Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library

Open daily: I reserve, check out, and pick up books here. It’s clean, quiet and not too far from the 24^th st action. My favorite library in SF!

What a cute library! I parked a few blocks away and enjoyed my walk through Noe Valley. Comfortable seating, outlets, wifi, and books. It was a peaceful day spent working.
The sound of the children’s program invades every corner of the otherwise silent library. Plus during after school hours, kids run rampant. So if you’re bothered by children, bring headphones but don’t let them deter you from enjoying this place.

Thank you, Noe Valley library, for being open seven days a week!
You can order a book or DVD on the library’s website and have it delivered to this branch, so you are not limited to the collection at this site.
The library itself is small, very few places for adults to sit, but I don’t hang out here. I just use it as a place to pick up and drop off books. The staff has always been very nice.

Love, love, love this library! The staff was immensely friendly. I recently relocated to SF and was offered a great deal of assistance in understanding how the different aspects if this branch worked. From getting a library card, reserving computer time, to printing and scanning, all my questions were answered in a courteous manner! I will most certainly return, and it was awesome to see how many other branches are located across the city!

For libraries its pretty noisy, moms and fire men walking in all the time.
Its just like really, this feels like a book store with all the hustle and bustle rather than a clam, relaxing public library. More like a children’s library than a grown up library.
Good selections of newspapers (SF Chronicle, NY Times, Wall Street J) magazines, comic books, and movies (just checked out Django)
Wish they had more comfy chairs and less wooden chairs. Slightly Stiff, even for a library.

3.5 stars.
I like how the children’s section has it’s own room and has a comfy seating section for readers. Parking can take awhile in this area. Prepare for walking and carrying heavy books.

Great place. A bit loud with the kids, but if you bring ear plugs or music it is a perfect place to study.

They have a pretty awesome movie collection!

Finding a spot to park your car is a common problem we face everyday no matter where in San Francisco we are. It is very nice to have a library in different locations throughout San Francisco. Libraries are an excellent way to educate yourself outside of school.
As always, there are
1) Encyclopedias,
2) Books,
3) Magazines,
4) Newspapers,
5) CD’s /​DVD’s,
6) Computers and Free Wi-​Fi.
I’m loving this place since it is a quiet spot to do some studying, note taking, complete homework and research project assignments as well as silent reading.
It is also very good to see San Francisco renovating its public library branches. This city is putting its tax dollars to work in a serious investment financially and economically. This is an absolutely perfect spot for a library here in the Castro and Noe Valley areas. Libraries are perfect book resources for every neighborhood.
Update — 07/​03/​2014:
Some of the staff members are also very friendly which is a good thing.
FYI: children, teens and adults section are all on the same level. When there are kids in the kids’ room, be prepared to know it’ll be noisy.

Great story time for toddlers Tuesdays at 10:15 and 11. I am a regular here and as a nanny I can always depend on this library to entertain the kids for a few hours. The children’s room upstairs is behind closed doors so you don’t have to worry if it’s one of those days! It’s stocked with toys and puzzles as well!

Parking sucks around this part of Noe Valley. Lucky if you get one.
ITS FREE! What more do you need to know?
If you want a book… go online. Pick your book. Tell them which branch you want to get it at… and they’ll notify you by email that you’re book is ready to pick up. Or DVD.
I’m in the middle of 4… i said 3, but totally forgot Noe Valley.
So, Ingleside/​Ocean
Glen Park
West Portal
Noe Valley
How could I go wrong? I’m surrounded by 4 Branches.

Small, clean, and a bit noisy– it’s like a spitting image of myself.

The space is beautiful. It’s a great local library.
But I have to knock off a star for the all the noise from the kids. Agree with other reviews that Noe Valley parents seem reluctant to teach their kids basic library manners (and the staff just let it go).
I also knock off a star for the way the staff start harassing you to leave 15 minutes before closing. I once complained (explaining that it didn’t take me 15 minutes to walk down one flight of stairs) and the staff member said that they needed the time to close up so that THE STAFF could leave by the closing time. It seems to me that the advertised opening hours should be the hours the PUBLIC has access to the space. If you need us out 15 or 10 minutes before then change the posted hours.

Since you can have any book in the SFPL system transferred to your local library, selection doesn’t really play in too heavily on why I like this library. In fact, it’s a little bit small and probably doesn’t have a lot of stuff I’d be interested in.
What I do like is that it’s extremely quiet and calm. I’ve spent a lot of time at the North Beach and Chinatown libraries and both of them leave a bit to be desired. Noe, easily accessible with a quick ride on the beloved 24, is a nice place to spend an afternoon with a new (or rather, new to you) book.

The Noe Valley branch dispels the myth that libraries are meant to be places of quiet reading and study. Even though half the library is a dedicated children’s area, it does not stop people from bringing their rambunctious little ones into the general space seemingly just to make sure you’re not concentrating too hard on your reading. After all this is Noe Valley, where the children run freely and their parents, well, just sort of let them. I don’t want to act like this is a terrible library and I certainly don’t dislike children, I just prefer them quiet and away from me when I’m trying to study.
This branch of the library actually has a pretty decent internet connection compared to the main branch. They also boast a fairly wide selection of DVD’s for those times when my netflix are in transit. The space itself is well lit and has a reasonable amount of outlets in which you may plug your laptop.
All in all, I like this branch, I just it were a bit more library like and less like a playground for overly indulgent parents and overwhelmed nannies.

You are so lucky
that I can not remember
how to use doorknobs.
Biting into heads
is much harder than it looks.
the skull is feisty.
Courtesy of «Zombie Haiku» by Ryan Mecum. Available at your local Noe Valley public library.
—
Bathrooms, water foundations, and elevator access on the ground floor, hallway right of the front door. Large staircase to the actual library when you come in. You can tell it was recently renovated; everything is so new, nice and well-​lit.
Typical library: fiction, non-​fiction, magazines, dvds, cds, computers. Small selection as I was able to browse the entire non-​fiction section within an hour despite lingering. But it is sufficient to keep me entertained (see above haikus).
Convenient: self-​checkout machines and shelves to pick up your hold books. Remember back when you had to interact with a person to do that? I love how each branch reflects its neighborhood and this one has a huge children’s room, closed doors and all; I think it’s half of the entire library. Extremely quiet on a Wednesday night, 7pm. Libraries tend to be noisy now, but this has the expected library ambiance. I like it.

Pretty awesome neighborhood library. Great selection of new book releases and interesting CD and DVD collections too — why pay when you can loan? Perfect for recessionistas and those who just want to use a community service — our tax dollars well spent, use it!
The renovation makes the library inviting, well lit, I like the little seats and great newspaper selection too.
The self check out makes the whole process quick too!

Fantastic utilization of our tax dollars.
I can walk here (a full 8 blocks) and never have to worry about parking. The remodeling finished earlier this year and it definitely shows.
The book selection is not that large, but for any person looking to escape the current temperatures and catch up on newspapers and lounge in the new chairs, this is a great place.
The staff are efficient and the new desks for wifi users is easy, not to mention the cool little banker’s lamps on each table.
If you are hungry, just trot on over to 24^th and check out the rest of this cool little neighborhood :)

When I was a kid, I was the type that would spend warm summer days indoors, my nose in a book. Every other week, my parents would take me to the local library so I could check out 15 — 20 books at a time. Barely enough to get me through ten days of glorious reading. One time, after some forgotten egregious offense I must have committed, my Dad decided to punish me by not taking me to the library. Boy, did Mom yell his ear off for that one. Other than that one incident, my parents encouraged me to see the library as a comfortable oasis away from home.
As I got older, the library was the hot spot to study in groups and a perfect place for a rendez-​vous with your current crush without Mom finding out. It also helps that my local library featured a couple of hot older teenage boys who worked there after school. I have fond memories of my friends and I stalking them in between the Mysteries and Science Fiction racks. Mildly stalking, mind you.
As an adult, it took being unemployed to reintroduce me to the joy of the library once again. While working full time, I did occasionally read a novel for enjoyment (hello Harry Potter), but I usually just did a quick order online. Lazing away my days without a job, I found that buying books is a very costly hobby when one no longer has income. Back to the library I go! And lucky me, The Noe Valley Branch is quite close by and beautifully renovated!
A gorgeous building, it is like a pocket version of the Mission Branch. Similar construction, just smaller and without the crowds and assorted homeless people. I felt immediately comfortable here, with it’s high ceilings and familiar neighborhood faces. True, it can get a bit noisy with the kids coming through the main room to get to the children’s room, but you get used to it. Lovely high ceilings and two stations for checking out your own books. Sure I wish they had more inventory, but the beauty of the SF library system allows you to reserve any book from any branch and have it held for you at your preferred branch.
I encourage everyone to remember what a joy it was to go to the library as a kid and relive it now. Nostalgia at it’s most useful.

Hey y’all, this is San Francisco putting your money to work!
The Noe Valley Library will be reopening Saturday March 8^th 2008. This is the latest project to be completed in a city-​wide library renovation campaign.
Some of the improvements to the branch includes ADA access, technology upgrades, new furniture, new elevator, new bathrooms and meeting room, and seismic upgrades (last place you want to be in during an earthquake, prior to the upgrades).
This landmark building has retained its structural integrity.
The children room looks great. New tables and fancy colorful chairs with cutout animal and cosmic designs should be a winner with the kids. The area literally sparkles when the sun shines through the large windows that surround the room. A side door leads from the children’s room out to a back patio, where you can hang out and get some fresh air.
The adult room also remains mostly the same. More private tables have been brought in for public computer access. A few more shelves have been included for more books. The entire area has a new coat of paint to spruce things up. There’s a nice little reading area with a few armchairs and small tables with internet and electrical outlets for your personal laptops.
The branch has a lot of tables for reading and studying. There are these odd looking green lamps that provide light to the tables. They kinda remind me of the alien spacecrafts from the old War of the Worlds movie.
So, come check it out! The parking is alright depending on the time of day, but its mostly all day parking. And its very close to the local shops around the area.