DeKalb Public Library

Whitney Banks

BOB WAS SO RUDE I AM VERY RESPECTFUL PERSON. SHORT STAFF OR NOT YOU WERE NICE TO CERTAIN PPL. IF THEY LOOKED LIKE ME YOU WERE VERY SHORT… EVERYONE ELSE THANK YOU. THE WOMAN IN THE KIDS AREA AND COMPUTER LAB WERE AMAZING

Anahí Espinosa

I was so excited to come to the library for the first time since moving to DeKalb. I brought my 11-year old nephew with me and I even reserved a study room ahead of time so we could ready and study quietly. The library is beautiful and spacious and has lots of sitting and study areas. Parking is available and easily accessible. However, I was very disheartened by the unfriendliness of some of the staff. In total, I had to ask four different people for help because they all kept passing me off to someone else. Each time I reached a new person I made sure to tell them this was my first time at the library and that’s why I didn’t know where things were. My first stop was circulation and this was, by far, the most unfriendly person of the four. I’m not sure why she’s at the circulation desk at the front and center if she’s not willing to help. I asked her for the youth study rooms and she told me to go to the Help Desk as that’s where the Adult Study rooms are. I reiterated that I reserved a Youth Study room and she said to go there anyway. Next stop was the circulation desk. The girl there was neither friendly nor unfriendly but she immediately told me she didn’t know where the Youth Study rooms were located. She suggested to go to the second floor. We decided to stop by the Reference Desk to ask how to get to those rooms and the lady there was very nice and directed us back to the Help Desk. She even walked us back over to the Help Desk. Neither she nor the girl at Help Desk really knew where the study room I reserved was located. They said it was probably in the Teen Room so they walked us there. The guy at the Teen Room was, by far, the nicest and most helpful. He helped me look for the room again and then offered to set us up in one of the Teen Study Rooms, but at this point, he told me I needed a library card for that, so he referred me back to Circulation. Back to the unfriendly Circulation Desk I went and asked what I needed to get a library card. She told me what I needed and quickly turned away. When she realized I had the documents I needed, she seemed surprised and said “oh, you have that?” She then told me to wait and returned a couple of minutes later with an application form. I will say the application requires a reference, which is odd. I purposely left it blank as I have no family nearby (and the form specifically says it has to be someone who doesn’t live at your address), but she told me it was required. Anyway, I finally got my library card and ended my ordeal about 30 minutes later, but it’s definitely an experience that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I’m still excited to keep coming back, but this initial experience was definitely not the one I hoped for and I’m glad that now that I have library card, I can go about on my own. Hopefully, I don’t find myself need any assistance in the future because I’d definitely be hesitant to ask for help.

Maya

it's always a great experience when I go here. I come with friends almost every day there's not many places you can hang around so this is a really great spot. it has just great staff. teen room probably my favorite overall

Maléa Noir

We mainly go to the children’s section and events. Solely based on that I would give them 5 stars. The bathrooms are extremely clean, despite what another reviewer claimed. I will admit the toys need cleaned, but that’s the only fault I can find, period. It’s a public space so we should all help take care of it but I do agree the staff need to sanitize the toys at least once a week. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them cleaned. They have a really good variety of toys and books for everyone. The staff knows us by name and have always been very friendly. I asked one lady about 20 questions in the span of an hour and she literally was the nicest someone could possibly be. We will be sad to not have this library nearby when we move.