Free Library of Philadelphia – Kingsessing Branch

I want to warn anyone who decides to go here. If you don’t want trouble, make sure you don’t ask for help and you have no reason for any of the employees to give you a hard time.
I have been a member of the Philadelphia Library system for nearly a year now. I like that you can pick up a book at any library if your neighborhood location is out of stock. That is preciscely the reason I traveled to Kingsessing. The staff gave me attitude when I asked for assistance locating the book. But I was infuriated when an employee refused to check me out because my license address did not match what was in the system (I recently moved and informed the library, but did not receive a new license from PENN DOT since I moved instate). I offered several corroborative receipts from my smartphone, but the employee wouldn’t budge unless I went home to retreive a tangible peice of mail to prove I lived where I claimed. Instead of rationalizing, the employee raised her voice at me and insisted that this was standard procedure and I was not entitled to use the library’s services.
I would give this place one star if the manager had not come out and defused the situtation. She was kind and willing to listen to me explain the circumstance. She realized that it was no big deal and gladly checked me out. It was nice of her hear me out rather than summarily deciding I should be deprived of the service like the other employee.
Accordingly, Kingsessing gets 2 ½ stars: 0 for the power-​tripping employee and 5 for the goodhearted manager, but I’ll round up on her account.

Good library that doubles as a wonderful neighborhood center. When Mayor Nutter tried to close down the libraries a couple years ago, this was one of the first ones he went after, and it was amazing to see how fiercely people came together to keep this place open! For once, the neighborhood won. The city still cut back the hours, though.
Anyway, this place has a fine selection. It’s a bit sparse but anything they don’t have here you can put a hold on, and they’ll deliver it from Central or one of the other big libraries. It’s a nice, big open space too, and there are a bunch of tables to work at. The librarians are super friendly and helpful, and there are always flyers with community resources at the table up front.