Withington Library

You know you’ve well and truly arrived in the suburbs when you enter a library to join up, and there’s a Parent and Baby Group present, singing Old MacDonald Had A Farm. All seemed well until they came to the ‘monkey’ line. They tried to pull that one on me when I was a tot as well. Monkeys on farms? Incredulous.
Meanwhile this library is just what you’d expect from a lovely local establishment. Helpful staff, a friendly vibe, and while it’s small it does have a decent range to be going along with. As well as books there are DVDs to borrow too, so you needn’t be parting with your hard-​earned over at Blockbuster, and it’s perfect for a bit of a browse. Plus it’s located right on the Wilmslow Road section of Withington which means it’s in the very heart of this little village. There’s no wifi unfortunately, which is a bit of a bummer for an internet job type like myself, but that doesn’t stop it being thoroughly nice.
And you can use their free internet on their computers for up to an hour each day if needs be. So stop your whining — you can still log into Unilocal

The layout of this library is pretty similar to that of Chorlton Library and Didsbury Library — the only thing that struck me about this library were the signs warning customers that thieves are in operation in the library. They were especially abundant in the wonderful little area where children can read and play. This upset me, as it was not something I had to worry about on my weekly trips to the library as a kid. So be careful.
As it is a Manchester library, you can use the same library card as the Central Library and the other aforementioned libraries and expect the same facilities, eg one hour’s free Internet use per day (although there are not as many PCs as in Chorlton Library so be prepared to wait).
The library is generally quiet, but not silent, so it’s a good place to work if you can no longer stand your housemates’ music or you find yourself getting distracted by the Jeremy Kyle show, and you can’t be bothered to trek to the University library or into town.
In the entrance there is also a useful selection of leaflets about events and goings on at local theatres and museums, and a board which is generally used to advertise English/​Spanish/​guitar lessons.

A lovely little local library with a moderate selection of both fiction and non-​fiction, and a nice place to sit and have a read.
Withington Library is just what you’d expect, but does have some surprisingly good features. Its got a large collection of DVDs to rent, and these are either free or cheap. Fines are cheap too, but that surely wont affect the reader, who I’m certain is an organized and conscientious member of the community, who never hands library books back late or loses them… Not only do they have a wide selection of films but also plenty of series box sets and comedy DVDs.
They also have free internet, which you can use for up to an hour per day, which is pretty nice of them.
Of course, don’t go there with a specific book in mind because there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed. If you do need a specific thing, then Manchester Central Library is the place for you, but if you just fancy a browse and a read, then I certainly recommend Withington Library.

This is a very big library with all types of books section that you want. Its located at a very convenient loaction, on the wilmslow road. Its easily accessible by bus as the bus stop is just outside the library. The staff are very friendly and they dont hesitate in coming and helping you if you need a helping hand. The library also has internet facilities and also photocopying and printing is available at a very reasonable price. There is a scanner available as well if you have to scan your documents. There is a seperate kids section for them to play and read books. Overall its a very well maintained library in manchester

ive used this libary since being a child, always had any book ive wanted and they will put you on a list if it out. Staff are lovelyplaces to sit and read. childrens area. Good libary in a centeral postion. Bus stop outside going to Manchester with buses every few mins.

I love the architecture of Withington Library alone never mind the mind altering contents.
In fact this building was designed by Manchester’s first city architect (Henry Price) who also designed Manchester’s famous Victoria baths as well as Didsbury library a few miles down the road. I couldn’t begin to describe it’s true style, but it’s frontage at least harks back to the classic Roman/​Greek style (of course not on the scale of Manchester’s main library). It has recently reopened after a 3 month refurbishment although, and perhaps rightly so, they haven’t really done a great deal to it bar restore it’s natural charm. If you look up as you enter the building you’ll be treated to a wonderful glass dome above your head: in fact I’ve only just discovered this so whether it was ‘reanimated’ during it’s recent clean up I’m not entirely sure.
Inside they have an extensive section of computing; a large children’s area; books available in many, many languages e.g. Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Persian, Polish, Chineseand others, easily creating for the area’s large cross section of society. There is also a good computer suite (always busy!) for accessing the net and studying should you need to.
I tend to hire my Murakami books here and if they don’t stock the title you’re after they’ll take your details and order it in for you. As it happens a guy who works there is fellow Murakami fan so he’s gotten most of his back catalogue for me.
Alongside the books they have a fairly extensive music collection (mainly CD) and DVD & Video’s again they’ll order in anything you require (within reason :)).
I found a bit of Philip Glass and Brain Dance electronica, next to the likes of Bach, Hip Hop and Sade (she always finds her way into libraries doesn’t she?).
I might even take up the offer of ordering in Lost which I gave up on Sky last yearif there’s a cultural drought on I may just pop into the library and hire for a few weeks.
Open till 8 most nights of the week but closes early afternoon on Thursday.
There is a book reading group, a MP’s surgery and various coffee mornings held there too.