This library is a hidden gem amongst the Allegheny County Library System. Though not an official Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branch, it’s affiliated, so you use a Carnegie card to check out books and have all of the Carnegie services. This library is beautiful – bronze statues, big windows, a potbelly stove for the winters and benches outside for the summer. There is a small computer lab and free wifi. They have an excellent children’s section and a good variety of new fiction. If they don’t have a book, CD, DVD, or audiobook you’re looking for, chances are the Carnegie system will and you can order that item to be sent to Avalon. The staff is mostly volunteers, so you know they will be helpful. It’s pretty quiet during the hours before school gets out and there are a few cubicles, so it’s a wonderful place to study.