Boston Public Library – Brighton Branch

WIFI speed is so slow here that it’s very difficult to smoothly stream iTunes Radio.
Restroom max capacity is 1 person.
Other aspects are ok.

This is a great library.
OK I’m biased because I grew up right next to them, learned how to bike, street hockey, baseball, skateboarding, and how to throw rocks at your friends without getting into trouble, all in their parking lot.
But really, this is a nice quiet building with a great collection, and super nice and friendly staff.
They have a huge kids’ section, and often have lectures, musical guests, kids’ specials etc.
Go there, you’ll love it. Great parking too!

This place is spotless! Honestly this location is really pretty small, but since it’s around the corner from me, I just request materials online from other branches and then pick them up here a few days later.
Pretty nice space with tons of natural light, but not really that much room to hang out and read if that’s what your looking for.
All the staff that I’ve interacted with have been friendly and efficient.
Hey it’s a library, it’s free!

This is a really nice, cozy, comfy branch library. Obviously their stacks aren’t as stacked as the mothership’s, but all you need to do is use the (sometimes glitchy) electronic resources of the BPL and have them send your books to your local branch.

For my 100^th review I think I’m going to take a trip down memory lane…
I grew up going to this library… in Brighton there are only 2 libraries– the smaller one in Oak Square (Faneuil) which doesn’t have a lot of space or choices in books or this one… the Brighton Branch library holds a special place in my heart.
Before any of the renovations ever happened, I have wonderful memories of coming here during the musky summers to find my summer reading books from my crumpled list in my pocket. It was here that I discovered the young adults reading room and I would take out scary stories and romances and books that had pictures of far away magical lands and places. It was here that I discovered the PBS series «The American Experience» on VHS. (Yes, I was born when those were still around !) and it had me obsessed with Coney Island for the next 2 months. It was here that I discovered their back screening room and it was my first time seeing «Nosferatu» in all its 35 mm old school glory. It was also here that i discovered records in their basement level which I spent hours looking for random Elvis records or classical music. It was also here that I discovered the smell and feel of the book and started appreciating all the different book cover art.
I also did a lot of my homework and group projects here on the upper level near the big glass windows. I just saw pictures of the renovated space and it made me a little sad because I remember they used to have these GIANT wooden long heavy tables where you could lay out all your books and sturdy chairs that you could only move with both arms… now replaced with Ikea– like flimsy furniture. SIGH.
It was also here that I discovered the power of a library card (remember they used to be that ugly grey color??) and I was fascinated that you could use it at any library and that they could reserve and order books for you. I was fascinated by the old fashioned catalogue system and I thought it was cool i could look up titles on my own, jot down the number and then go find it like it was easter egg hunt.
This is also where I discovered library fines… LOL. More than a few times I was late returning things and I always thought it was the end of the world when I had to pay a quarter or a dollar for a late fine.
I don’t think the newer generations will ever appreciate an old fashioned library as much as I did. It was a wonderful place to escape to for a few hours and I think my real love of reading, learning and discovering sprouted from here. I haven’t been in here for years but I still remember how it was in the middle of kind of a quiet area and I was always scared to go up to the bldg because it was always so remote and foreboding…
but once inside the adventures began.
Thanks for the great memories Brighton Branch Library! :)

I never thought I would love such an ugly building but I do. I’ve never lived so close to a library before – I love it that I can walk here all the time. The librarians are all really friendly and the library has a great collection of dvds — lots of British television series, my favorite. I can usually find something to read here although the selection isn’t the best. I find the bizarre system of ramps/​aisles to different floors very entertaining. They have a few computers for public use and you can usually stay on for a couple of hours unless it is busy.

What were municipalities thinking in the 1960s and 1970s when they decided that Brutalism was an architectural style consistent with buildings intended to be used by – and ultimately belong to – the residents of a free society? City Hall and its accompanying brick wasteland, more commonly known as the «plaza,» are a prime example but lesser examples abound, not the least (or the greatest of the least; or the least of the greatest) of which is the Brighton Branch of the Boston Public Library.
As with all other attempts to turn the bourgeoisie into the lumpen masses, whether by force or by (re)education, the Brighton Branch would be more at home in Soviet-​era East Germany or in a South American «republic» run by a charismatic individual at the brink of collapse. I spend only a few hours a month at this library but I feel sorry for the employees who each day must probe the depths of their immiseration. How would *you* like to spend eight hours a day in a noisy, drafty, decaying concrete bunker where the slightest sound is amplified tenfold?
One star for the building, then. It should get zero stars but let ‘s view it as a cultural artifact and have it stand as a reminder of the «never again» phase of public architecture.
I haven’t checked out books from the Brighton Branch’s collections but I’ve browsed enough to say it’s typical of a neighborhood branch library: a healthy supply of James Patterson, a smattering of classics, lots of self-​help, and enough DVDs to compete with Blockbuster.
No stars for the collection.
Mugar Library at BU is closest to me. I go there once or twice a year to do my taxes or to pass some quiet time. I go to the BPL more frequently because my taxes pay for it and I like to remind myself that I’m still a part of the city. I like it best on dreary days.
The librarians work with what they have, their stone walls and iron bars notwithstanding; and, unlike the trend for city libraries to become «community centers» rather than research spaces, the librarians still do their best to make sure the library stays silent.
The librarians get two stars, thus taking the Brighton Branch to a full three stars, on par with my dry cleaner and my pizza guy.