El Segundo Public Library

Did I just walk into Pleasantville? As Stefon would say, this library has everything: private reading/​study rooms, ample lighting, various seating options with outlets, a clean environment, and a populated yet quiet atmosphere. For some reason, the restroom key is available from 2 – 6, otherwise the doors (next to a framed picture of Nicolas Cage) are open.
The landscaping is immaculate and complete with a retired Marine doing Tai Chi. I bet they have fast wifi too, but you need a library card to access. Aside from the guy sitting across from me muttering expletives to himself, this library is perfect.

What a fantastic collection of books, videos and resources!!! Friendly, helpful assistance both upstairs at the circulation desk acquiring a library card and downstairs in the children’s section locating a particular author for my grand daughter! Clean quiet and very spacious! We love it! And, we appreciate the tranquility of the aquarium!

This is a classic neighborhood library that reminds me of the kind I grew up with in the 60’s. They have ample amounts of books, plenty of rooms to study in, vintage art adorning the walls, CD’s, videos, magazines for loan, and a friendly staff. They have a wonderful downstairs youth section, too. And they offer events on a variety of topics. The only drawback is they charge for movie rentals.

I love this place.
:)
Favorite library.

Not the most modern of libraries, but how many are? Great kids section, friendly and efficient librarians and wide selection. I’m a regular!

Probably the best public library I’ve ever been to! I come here when I don’t feel like driving to my school campus to study. Plus it opens at 9am (except Fri-​Sun) I’ve noticed most public libraries here do not open till 11am or noon!
Decent sized library with lots of tables/​individual desks. It can get a bit noisy after 3pm when the teeny boppers start to come in but it’s like that at any public library. Friendly staff and surprisingly clean bathrooms!
Free wifi. just ask for the password at the reference desk. Plenty of easy street parking!

The computers need an upgrade, but apart from that this is my favorite library ever.
Superb staff and a beautiful location within a park environment make it a rare spot for reading, contemplation and critical thinking.
Huge comfy chairs for a slow afternoon, amazing views to Library Park populated by huge, ancient trees, and a first class children’s section completely separate on the lower floor. I have been visiting with my infant for two years and it never ever disappoints. The library runs wonderful activities and events for kids. Very child friendly. They understand that a little noise is inevitable as the tiny ones acquire library protocol, but the youngsters are always completely separate from the main library.
Private meeting rooms and reading rooms upstairs are available with reservation.
A real gem in the library universe. Simply beautiful. Highly recommended.

I’ve been coming to this library for about 5 years and now more consistently since January of this year. It is across the street from the El Segundo HS. There are also a lot of places to eat around the area :) This library is quite small compared to other libraries, but it is still a great place to study. Whenever I’m in the area for work or visit or see my parents I just come to this library to get some studying in first :)
WIFI:
In order to access the wifi you have to have a library card. Go to the resource desk and show them your library card and they will give you a piece of paper with the wifi on it.
BOOK SALE:
When you first walk in, about 6 steps in front of you, they have a lot of books on the side for sale. They range from .50 cents to $ 2. I’ve bought a lot A LOT of books here. Especially ones that are about $ 7 – 10 bucks on Amazon I get for $ 1 here! If you go further in on the left side, they have A LOT more books on the bookshelf for sale. I didn’t know this until a few months ago.
ROOM RESERVATION:
You must call ahead and reserve by phone. No library card needed, just your first name and last name initial. There are about, I want to say 5 – 7 rooms?
CHILDREN’S SECTION:
Downstairs there is a huge collection of childrens books and play/​tables/​study area for children
BATHROOMS:
The restrooms are located downstairs and in the back of the library
MEETING ROOMS:
Downstairs, I believe there is one or two rooms for events. If needed, call ahead to make a reservation. I know that Toastmasters used to meet up here.
STUDY AREAS:
There are a lot of cubicles and some study tables.
COMPUTERS:
Limited amount of comuters to use. I believe about 8.

Love, Love, Love this library. The staff are so friendly. I always find such great stuff there.

This library has been every bit of fantastic. Great selection, friendly people and reliable internet. Very large space and perfect to take your young learner to not only read but also play while still learning.

one star for having helpful and friendly staff
one star for having a quiet place to work and conference rooms for small meetings
one star for the free wi-​fi and outlets on desks for charging laptops
one star for it being clean including the bathrooms
I held off on the last star just because it seems like they have limited resources as far as resource books

Probably THE BEST public library I’ve ever been to. The scenery is quite beautiful and it’s a great QUIET place to study!

I guess I’d give this library 3.5 stars if I could. I live a few blocks away and needed to get some reference books for work so that I could work from home. When I looked up books I’d be interested in on the catalog system, you have to make sure the books are there and not in the high school library. A lot of the books I wanted suggested to «check shelves» and almost all of them were MIA. You can access your library account online which is nice so you can renew remotely. And they of course have book drops outside.
The space itself is very pretty and everyone is friendly so I rounded up to 4 stars.

This place is the best! We can walk here and love the fact that they have free concerts, book fairs, kids’ story times, Santa Claus visits, teen nights, etc etc etc.
The children’s section is so much fun for my son who loves puzzles.
The librarians at the front desk have become our friends! Eric in the children’s library is amazing! Can’t say enough good things about it! It’s one of the reasons we love living here.

Didn’t think much of the adult section, but the area for the elementary school kids was great. No library card needed for my 1^st grader, just gave her name.

Clean place to work, but internet is very slow. I cannot watch my lectures nor do HW remote logging into the university’s servers.

This library seemed great. The person I spoke with behind the counter was really friendly. I wish that I could say I had a great experience here.
BUT:
I went in one afternoon to try to open an account. The gal behind the counter asked for my ID, which I gladly handed over. The address on my ID hadn’t been updated from when I lived near San Diego, and after seeing it, she remarked, «Hmm, I’m not sure if you’re in our library’s network.» She pulled out a giant three ring binder and started leafing through, looking at different highlighted California city names. «Nope, you’re not in our system.»
I figured, «No big whoop, I’m not in their system. What’s the big deal?» The big deal is this:
The El Segundo Library requires a $ 40 «deposit» if you have an ID with an address outside of the city or its’ surrounding counties. Unreal. Pure white hot insanity logic.
Look, I know we’re all going through hard times. Especially public and government-​funded institutions. But I’ve lived all over the country, and I’ve never, ever, ever been asked to pay a fee for starting a library account, anywhere; letalone have I been asked to pay a free that is about six times what the current minimum wage is. Don’t they understand that the reason people go to the library is because they are poor?

how can you not have nelson mandela’s autobiography when you have his favorite african folktales? i forgive you, as mr. mandela would, but that’s just outrageous. okay, you have a great children’s selection, and okay, most el segundo residents can probably afford to buy their own copy… but its time to grow gundo, and cater to your changing population… it will serve you better in the long run.

I would give this library 6 stars if I could.
–extremely nice lady at the circulation desk named Norma
–free WiFi (you need to apply for a library card, which takes 2 minutes with your drivers license)
–huge practically floor-​to-​ceiling windows overlooking a pristine, lush and verdant lawn
–plenty of tables, cubicles and wall plugs
–printing for $ 0.15/page
–pretty architecture on the outside, tasteful wall hangings on the inside
–peace and quiet
–DVD rental for $ 1.50÷3 days
–average sized book collection, with children’s in the lower level
The people of El Segundo care about their library, and it shows. Hooray for beautiful public spaces!