Silver Spring Library

Where are the books?! Sure, the library is pretty and has good meeting space, but… Where are the books?

Really a 3 ½. Beautiful Windows, great location, nice coffee shop. Notice I didn’t mention the books? This space is challenging. I try to use the quiet study room but getting a chair is not easy. When I have been lucky enough to get a desk, I have encountered numerous variables which have negatively impacted my «quiet». These include loud belching, snoring and music from headphones. Occasionally there is whispering and phone calls. I really do like the location and sunlight but be wary that a public library means public even when those things would be better done in private (sleeping, belching, etc).

Poorly labeled, non functional «hands free» book drop. Parking a major headache. Agree with other commenters that there are major drawbacks to the new location– will be looking to Chevy Chase or Long Branch branches as alternatives, sadly.

Nice building and amenities, but appears to be very poorly run. The outdoor book drop wasn’t working, the outdoor book pickup lockers weren’t working, the bathroom had neither hand soap nor paper towels. This is all very basic stuff, yet whoever manages the building operation seems to be entirely, embarrassingly inept.
Also, it takes a full week for holds to become available, even if the book is already on site. All it requires is an intern to move the book from one shelf to the reserved shelf, yet that takes 6 – 10 days for this branch.

It is a very impressive construction, this library. I popped in with an urgent computing need. You can get 1 hour of guest access, which requires going to the front desk where they will take your license down and give you a passcode. There are ample computers, which have CD drives, if you need (like I did). The staff were helpful for the most part, although a few of them had no idea what was going on. Like most public libraries in this country, this place is a collection of humanity, for better or worse.

WOW! What’s not to like? A state-​of-​the art facility in the heart of Silver Spring! Outstanding! A great place to do some reading, Web surfing, or browsing. And yes, they need to continue working on their collection of resources, but that takes time and money. For now, this new library is, in and of itself, something special to behold. Frankly, I don’t know what’s going on inside the heads of people who have nothing good to say about this place. I suppose some folks are just bound and determined to hate everything that’s good and beautiful.

New building, same stuff.
From the outside, the library looks humongous… But it’s actually not. When you enter, the library is on floors 3, 4, and 5. There are only two elevators for the whole place and they’re slow. The also have stairs and escalators for your use. The third floor is the main floor and has the circulation desks. The fifth (top) floor is the designated kids zone. They even have a glass room in the center for meeting activities– pretty cool!
The building itself is state of the art. It has embraced technology and even has a designated room for some Mac computers. There are a lot more self checkout stations and tables with pop up outlets. There’s also a DVD dispenser and station to check out the online book collection. Heads up: When using the DVD dispenser, there’s one for titles for the first half of the alphabet, and another for the latter half — make sure you choose the right one or else the DVD won’t come out!
There’s room for improvement in terms of layout. There isn’t a lot of signage yet, so I spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs trying to find everything/​the different sections. They have computers and catalog computers dispersed throughout. Apart from the third floor where the main desks are, it’s hard to tell where the other librarian help desks are. From what I could tell, they have mini desks that they’re stationed at.
While book/​media selection is essentially the same stuff that you would’ve found at the old location, this place is more spacious for reading/​studying, and I could see myself coming here for just that.

Silver Spring’s new library is state of the art! The building itself is worth checking out and there are great views of downtown from the second floor. There are comfy chairs peppered throughout. This is my new rainy day spot:)

I absolutely love this place! This new library is gorgeous, and big. I go here to study everyday. They have a very nice study room on the fourth floor, and plenty of tables outside of the study room where you can study as well. I love the design with glass walls because it lets light in, unlike some other libraries I used before this one was open, which always made me feel confined because of their lack of windows and natural light. And this library doesn’t smell! (public libraries in and around DC that don’t smell are rare.) This is definitely my favorite place in all Silver Spring.

A Nerd Confessional: Okay… yeah I know… Not too many people get excited about Libraries… but «I DO!» LOL!
I put them up there with the rest of them… my man cave… my love for sports cars, electronic toys, a charcoal grill, strip clubs (oops…scratch that… wrong forum lol) and steak houses! Ever since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed libraries. I would get lost in them for hours exploring the world… marveling history, pictures and pointless facts! I still do as a matter of fact… get lost in libraries and bookstores reading/​skimming stuff for hours! Eventhough everything is digital these days and at your disposal with a ‘mindless swipe’ of your smartphone or tablet, I still enjoy the actual tangible item itself – a physical book!
With the advent of the Internet, the purpose of the library as your main knowledge base, book source and research space has certainly changed. This game changer has made libraries evolve from dusty, old looking book archives, paper card catalogs, dewey decimal systems and fuzzy newspaper/​media pics on microfiche (telling my age)…to sexy community centers that house digital media, movie rentals, Wi-​Fi wired lounges, computer labs with free desktop computer/​Internet use, and even in-​house coffee shops!
This is definitely the case and all of the above with the new Silver Spring Library! It’s huge and has one of the largest book and media collections in the DMV! There are books on any and everything imaginable… all for the taking. The digital media and DVD collection is impressive too. Small, black kiosk that resemble a Redbox are on the main floor that display their media catalog for easy checkout. So forget Netflix or Redbox movie rentals… and save some money monthly. This place has plenty of recent and old titles!
In addition to the massive book collection, digital media, magazines and plentiful meeting-​group work spaces in this place… the architecture rendering of the building itself is a sight to behold too. You won’t feel like you walking into some stale concrete insane asylum or congressional session on Capitol Hill. Instead, it feels like you walking into a shopping mall or concert arena that caters to book lovers.
Okay, enough said. You can probably tell by now I get a kick out these places! Libraries don’t always get a good wrap, the «Cool» badge… and is never-​ever known for the «place to be»…BUT this one changes that perspective!
So get on on out and enjoy one of the best marvels since the beginning of time and take in a good book! Why not… it’s good exercise for the brain and mental IQ because as they say… «The mind is a terrible thing to waste. And besides, its your tax dollars that’s paying for them anyway… so you might as well not waste your money and enjoy the services offered!
HONORABLE MENTION: Get a library card. As a member of this library, you get online access to additional digital services… like free college courses, language tutorials, eBooks, magazines online and videos… accessible via phone/​tablet from anywhere. All for free!

Meh. This new library is gorgeous, and I suppose it had better be, given how much it cost to build! But gorgeous isn’t among my top criteria for a library. Instead I would like to see:
1) Quick, convenient access to the books
Library doesn’t start until the 3^rd floor, so you have to take the elevator there, and then a separate elevator or escalator to get to more books on the 4^th and 5^th floors. Then back down again to get out. That… doesn’t make me feel like the books were really the priority in this library.
Also, no place to park! I get that we all love the environment and stuff, but if you build a new library (and close the old, free parking library), some people are going to want to drive there. Now they have to pay to park, mostly in the garage across the street, adding traffic to the already insane Fenton & Wayne intersection.
2) Quick, convenient ability to return books
Apparently the book drop is electronic, and does not always work. An electronic book drop does sound neat and better for the library staff, but are few things more disheartening than traveling to the library just to be that virtuous person who returns her books on time, and then discovering you aren’t even allowed to do that.
This library is a short walk from my work and home, so I expect I’ll continue using it as my home-​base for picking up holds, at least until winter comes. But then I may switch back to old, tired Long Branch library, where you can park for free right next to the building, the holds are just inside the door, the book drop just outside, and the whole transaction takes less than 2 minutes.

Not a conducive environment to study, I was interrupted several times by the staff and patrons to take my chair. Apparently they have a chair problem, which was apparent as soon as I arrived. So I had to wait and study on a very uncomfortable stool that is about a foot taller than any desk you can sit at, until a chair finally opened up. Awesome until 20 minutes into studying in a chair I had waited for the staff tell me I should get up since it was taken from somewhere else, why they waited until I chose to sit down is a question unto itself. When questioned about where I could find a chair they said take one from inside the quiet room, which was packed and the only chairs available were obviously occupied by someone who had to get up from their work for a moment. One suggestion if you plan on studying here bring your own chair.

This is for the new library on Fenton and Wayne, not the old library on Colesville Road.
Appalling.
I don’t know where to begin. First, there is no free (or even convenient) parking anywhere close during the week, and on weekends you need to park in a lot several stories up. Second, the «24÷7» outside book drop didn’t work. Third, you need to take an elevator to the 3^rd floor to get to the main floor of the library, but you either need to take an escalator or stairs to the fourth (adult) or fifth floors. And when you get your book (s), you need to go back to the third floor to check out (why not have checkouts, or even computer-​checkouts on all 3 floors?) Fourth, the DVD checkout is done through some kind of vending machine that doesn’t allow you to read the descriptions on the DVDs. Fifth, the street-​level «holds lockers» didn’t work when I tried it. I got a response to a question from the library to the effect that you need to place holds via «holds lockers” – there was no explanation on the library’s web site, nor on the library site, and the instructions at the site offered no explanation of «code» required to get your books. Sixth, the street-​level «returns» bin didn’t work when I went on a weekend – it’s computerized (no other libraries have this feature), which suggests it won’t work very often.
The good news: There are more books at the new library than at the old library, but the pain of getting them isn’t worth it. I will drive a few miles and go to other branches. We’ll see if the new library improves in a few months.
I think the library was designed by architects with no experience in public libraries, and approved by county politicians with no experience going to neighborhood libraries.

I don’t know where to begin with this review, because this library blew me away! The ribbon cutting ceremony was today and County Executive, Isiah Leggett gave a speech, Tom Hucker, District 5 County Councilman gave a speech, and way too many others gave long-​winded speeches and thank yous. The natives were restless. After nearly 50 minutes and the three second ribbon cutting, locals were ushered in to what one speaker said is «the most beautiful library in the world!»
It is beautiful, but I haven’t been all over the world, and libraries aren’t what I go to see. However, this new branch has all the bells and whistles. It’s five stories tall with library space on the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th floors. First and second floors will be used for art organizations, with a [very] small coffee bar/​café run by the ladies from Kefa Café. The top floor is the children’s book section, with a Pre-​K interactive early literacy space. Pretty cool. I believe you can only check out books on the 3^rd floor, and today the line for check-​out was enormous.
There are small and mid-​sized conference rooms, a business center with fax, scanner, and copiers/​printers, a computer lab, charging stations, DVD check-​out machines, and probably way more techie stuff than I can recall.
And yes, it is beautiful with the light that streams in from the glass windows. It is state of the art with a LEED Silver rating and [soon to be] «green» roof. Give the plants a month or two. Is it worth the $ 65+ million price tag? Yes, especially once the senior center portion is completed.
Some feel the decision not to have parking on the premise prohibitive, but it is accessible by Metro and bus, and parking in the Wayne Ave Garage across the street is free on weekends and after 6pm on weekdays.