Miami-Dade Public Library System – Miami Beach Regional

The Miami Beach Regional Library on Collins Park has become a homeless hangout. There are ALWAYS Homeless people waiting for the library to open every day. Sometimes the «smell» is unbearable and I just leave the library. Everytime I go is the same thing and you see the same people. There are NO homeless shelter in Miami Beach so that’s where they all go. You can tell a homeless person a mile away: suitcases (unless you are a tourist, but those at least are put together and clean) and a stinch coming from them. Now If I go I just take some wipes and clean the keyboard, the desk, and my hands, before I even start.
The Downtown Miami-​Dade Public Library is the same. The homeless, and the people from the shelters (at least they are clean and don’t stink), go there because there is NOWHERE to go and NOTHING to do.
Homeless from all over (heard and met a few of them) come to South Florida because of the weather and they don’t have any resources afterwards and that’s how they stay homeless.
This is a burden for BOTH cities because they have to take care of their indigent residents who need help and now they have people from all over draining our resources. I live in South Beach now, but I grew up in Miami, and you can see, and smell, the homeless people sleeping on the bus benches, alleys, panhandling, and even asking the tourists for money.
Shame on the city officials for not taking care of this situation which is now out of control.

Tax dollars put to good use. They have monthly events for children that are wonderful! I highly recommend stopping by and getting an events calendar. I round up the neighborhood kids and take them at least 2x a month.
Very friendly staff. Not like the librarians I knew as a a kid.
Great children’s section on second level. Adult area is on first floor. I enjoy taking my daughter and watching her roam and look at all the books on the shelves. It is a very safe environment.
Message to parents– if you take your kids to the events, could you please watch them. Too many parents that can not control their kids.

I love this library. It’s very modern, clean, and well-​organized. While I had a rude lady answer the phone recently when I called on a weekday before she abruptly hung up on me (Janet I think was her name?), the staff on the weekends is very friendly. I spoke to a very nice gentleman there a few weeks ago, we spent a long time talking and he recommended some good movies to me. I felt terrible about finding out that his hours and the rest of the staff’s will probably be cut to to the regional budget cuts. I really feel like our state’s education level, and especially our city’s, leaves a lot to be desired, so it saddens me that an essential, such as a public library, is being affected, while the greedy politicians’ salaries are left untouched, but I digress… Parking here can be an issue, so I am glad I am able to walk, and I love their email notification system that alerts you when a book you’ve ordered has arrived. You have a week to pick it up and when you order a book online, you can have it shipped to the library you desire. You can renew your books online without having to go in person anymore, by the way. Love it!

Check the hours before going — the library system is being underfunded and many libraries are being slated to be closed. Hours for regionals may be reduced down to three days a week and branches to two days a week. Check
to see if they can survived this…

In my opinion, this is one of the nicest libraries that I’ve been in to date. If you are a homeless living in South Beach — this is the place to be! Cold A/​C, Comfortable seating, and some of the nicest bathrooms to bathe oneself in. What more could you want from a public library?

The librarians here were super helpful when I signed up for my first library card in ten years. I felt like a kid in a candy store with all those books! I would not, however, hang out or study at this library. The local vagrant population uses it as an escape from the Miami heat and it made me very uncomfortable.

FREE BOOKS! FREE DVDs! FREE WIFI! Seriously, how can you NOT love the library? The Miami-​Dade Public Library System website is super easy to navigate, so I can order books through inter-​library loan from the comfort of my own home. They call/​text/​email when my books are available. So easy.
The people who work at this location are so nice, always willing to help when I have questions.
To quote Arthur (yes, the PBS cartoon):
«Having fun is never hard when you have a library card!»

All I really need to say is «online search».
That’s the most genius part of this and any library in the Dade County system. Just go and request your book online. And if you’re really lazy have them mail it to you.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Omg bedbugs in the chairs! Be super careful and if you must sit, sit in the wooden chairs. My boyfriend felt a bug crawl on him and when he looked, the was a small bug with a lined body i looked online to find out that yeah, this is a bedbug. When the staff was advised of the bedbugs, we were told that there are many homeless people that use the library, therefore there are bugs. Beware! I guess you’re on your own to keep an eye out for bedbugs.

Clean, bright, well organized,. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Free wifi. Cool air conditioning to refresh from the heat outside. I love this place.

I never thought I could describe a library as being pretentious, but in this case it seems fitting. I went in to ask about a study room and got the third degree about needing to make a reservation for that. Apparently the study rooms are for members only, meaning those with library cards I guess. When I asked about getting a library card, I got another interrogation about whether or not I lived in the Miami-​Dade area, if I could prove I lived in the area, etc. When in the hell did it get so difficult to get a library card?! If anything she should encourage me to get one, but the woman at the customer service desk pretty much was too busy chatting it up with fellow customer service members to be bothered to do her job.
Note to the City of Miami: HIGHER MORE QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES. There are many more qualified people who NEED/​WANT jobs out there. Go hire them!
Would I come back. Sure. The library itself is well-​lit, clean, and well stocked. Only drawback is having to pay for street parking, but it is MIami Beach after all.

This is a really great place to study! There are quiet rooms in the back on the first floor and the facilities are kept very clean.
The technology here is great– there are free computers you can use; free wi-​fi is available for personal laptops; and there are printers that are available for a minimal fee.
Although the book selection could be improved, it is nonetheless pretty decent for a public library. You can also rent DVDs with your library card membership! The staff isn’t the most friendly, but they are extremely knowledgeable.
My only gripes about this place regard the parking and the security. NEVER leave your things unattended even for a second– I made that mistake and came back to a missing phone charger! Also, the parking can get a bit expensive if you hope to stay for a while. It is also difficult to find parking on the weekends.
Overall, great place!

quiet! spacious! clean bathrooms! courtyard with a fountain!
saturday = study and… beach day!
1 block from the w hotel and beach, so after you’re done with a long day of studies, reward yourself with some sun and fun :-D
can’t say anything about the wi-​fi (didn’t use it) and crap parking if you get there late morning/​plus you have to pay, as is the miami beach way…

This is actually a relatively new regional library. They have a lot of books, but in my personal opinion, I think the interior doesn’t have a homey feel a library should have. But that’s not unique to this location — many of the Miami-​Dade Libraries share the same problem.
I probably would prefer the Coral Gables Library since there’s more plush seatings, tables with chairs, and a good library collection.

Oh, Miami Beach public library: Your hours stink (does nobody else want books before 9:30 a.m. on a weekday?), your wi-​fi is erratic at best, and your building is run down and shabby.
But you have efficient self-​service checkout, helpful staff, and you do keep a constant supply of good books available to me in South Beach, also known as The Land Of No Bookstores Worth Speaking Of. For that I am grateful.

A newly renovated Public Library in Miami Beach with free wi-​fi located at Collins Avenue on 22^nd Street.
There is metered parking on the street. See hours on their website.