Clarksville Montgomery County Public Library

The kids area is fantastic. Plenty of area to comfortably sit and readers well as fun for the kiddos.

Normally, I check out a public library for books, but today I was on a mission to find the people without homes mentioned in a one-​star review for this library. I may have failed, or at least failed to see a problem sharing a public space with… the public, but I did find an absolutely beautiful, spacious two story library with an atrium, lots of plants, an outstanding children’s library, a genealogy library and plenty of materials to educate, entertain and enlighten.
The people I found in my search were mostly people just living their lives. Maybe homeless. Maybe not. Some were reading, some were talking, some were probably writing reviews that bully the homeless while claiming the market on truth. No surprises. Exactly what I expected to find. I talked to several people and even thanked a gentleman who pushed the open-​door button for me as I approached the entrance.
Now for the library itself. The children’s library is beautifully decorated and includes a fabulous collection of stuffed animals to make it a cozy, fun place to learn to read. People stop in and donate cute, cuddly little friends and the displays change frequently. The library also owns a huge collection of Caldecott and Newberry Medal books and they provide cozy seating areas for snuggling in and helping a child learn to read. There are pint-​sized chess tables and there is also a large play area with colorful floor and wall decorations. You will find a Children’s International Education Center here as well.
The genealogy library includes census records, military documents and memorabilia, newspapers, local maps and they even provide a genealogy class every week.
There are several study rooms including one reserved for deaf patrons. I saw a couple of rooms in use and they are well lit and provide quiet, private areas to have discussions or study.
The only problem with any public library is that it must be shared with the public, which does include people who write 1-​star reviews mentioning homeless people 5 times in a review consisting of exactly 5 sentences. Clarksville is lucky to have such a beautiful public library in Veteran’s Square. If you don’t enjoy people, there are plenty of other places you can go.

Nice library. But the women working at the front desk are so rude. They always act like helping you is a waste of time. If they aren’t talking crap about absent coworkers they simply ignore you. I’ve been here three times recently and the women were rude each time. No wonder they have self-​checkout kiosks. They don’t like doing their job.

I love this library! This children’s area is so neat. The selection of movies is great. The staff is very kind.

It’s OK for a town the size of Clarksville, but what impressed me was the sheer number of homeless persons hanging out. This has got to be the place to go if you don’t have a home, because they sure seem to come out of nowhere… right at the opening hour. If these folks aren’t homeless. they sure do a good job of impersonating the homeless.
Its like this… the Librarian unlocks the front door… homeless folks go in… its crazy.
Sorry if I sound self righteous or elitist… but this is not a 5 star place and I have to help spread the truth and people reading the Unilocal reviews should know what to expect.

Great library and the bathrooms are well kept and the whole library is for that matter. Only problem is some days hobos are hanging around outside. It wouldn’t be to bad if they were quiet and minded their own business but i got called a rude name as I was walking out of the library by one of them and then greeted with a giant puff of smoke. I do not let it bother me and continue to go there because I enjoy seeing new books and checking out what cds they have there. Sometimes the ladies can be a little temperamental working at the front desk and wanting to get you out of the line as fast as possible. Yet overall it is a pretty good library considering the location.

My husband and I visit this library about once a week or so. We have lived here for a while, but have really gotten into the library in the past year. They have a good selection of dvd’s and cd’s as well as books and audio books.
My favorite thing is that you can put things on hold to have waiting for you– I have done this with quite a few things successfully. I love being able to search their system from home.
You can also use their computers (they have a complicated system that involves scanning your card and you getting a time slip– it seems strange to me that people after can get a quicker time than you. I guess it is a right place right time thing).
For a while, there were a ton of homeless people hanging around outside and inside panhandling, but I think they have gotten this under control.
The strangest thing is how you check out books– you completely do this on your own. It seems weird how many workers they have with this system. It seems unnecessary to have that many people working when all they do is check in books. I wish that there was a way to check in books– I have had a problem with the workers not checking in things correctly and they then show up as being late on my account. Thankfully, I am pretty observant about my card and things I have checked out.

libraries are prolly one of my all-​time favorite things. up there with the show firefly, my dog and dark chocolate. needless to say, before my furniture had even arrived, i had checked out the library on ft campbell. not really up to my standard. so i went in search of greener pastures… totally worth the drive from post.
make sure you bring in proof of residency. initially, you have a temporary card & limited privileges (only books, no movies or cds), but they will have you fill out a postcard that gets mailed to your address, you bring it back and get full privileges.
i can only speak for my favorite parts of the library… and i didn’t get to check all those out (i’m going back later today… i’ll update). there is a great selection of YA/​teen fiction upstairs, with lots of new books, complete series and audio books on the shelf right next to the books. each audio book comes with a copy of the book itself… i haven’t decided how i feel about this, but *shrug* it’s something. the children’s library is HUGE. i LOVE kids books, but i felt really awkward walking into this glass enclosed area with no kid at hand… i felt like ppl were staring… don’t hate, ppl… grown women can enjoy a good kids book. needless to say, i didn’t spend much time in there… i wish that chapter books (the ones i like) were in a separate section down there, instead of mixed in with the baby books. the adult audio books were rather sparse in selection… i’m planning on going and seeing if there are more options hiding among the shelves.
sections to be explored: graphic novels, adult sci-​fi & fantasy, non-​fiction and the children’s library in it’s entirety.