Queens Borough Public Library – Lefferts

Unfortunately I have to take my nephews here because it’s close to home.
If you plan on some quite study time FORGET about it. The tables have gum underneath them. Disgusting!
The librarians at the desk talks so loud you can hear their conversations about who’s boyfriend did what, and what cardigans to wear. Common’ do your job.
The crayons are horrible as well.
All the money the city makes at least hire someone to clean the bathroom too, common my nephew was waiting half an hour to find a bum in there!!!
Last but not least I didn’t know you can eat in a library! Crumbs everywhere!!!

If you’re thinking of coming to this library to study or read with some peace and quiet, you can forget it. This place is noisy! It’s also frequented by a lot of smelly, seemingly homeless people. It’s also a crackhead haven. It’s really disheartening to come here to read and somebody comes to sit next to me smelling like wet cigarettes. The staff does nothing to enforce the rules and regulations listed. On the upside, it’s been newly renovated and everything is digital now. Getting a library card is easy and checking out is self serve and pretty easy too. The library website offers a lot of good programs and resources for the community. You can sign up for defensive driving courses, computer training classes and also gain access to civil service exam study guides. It’s not a huge library but there are some good reads here. I just wish people would respect each other here and keep the noise level down.

The library was recently renovated within the past few years so it doesn’t feel old like a lot of other libraries. It’s not the biggest, but it’s a decent size. I agree with some of the reviews that it can feel congested and a little noisy (people tend to have conversations with one another and over the phone all the time — the staff that works here don’t tend to quiet people down when they’re being loud). Having said that, I’m glad that I can study at a place like this here in the neighborhood (I usually come with headphones).

Although this library is of decent size, it gets really congested, with children, teenagers, and adults visiting daily. About 85% of the seating space goes towards the Children’s Section. For adults, they don’t have nearly enough desks and chairs to allow comfortable seating in case you want to read here. In the majority of my visits, all of the desks are occupied.
Of course, I say that under the assumption that you would want to read here. Unless you’re wearing ear-​plugs or headphones, it’s really difficult because this library is loud! People here routinely talk on their cellphones, or they have conversations with people nearby, which often leans towards the vulgar and profane. Other people bring their infants here to shout, cry, and run about like animals. Don’t ever expect the librarians to «hush» people.
Around 2:00 PM, the situation exasperates, as the library becomes a hot-​spot for teenagers, i.e. kids from Richmond Hill High School, John Adams High School, and MS 137. These kids are hooligans who have no consideration for others. By the computers, you have a set of school boys shouting profanity-​laced comments at each other. At the entrance door, you have a group of teens smoking cigarettes and heckling those who walk by.
I once went to the classics section to get a book by Charles Dickens, and there was a group of teenagers blocking the area. One of the girls was on a chair and had her feet placed on the shelf. Another sat near her and enjoyed some putrid-​smelling Chinese food.
If you decide to visit this library early to avoid these teenagers, then the experience can be better. In the mornings, you mostly have elderly people who, as expected, are mature, calm, and acceptable. However, in the mornings this library sometimes attracts the homeless people, with their foul odors.
Again, the staff does nothing to rectify these faults.
The one sparkling gem about this library is the request system. The book selection at Lefferts is small, but if you request any book online, they will get it from another branch. You will get an email when the book has arrived, and then your book will be on the shelf waiting for you. It’s really efficient!

I would come here often in my childhood times as it has a decent selection of books. The books and media are very dated. Service is not the greatest but better than my own neighborhood library.
This branch sits on the last stop of the A train– Lefferts Boulevard line.

It’s almost inadequate to say how many years I’ve gone here as since I’ve practically lived in this library. That does not mean it has had the greatest of service however. The selection is limited — quite measly in my opinion and I quickly outgrew the entire selection provided. By the time I hit high school there wasn’t much for me here except for an outstanding bill. Which is also fair to note… before they phased out the check out desk they wouldn’t tell you if you owed money — you just got sent to collections. After the phasing out the desk I became even more annoyed with the mechanic check outs.
The bright side is that they extended their collection of Hindi books. Now I don’t speak nor read Hindi but many members of the community do so that was a nice touch.
That aside, coming here feels more like a chore than a pleasure which is sad considering I practically grew up in it.