonderful library in the US.
Love this library for the big trees standing by really inspirational for the spacious lawn in front really peaceful for the people reading and studying in it quiet and focused
Cambridge Public Library is the best library I have ever been a part of. The staff of the library is very helpful and the system very easy to work with. As I live in Cambridge, I just needed to go to the library with a letter proving my address and I immediately had access. I could then borrow books in different formats (physical, ebooks, audiobooks) immediately, and they have an impressive collection. The system of the library is very easy to use and understand. To make things better, there is even an app and website to manage your loans, and to hear your audiobooks and get your ebooks. If a book I want is not immediately available I can place a hold, and I will get it as soon as it gets available. In addition to being a great place to borrow books from, Cambridge Public Library organises several events, for both adults and children. Finally, they have several spaces you can use: a space dedicated to children, a space for quiet study, and a place to read and talk. I was part of different libraries in different countries and I never experienced such an easy to use system, with so many book formats to offer, and such competent and nice staff! I highly recommend it!
Never really checked items out here. Stopped in from time to time to browse. Seems it's been renovated since my time.
Great place to chill and read a book. The new building is great and has loads of sunshine which makes it relaxing. They don't have a cafe or events there though.
A great library for reading, studying or reviewing periodicals. Excellent selection of books and magazines.
It is impeccable; the building, the stock and the service
Beautiful building, helpful staff, large collection of books, nice facilities for reading and studying -- what else could you want from a public library? Amazing library.
We love this library! Especially the 3rd floor for kids. We ve been taking our two daughters since an early age. They have two gerbils which the kids love to watch. The staff is super helpful and pleasant to work with. Really enjoy going there.
This is my library of choice for meeting friends, doing intellectual work and inspiring the studious. There is no better public library in Massachusetts.
Is it strange to have a crush on a library? Not in Cambridge. Tons of things besides books (and why is the fiction hiding in the basement? It's cool, tho, no one can see me looking at the bodice rippers). Avoid 3:00-5:00 unless you like obnoxious high school students.
Wonderful spaces for adults, youth and children, looking for books or a pleasant place to relax and read. Gorgeous facility.
I love this library! Been going here for years. The staff is super nice and extremely knowledgeable and helpful. HUGE selection of movies as well as many hard to find titles. Beautiful grounds surrounding the library where you can watch frisbee games in the summer while enjoying pizza from Angelo's which is directly across the street. My favorite library!!!
Modern-looking public library. Free wifi. However, if you are in search of a quiet place to study, this is not the place.
Free wireless internet, seating, great book selection. If you are a resident, you can also check out Nooks for 1 month at a time that come pre-loaded with many popular books. A great benefit!
My favorite library in the world. The inside of the building is simple and beautiful with high ceilings to allow large thoughts. The books are easy to find and clearly the focus. Lots of clusters of tables with power sockets and chairs that are not TOO comfortable. Free wifi. Helpful staff. Lots of bike parking outside. Come come come.
Large with lots of natural lighting and seating options. I once forgot a wallet here for half an hour and got it back (with everything intact).
Great as always, very excited to see you can request your books online and pick them up. Impressed with the organization and how fast the service is. The sad thing is we can't come inside due to COVID-19, I'm looking forward to when I can enter again!
A wonderful spot for kids and adults alike with an amazing program each day for kids. Thank you for making this possible.
