Hawaii State Public Library System – Hilo Library

What a wonderful library! I love the layout of the place. In the middle of the library is open. So you can feel the breeze and watch the rain.
Wifi is free with your library card (used to log in), but no wifi in the children’s section, which is the place that has air conditioning. You might see some adults, who don’t have kids in there to beat the heat. But after awhile it gets super cold. Honestly, the middle is cool enough.
I really like the self check! The line for the check out with the librarians can get pretty long. So, it’s nice to quickly check out! The reference young lady was really helpful too and really nice! Thanks!
Really nice place and people! And great history /​folklore! Just make sure that you don’t plug anything in the children’s section. I got a little spank’n for that one. My bad. Sorry! But plenty of plugs in the middle, computers to use, and lots of great help! :)

What a treasure this place is. One of the nicest libraries I’ve ever been to. Great layout with a beautiful courtyard. Everything is well organized and accessible. No wait to use a computer on the days I went. Very friendly and helpful folks work there.

Awesomest library ever.
Naha Stone, how can people drive by this without knowing it’s significance to Hawaii seriously? Could you move that stone? No way braddah.
Read first, then visit. Much of the beauty that exudes from Hawaii comes from it’s deep association with it’s history and nature. Enjoy this one that can be seen from the road! No need even stop

We just got our new library cards here, it was easy! The librarian was helpful and showed us that there were alot more options than just borrowing books. Audio books, cd’s, dvd’s, online renewals… Awesome! We’ll be back, and not only to return the books that we borrowed!

Decided to stop by Hilo Library and check it out since I had never been there before, and I am sure glad I did. This is a wonderful library. It is the biggest one (I believe) on the island, and not only is the selection huge, but the layout of the library itself is really nice. This made me not only feel bad for my public library (Kona), but made me wish we had something like this.
The building itself is really cool; open air and in the middle is a huge courtyard. It is pretty amazing (see pics) and very relaxful. A lot of people were actually just chillin, like it was a park of some sort (or maybe for the free wifi).
I had originally thought about going here to see what sort of selection of Japanese books they would have. Kona has ONE row of a rack, although I am very grateful for it. I had a hunch Hilo would have more, and wow was I shocked. They had not only a row but 2 entire racks full, both sides.
In addition to that, they even had current magazines from Japan. Wow, I had never anticipated that. And not only did they have magazines, you could also borrow them (except for the current issue). Very cool. My wife was very excited about this. She was even more excited when I told her not only could be borrow them here, but that we could return them to any library on the island, no problem. That kind of service was never even comprehensible to her.
I also verified with the librarian that we could go online and search for books, and we could order anything and have it sent over to us.
I still cannot quite fathom how the library can do such great things like this, but I definitely appreciate it.
Add this to the list of places I will visit when in Hilo. For people who don’t live here, I would still suggest paying a visit. I think you will be delightfully surprised. Also, make sure to check out the Naha stone (really famous and cool history) right in front of the library.
This would be a good stop if you are headed to Rainbow Falls, which is where I went next… On to the next review.

Only been there once, and that was for the Spring book sale. The sale was pretty sweet. Children’s books 3 for $ 1 and paperbacks for 50 cents.

A beautiful and bustling little library. Built around an open-​air courtyard, this place was hopping on a week-​day afternoon (the parking lot was jammed). Leslie at the reference desk gave me the rundown on their collection, including the Hawai’iana area, a unique asset. This service is a great benefit for Hilo!

Hey all, If you plan to go to the big motherland, Hawai’i, make your way here. Hilo is the place.
Weather it’s by car or bus. There are two huge stones that sit in front of this building. There’s a significant history behind it. Go and find out for yourself. I do not have an update on the reference or internal ratings of the grounds.