Jacksonville Public Library – Main Library

I hate the hours for the downtown library and the parking is horrendous, but this is my favorite library!
Since it’s so big, of course they have computers that will usually accommodate whoever comes in… Unless it’s packed.
There’s a place where you can eat on the third floor I believe, it’s outside and it almost feels like a small town in a foreign country… So pack a lunch and bring a date!
The employees are usually cheerful and it stays clean for the most part so it’s a winner for me!
Hours change throughout the week, so keep up with that and check out some books!

As we have been coming here weekly for almost 10 years I felt it was time to write a review.
First off, my family loves to read so of course you have to visit a library frequently. Also the Jax library system has terrific classes for adults, teens and kids. My daughter has been coming to art and dramarama for many years and is a familiar face to all the staff in the children’s department.
The staff are all very helpful and friendly. There are so many resources available via their website as well. You can check out e-​books, audiobooks, and movies for your electronic devices

Love love love the new children’s section! Came here on a field trip with my youngest daughter and loved the new children’s wing. It is a nature themed area with a large grass field that you walk through upon entering. You hear crickets and the breeze and it makes you feel like a tiny bug in the grass. Inside there is a big boat couch that allows for children to sit and pretend they are pirates. There are dolphins and whales and waves on the bookshelves.
It is a gorgeous building with an outdoor fountain as well. I am imagining a beautiful wedding among those books and that fountain. It is just a dream to me. Definitely want to go back and exprlerience it more.

I travel to the Main Street Library WEEKLY! Free books (and air conditioning) on a Saturday morning are my recipe for a good time. I love walking by the colorful Yarn-​bombed Hemming Plaza and looking up at the GIANT golden owl sculpture towering above before I enter.
The interior is a book-lover’s haven, complete with an Italian fountain on the second floor with bistro tables, palm trees, and a not-​so-​stunning view from the second story. The Children’s Section has a dynamic DRAGON snaked around the open floor with plush seats inviting you to read a book to your little one. The Children’s Section is also vibrantly decorated with long stalks of grass mounted on the sides of each book row along with toadstool seats!
I specifically want to write about my experience LAST Saturday in the Children’s Section. My baby has finally reached the important pinnacle of LIKING it when we read to her! Besides Dr. Seuss, what kind of books are interesting for both the baby AND the parents? I was at a loss so I asked the librarian, Marie, for some advice. Marie’s eyes sparkled and I clearly saw the ignited fire of a librarian on a mission! She quickly grabbed books left and right, passionately describing how humorous each one was and how we’d enjoy them even if the baby couldn’t understand them yet.
Our favorites that Marie recommended was, Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and Tadpole’s Promises by Jeanne Willis. [If you want to read something REALLY funny, go read the reviews on Tadpole’s Promise on Amazon after you’re through with the book!] In Falling for Rapunzel, Rapunzel has a hearing problem and hilarity ensues.
Marie was SO helpful that I have decided to come to her on a regular basis so she can load me up with more entertaining children’s books! I was dazzled by her knowledge and passion. She even took a family photo of «baby’s first library trip!»
Not only is the library lovely to visit in person, but you can also go online and choose what books you are interested in. Once the book is chosen, you select which library location you want those books sent to. In less than a week (sometimes longer if there’s a queue for the book) you will receive an email notifying it’s ready at your library of choice for a pick up! Easy Peasy!
[Insiders Tip: There IS a Book Drop Off section at the Main Street Library. Go AROUND the corner from MOCA and you’ll see a wooden awning. The drop off is under the awning.]
I’ll see you at the library!

This is a huge and beautifully-​designed library with numerous places to sit and read, relax, or study. The outdoor courtyard is small, but very pretty, and it even has a fountain. I was able to find all the books I wanted, for the library has an expansive collection.

Wow, I really wasn’t expecting how beautiful this library was! I’ve been coming here to study for my NBCOT… Really great place to study and even explore and admire the beautiful architecture and books! Truly a gem in Jacksonville! The staff were very friendly and the library was so clean as well!

A public building I like to linger in for hours. The light that streams in the reading room is beautiful and my children love the Media specialists in the kids section second floor. The children’s programs on the 2^nd floor are amazing (Ms. Marie is the best) and the teen area always interests my teen because basically adults loitering here are frowned upon (unless you’re Ms. Mia) which, let’s face it, is always a bonus for teens. Adult free zone. I know there are critics of the architecture of this library but I’m thrilled the Main Library lives on Laura Street downtown. The 2^nd floor courtyard is a great place to enjoy being outdoors when the weather is perfect and when it’s not, the cool of the indoors is always a welcome respite.

This is a beautiful library with multiple stories full of books, events, an outdoor courtyard, modern… it’s pretty much the best library in town. The only qualm I have is parking, which is a pain in the behind to find.
They also host weddings here so if you’re looking for a nice wedding venue, this is a good place.

So, I wasn’t here for a scholarly pursuit, but for a wedding.
Also ashamed to confess, this was my first time in the downtown library, but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?
The actual wedding was held outside at the courtyard, and it was absolutely beautiful. From the palm trees, to the long, rectangular fountain in the middle, this was an amazing venue… and the weather on this October evening was perfect.
They held part of the reception on the second floor, which was pretty cool as well. You got to look over the first floor, while sipping on your drink and the marble staircases are brilliant.
I’m not sure if the security officers came with the library or not, but a few of them were pretty rude, but I might have been too, working on a Saturday night and trying to herd the festive drunks.
While my inner Unilocaler is screaming, this isn’t the normal consumer experience, my inner event planner is screaming… talk to someone at the library about booking that courtyard today!

Such a beautiful library!
There was a huge selection of books on 4 different floors and it was so awesome to just walk around. It’s very clean, and well-​kept too.
I think there was going to be a wedding and wedding reception there on the stairs of the 3^rd floor, which is a pretty neat idea.

This is one of the coolest libraries around. There are so many interesting spaces, architectural features, displays, reading areas, and friendly librarians.
The old map collection displayed on the fourth floor is cool. The grand stairwell and its murals are pretty stunning. The reading room with table lamps in long rows is funky. The second floor deck area with pool/​fountain and palms is terrific. There is also a balcony higher up.
The library is huge and well worth exploring. They also host lots of events. Enjoy this downtown gem!!! And there’s a nice indie clothing store, kettle popcorn store and bookstore/​café next door

More people should read. Reading whatever is on your screen is cool. But every so often (like once every other week) you should make it a habit of getting a book from your local library and reading it. FOR FREE! Make it a group/​family event. Create a book club off whatever you like — ask the librarians! They are great resoures to help you set it up. And there are plenty of awesome space to host in the library. This location is ideal because there are plenty of food options before or after a visit near by.
And it freaking beautiful architecture and artwork throughout. Even a rainy day is sweet here. I love the reading room on the top floor. Complete isolation surround by plenty of people. Being antisocial has it’s moments. Ideal study space or hidden shelter to just get lost in your thoughts while writing in your journal or into the story of a good book.
Budgets continue to shrink and hours are becoming more limited. Prove that our libraries deserves to remain open by taking full advantage while they are still here.

This library has abundant reading material housed in a beautiful setting, interesting special collections, and a nice concrete owl outside. But even the owl cannot make up for the formidable ‘No food or drink’ signs.
I came to the library today to work on spreadsheets for a few hours and make use of the quiet atmosphere. Unfortunately, I made the grave error of bringing a water bottle along with my laptop.
I had my eye on the large tables in the Grand Reading Room, which were suspiciously vacant except for an abundance of blue, hooded lamps. Noticing the twin, poster-​sized signage that banned any form of beverage, even in a sealed container, I strove to obey the rules and scanned for another likely study spot.
The map room, with walls covered in its namesake, seemed inviting, but also had the aforementioned posting. As did the nonfiction collection, fiction collection, the quiet study rooms, the reference collection, and the work room.
Committed to accomplishing something, anything, I attempted to make use of the partitioned desks near the expansive staircase. One of the few open spaces not already containing a standard desktop-​and-​bum pairing lacked a chair. Naively, I scooched a chair over from a desktop terminal. 30 minutes later, a library associate quietly informed me that I could not have this chair, and waited patiently for me pack my things and return the chair to its rightful home.
With offending water bottle in hand, I asked the associate where I was permitted to go with the drink that I now loathed to carry. He said that was a good question, and he didn’t know.
As I slumped through the ground level, I made one final attempt to stay in this wonderful building. The woman at the info desk kindly informed me that I could eat and drink on the ‘whatchacallit’ up there on the second floor, outside. Knowing that the sun’s glare and uncompromisingly short battery life would make laptop work on the patio futile, I returned to the nearby parking garage and paid $ 5 for my error in assuming that the library was useful for anyone other than those seeking free A/​C and a computer to watch the Simpsons. Yes, my computer-​desk neighbor for 30 minutes was watching the Simpsons, and cackling. Luckily for him, his space came with a chair, and his soda was discreetly hidden in a plastic bag.

Well funded, staffed and utilized library. A lot of homeless taking up air conditioned space in and outside library so kind of sad in that regard but truly a grand building. If only everyone could turn the TV off and use public resources like this it would be a truly enlightened world!

This is one of the best public libraries I’ve been to. The staff is very helpful and the facility is topnotch. Who would’ve thought Jax has this amazing building downtown? Just wish it will remain funded as they do offer great programs for the public. Heard they hosts weddings too. Cool!

The Zine collection is a must see. For the uninitiated these are small self published books on various topics. I’v checked out Zines about urban issues, home water collection, and composting for your garden. Staff is very helpful to locate and place a hold on items you need.
The main library also has an excellent collection of local historical articles if Jacksonville, one must register to get access to the archives section uninitiated

I’ve only stopped into the downtown library once, on a whim, but was completely impressed.
Bias: I assumed all libraries in the south would be underfunded.
Truth: The Jacksonville Main Branch downtown is incredible. It’s a historic building that has clearly undergone renovation, but the high ceilings, large lobbies and staircases give it a real NY Public Library feel. It’s got its share of sleeping hobos, job seekers and teenagers hogging computers and mothers with demon children, but hey, the libraries are for the community! I would definitely like to come back and utilize all of its resources!
I will say this: I judge a library by having all the standards, classics, and modern best-​sellers in its non-​fiction section. If those books aren’t to be found, I’ll head elsewhere. Hemingway: check. Woolf: check. Joyce, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Stein, Ginsberg, Whitman: Check check check. Even Michael Cunningham, Nick Hornby, Janet Fitch. Even the poet Adrienne Rich!
Once again: very impressed with Jacksonville.

This is a wonderful library that everyone needs to go to at least once. Five floors, an outside patio with a fountain, skylights, windows with great views, lots of comfortable seating and books, books and more books. The elevators and bathrooms are always clean and maintained. The librarians are cheerful, polite, and seem like they have their dream job. There is always some sort of display/​exhibit going on, scattered on different floors.

Besides the Bums that tried to run me over when they first Open the doors in the a. m this was my go to spot before I got internet. I think they have secret spots in the Library they race too I don’t know but It’s a nice place to chill with WIFI in the Summer!

One word: BEAUTIFUL. Even though it has obviously been restored, there is still that subtle old and cozy library smell hanging around. The courtyard on the 2^nd floor is so quiet and shady and peaceful (except of course for the sound of the fountain, but it’s pleasant background noise)…matter of fact, the whole library just has the kind of atmosphere that forces you to whisper. I know that is typical of a library, but the acoustics in this grand building are so on point that if you raise your voice even slightly, it feels like everyone can hear you (I found that out the hard way lol). The staff is so polite; I ended up having a pleasant political and history of Jacksonville convo with one of the librarians and come to find out she was also the librarian of the small town in NC that I grew up in! Used to read to me in the children’s groups and everything! It’s a small world after all :-)
The children’s section is so cozy and more kid friendly then I thought it would be… there were plenty of crumb snatchers around but I tell ya, there is something about the library that forces a hush over everyone… if I walked in with my eyes closed, I would never have known there were any children in there! There were parents tucked away in cozy corners reading to their children as well, and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy (I desire a large family of my own!)…it was such a peaceful sight to see. There is a Children’s Theater as well, with a Mother Owl that reads to the kids and tells stories… not a real owl folks, she’s animatronic :-)
There is also a lot of art and history everywhere, and the friendly librarian told me about how they are a big factor in the Art Walk (which I am going to miss because I work late! *sad face*), so I can only imagine how festive it becomes. Even better is that once you leave there and are in an artsy mood, you can satisfy that craving for culture right next door at the Art Museum.
I also found out that because of lack of funding, they will be losing librarians which spelled out to me that if they are in danger of losing staff, we are at risk of losing this beautiful old building. I am sure there are ways to donate for the cause; I for one am going to find out how and get involved… I haven’t been down here in Jax long, but I can already see that we can’t afford to lose this library… think of the children! lol