Madison Public Library – Pinney Branch

I recently recruited another person in my life to the ranks of Person Who Has a Library Card (it’s a life-​long mission and I’m still shocked I know people who don’t have one) and I went with him to Pinney for them to pick up his holds. Pinney is a small neighborhood branch that had a lot of patrons hanging out in the library on a summer Saturday. It’s nice to see that’s it’s a great neighborhood meeting spot and not just a place to pop in and out of when you pick up your items.
The two women staffing the desk were friendly and greeted both of us individually, one of them already recognizing the new card holder from the couple of trips he’d already made in the week since getting his card. The front of the library is bright with natural light and the overall feel is that of a significantly beefed-​up elementary school library. That’s not to say it’s particularly kid-​oriented, but something about the color scheme and set up gave me flashbacks to my youth.
Pinney’s also in a great location for the Olbrich neighborhood — grab a book and then head around the corner for some frozen custard or down to the park for some reading in the gorgeous gardens.

This is my local library branch, so I felt the need to give it some love on Unilocal.The place is everything a good library should be. Friendly librarians. Well stocked. Fast service when picking up books/​movies. Decent community computers to use. Plenty of spaces to plug in a laptop and free wifi. They even have a scanner which was super helpful to me when I needed to send some documents and no longer had access to one at my job. Printing is 5cents a page and is pretty much on the honor system.
The walls are decorated with kids artwork from the local schools. There is a meeting room in the back that groups can use for get togethers.
My only critique is that because it’s so busy, the parking lot can get pretty full. Not really an issue in the summer when people are walking/​biking here, but in the winter when more cars are being used and giant snow drifts are taking up spaces, it can be tight.

Huh, so we’re reviewing libraries now? OK, I’m game.
First, this is the Pinney branch — it doesn’t say that in the header.
What can I say? Public libraries are awesome and this one is no exception. There are thousands of books, plus magazines, video, audio and even tools (did you know you can check out tools?) all for free. There are plenty of places to sit, tables if you’re trying to get work done, and computers for public use. There’s also a big meeting room where they hold a nice variety of interesting events. There are several themed book displays around the library, which is nice when I wander in just looking for something, anything, to read. I think my favorite feature, though, is the hold service: you can request any item from any library in roughly half of the state, and it will be delivered to this library in short order. I know, it’s a common library service these days, but have you ever stopped to think about how amazingly helpful it really is? And for free!
My only disappointment is that the circulation desk staff are pretty consistently unfriendly. Rarely rude, never incompetent, just very few smiles and no unnecessary words. I hope they like their jobs more than they seem to!
Things I have seen at this library:
— Art work from my kid’s school and several other area schools
— Kids knitting
— Bats & snakes
— Kids reading to dogs

This my branch of choice. They have books. Sci-​fi, manga, how-​to, cook books– whatever you are into! And also, kung fu movies. Oh, yes. Look for the «Special Interest» section towards the back for all your foreign movie and TV series needs. I highly recommend «Come Drink With Me». It is kung-​fu perfection. The people that work here are very sweet– feel free to donate to the library in the jar on the check-​out counter. Show them some love.