Harborne Library

I can’t get to this library as often as I used to go there before but when I did go there a few times, I was a fan of the library. It’s especially great for spending a couple of hours having a snoop through all the good reads and locking yourself into a great read. I’d advise you to leave a few hours spare to get the best experience as possible.
It’s got a brilliant children’s library in there, so for those with children living in the Harborne area or close to the library then it’s somewhere you should visit. There’s all the useful equipment to help your children with homework and there are computer services for you to use.
Like most libraries it does what it’s meant to do. The librarians are friendly, they have some fantastic books and they offer events/​workshops/​activities within the community that are exciting and enjoyable for the whole family.

Libraries are one of my favourite places and I pop into this little one any time I find myself in Harborne.
It’s at one end if the High Street but happily close to Waitrose so it works well for me. Because I’m used to the central library being my local, it feels I’ve stepped back in time to the sort of library I had at school when I step into Harborne.
However, it does have everything you need as apart from fiction it has decent sections of most non-​fiction genres and a few large print books too, CDs and newspapers.
Sometimes I find a shelf of old books for sale and there is an array of information about the local area and great staff that help you out. Delightfully, you do have to still speak to staff as unlike central library, they haven’t got the automated desks!
The downside is they close at 5pm (except late night on Thursdays) but at least there is a library.

Harborne Library is situated at the top end of the High Street (opposite the indoor market) and served by several bus routes. One of the larger community libraries in the area, it had a refit a few years ago and is now fully accessible by wheelchair, with a lift to the first floor children’s library. It has a number of computers — bookable by the hour and there are some machines available for shorter periods — i.e. if you just need to check your emails. There’s a large fiction and non-​fiction selection, daily newspapers and a well stocked CD library and although there is a small charge for the latter service everything else is free. Staff at the library are friendly and knowledgeable and it is a well used and much loved library which hosts a number of events and book groups. There’s a number of reading desks available, the whole place is light and airy and there’s a loo on the first floor. They also have regular book sales where you can pick up discarded stock for just a few pence. The sofas are pretty comfy too.