Though the concept of idea stores is good, this specific one is not the best. It's a bit dirty both spaces and toiles. Also, it is not very quiet to read. The outside area is also very dirty with the local market right outside. Nevertheless, it has a lot of things happening from language lessons to crafts and children's events.
the stuff are useless talk too loud , taking to each about they daily life too loud other like market, too many stuff? who paid them? Lift not working? Who paid for the service? The lazy useless staff using the lift up and down even one More
Large open space good be more table places to study and I don't like the floors they remind me of a restaurant kitchen
Every single staff speaks loud, every! So, not surprisingly, the visitors can freely use their phones, gradually switching to shouting mode while talking. Seems like making nose is the entry requirement of the library.
There are a lot of activities going on here. The interior design is modern, and the atmosphere is welcoming. There are a lot of places on he various floors: tables to sit down and study, sofas to read and relax, and a nice bar on the top floor serving good food.
And all this at really economic prices, if not for free!
Great customer experience and the ideastores have come a long way!
Arif was great in his customer care, informing me of the app as well as additional magazine
I went there just once. There was a woman yelling on her mobile phone in the middle of the reading room and not one single member of staff ever asked her to s*** the f*** up.
Basically, that and other things gave the feeling of being in a railway station rather than a proper library.
On the upside they have very tidy and functional toilets.
Very quite place with Resturent in top floor, the view is very nice as well.
Just went to join and two staff members were rude and unwelcoming . Will not be joining or visiting again . The place was empty so it would be great if they were welcoming and more people may come.
This os a 3 floor library in a modern glass building. The staff are nice and friendly so this ks one of my fave librarys.
I come here regularly to study and for this it's perfect. There are many places to sit with power sockets for laptops and generally it's quiet but not always.
I've noticed the toilets are cleaner than they used to be and the main library areas are tidy, there's chilled water and cups if you need a drink.
The few times I've needed to ask the staff something they have been helpful, I will continue to come here and appreciate a free local resource like this.
I use the library pretty regularly, including reserving books online. This gives you access to many more books. I've also registered for the Zinio online magazine service which is really good.
I think it's a really good attempt to blend a traditional library with a community facility. There is a book group, the cafe and many places to study. I have found staff to be very helpful.
I agree that it is used as a social space and that can be annoying if you are trying to work, but ask a member of staff if someone is being noisy, if you can't face doing it yourself? Shared responsibility, I'd say!
Well done Tower Hamlets for investing in a place like this.
Don't come here to study, you will be distracted by constant noise as sound carries well in the building. As a bonus, the (slow) elevators are often out of service, as are currently many of the toilets. Only plus is this place closes relatively late compared to any non-university library.
Visited last Saturday with my daughter to explore books, we are very much dishearten as staff approaches very inappropriately. Never face this type of unreasonable behaviour in any library in London!!! They must have learn how to approach people, the way they treat us looks like we carry Coronavirus. Such a shame for the management.
A great place to sit and read or study in a nice environment. They also provide lots of activities for families and children and courses for adults. It'd be nicer if they had a wider selection of books though...
Such a great initiative for the borough. I was so happy to find this place, the library itself is great - super modern, spacious, good facilities for studying/working. But the best part are the courses - I'm currently doing a dance course and it has been brilliant, come September I think I will be here every night for something - dance, cooking, languages, crafts, business, you name it. Thanks for existing, idea store!
Very Big with huge resources. I like it. Cafe & internet browsing available too
I dont know how many employees they have, but couldnt just one employee with all the free time they have now decide to update their opening hours to closed until further notice on google.
This is the problem with the public sector, nobody cares about the organisation, they only care about their jobs and only their jobs.
It s a scam there are more than 4 security working there too many staff for the library too much spending for nothing every time you will found new stuff ?? Why they spent too much for the library and the books cost no much than less than a More
Nice and clean (idea store).
Cycled it here, so for the cyclists, the nearest and safest place to lock your bike will be directly on the side of the idea store.
This staff member are disrespectful, as they invade your privacy. They do not let you practice your rights and make rules and regulations to their best interest without viewing your reasoning.
I use this library weekly 5 days.I enjoy lots when I see woman staff hammers floor with their shoes and speaks so loudly without any limit.I come here coz I am lazy to go somewhere.
This could be a great little place to visit, but it lacks in customer service and the toilets are filthy. Selection of books is alright, but not as good as other libraries in other boroughs. It s disappointing.
It is nice place to study or work. There is lots of tables-you can bring your stuff and work or there is some computer to use. Just on the exam terms is hard to find place to sit. Otherwise, stuff are friendly and design is modern. And the big difference compare to other libraries- you can drink or eat. That's the great advantage because in some places you even can not drink water.
Excellent service. I requested a book to be ordered in and the staff were helpful and ordered the book I wanted.
Great local library with a community centre vibe. Dedicated children's area. Lots of study space at the weekend. No it's not your typical 'ssh' library where dropping a pen gets you an evil glare, but maybe that's the future, so they can appeal to all and most importantly stay open!
If you're going there with the expectations of getting work done, don't. That library is nothing but a social gathering building and the staff is pathetic. I waited at the service desk for about 5 minutes, while two employees held a side conversation. Not only did the employee fail to apologize for making me wait, but he delivered a snarky attitude instead of customer service.
The library does not have a single quiet area, it is beyond ridiculous! I have never been to such a loud library in my life, the noise comes from customers and employees.
I went to the third floor thinking it would be a bit quieter than the fourth, and I had a pair of employees, which turned into a trio, standing next to me gossiping and chuckling for about thirty minutes.
The library is obviously poorly managed and might be overdue for new staff, if not staff training.
Great that it's there, but rather creepy and unsanitary at times, I would not recommend it for students looking for a place to study on the weekend, for example.
Nice place to study and have good collection of books.
Well equipped. But no point reserving books, as they are not put aside for you. Children s area really dirty.
Great view from the top floor cafe and staffs are helpful. Lots of individual and group study table but don't expect to have a quite peaceful environment. People talk too loudly on the phone without consideration of others. The place is quite dirty and smelly. People seem to smoke weed in the toilet.
Books collection is not great however overall facilities i.e. reading area/tables even rooms, computing facilities, dedicated kids library, restaurant, various adult courses etc. could be a place for everybody.
It was my regular study place before exams when I was in this area.
I've used this facility on numerous occasions and can be a little hit and miss when it comes to customer service.
I like my libraries to be libraries and filled with books. This place is neither: neither a library nor filled with books. Lordy, for such a big building, the range is pitiful. There were plenty of books on how to use Facebook, for instance, but none on actual programming or markup.
Nor are the books arranged in order according to their Dewey classification: you'll have to ask someone where the book you want is shelved.
So, given what I like, you'll realise why I can understand how they admitted defeat and became an idea store. Except the books here aren't going to give you any of those.
Hard to reach on telephone. Actually Impossible. Website is too confusing, no dedicated button/hyperlink link to log into account to manage loans. As a place, it's alright. Some staff are helpful.
What an absolute disgrace Tower Hamlets council is. When they aren t giving brown paper envelopes to their mates or basically wasting taxpayers money on PR campaigns they facilitated this poor excuse for a Library. Why couldn t this be a Grand beautiful library full of books and quite places - instead it s a ghastly building that has less books than an half empty shelf in a charity shop. Need a quite place to study that s clean - no chance! The few people who use this place seem to think it s a place to dump Crisp packets and talk on their phones. Citizens of Tower Hamlets deserve better. You are being cheated by the corrupt council and the councillors who serve the few and not the many. Labour is not working!
Idea Store Whitechapel
wonderful service and opening hours...
Example for Newham and other borough...
I love this place - a really nice place to work or browse books. The cafe on the top floor has an amazing view and is a great place to try and collect ones thoughts. An interesting cross section of locals attend the library, making it a nice environment to hang about in. A gem that's open to everyone.
I came to this library as I am new to the area and wanted to check out the facilities. The librarian that helped me was so friendly and patient! She made the process smooth sailing and made me feel very welcome. One of the best customer service experiences I have had.
Not open during the lockdown but they provide a very good service to the community.
Nice view from the Lemon Tree cafe on the 4th floor.
Good community space to study and work and is very popular. It's not a silent library so there can sometimes be be a little bit of noise but people are generally respectful that others are working independently (and patrolling security will deal with more disruptive visitors). Cafe on the top floor offers reasonably priced coffee and food. Overall a great library space.
its like a market too many security guard too many staff they talking too loud no discipline nothing just peace of junk working 9-5 and get paid the rest who care the stuff no manner at all ,always on the phone and they do nothing NOTHING AT ALL WHO PAID THEM? its our tax money if there is less than a start its zeroooo
Great place to sit and focus on your work. Great location near Whitechapel and QueenMary University. Free wifi and spaces. Nice staffs too
I totally love this place because there are lots of good books to read. I enjoy playing on the computers with my cousins, friends and family. I like going there when the summer book reading challenges are on. I couldn't have thought about any where else to go and have fun in. Plus Whitechapel it a very populated so lots of people go there anyways.
As with a lot of libraries it has a few resident 'characters' and the toilets leave a lot to be desired. However it does offer an excellent collection of books, has reliable fast wifi and pleasant helpful staff.
Previous reviews are spot on regarding customer service at these stores, Whitechapel in particular.The concept of customer service is completely alien to these sullen, morose, just plain lazy personnel.There are one or two exceptions but the majority, having little work to do,want to do even less.
All these libraries are way over staffed,being self service staff spend most of the day chatting,accessing social media,texting and so on.Then take it as an affront should anyone interrupt them from their daily routine of sloth.Daily you see people get short thrift and do not hide their displeasure at a simple request for help with printing or photocopying. A task which many still,particularly the elderly find daunting.
Down the road at Bethnal Green library,staff here
are very helpful and friendly, but ditto clearly overstaffed and again while away the day chatting.All this waste funded by the hard up council tax payer.All these stores could easily function with considerably less staff yet management and the Mayor are happy to waste our money.
Good luck finding a particular title at Whitechapel ,books or cds, staff just routinely shove them in the nearest spot.Over time in the cd section i have witnessed the delights of Barry Manilow in the world/folk section and Seaside Stevie in the classical!
The biggest scandal and this is FACT.Staff are not required to man reception for more than one hour,because,get this...Management deem "it to stressful."
IdeaStore is a really good service for the Borough. It is not only a library. It has a huge amount of courses on anything you might like to learn (from languages to reiki, from sewing to music, from dancing to painting, etc).
It is open everyday, ideal for weekend studying. Furthermore the bar at top level is cosy and reasonably priced.
Staff are rude, impolite and make alot of noise. Speaking loudly to each other and joking about. No concpet of customer service or professionalism.
Other users see this behaviour by staff and obviously think its fine to have their phones on loud speaker, shout across the floors to friends (casually swearing) and just generally muck about disturbing people. The place is a play ground for college kids, pathetic excuse for a library.
I can only speak of my own experience, but I visit this particular idea store perhaps once every two weeks for quiet study. It's great, plenty of space when I go and no ones noisy at all. You can even isolate yourself in one of the learning labs provided it has not been booked for a session. The malaysian cafe on the 4th floor is adequate with a lovely view of the distant city skyline. If you dont fancy that kind of thing, there's a Sainsburys literally just round the corner, easy to get to and perfect for a quick smoke break. Can't say much about the books since I've never needed to loan any from here. All in all, its good.
ideastore.co.uk