Tacoma Public Library

Let me tell you about the bathrooms about this place first. One at a time, and you have to ask the security. Why? Because of all the junkies. They have needle disposal bins in every stall. If you dont finish taking a crap in under one minute, the security will check and ask if youre okay. So, if this is a shooting gallery, I would go to bathroom somewhere else if I was you.
Other than that, this place isnt too bad. Im an out of towner, they let me use their internet, no problem.

I have a lot of stuff to say about my first visit here but I’ll try to get right to the point.
Location: Street Parking only from what I saw. Sketchy area with lots of pan-​handlers, homeless, etc. This is not an area where I would leave items in the car or go at night.
Staff/​Security: After spending some time looking through the Northwest Room I was on my way out and wanted to use the bathroom before I left. Just as I was about to enter the restroom the security guard that sits just outside them stopped me and said I was not allowed to take my backpack into the bathroom. I am a student at the UW Tacoma campus a few blocks away wasn’t going to leave my backpack with a $ 1500 laptop in the car nor was I about to leave it outside the bathroom. I have no idea what’s behind such a stupid policy but it makes no sense. I could understand not being allowed to take library items in but making me leave personal items outside is just ridiculous.
Northwest Room: This is why I came here in the first place and it was a real disappointment. They advertise they have over a million photos available in books by subject. What they really had was about 75 – 100 binders with very low quality black & white laser prints on regular paper. You couldn’t even make out what a lot of the photos were as they had either faded or were printed with a printer that was low in ink. They had tons of books, newspapers, and maps on the Northwest but a lot of the records besides books is all on microfilm. This is one of those things that could be an incredible place but it’s horribly mismanaged and outdated. Not worth your time unless it’s a last resort.

Rude, unhelpful staff, security that would rather harass someone for carrying an empty child’s cup to story time, excessive panhandling in and out of the library, not very well kept. Stick with the smaller satellite libraries. Could really be a gem, but not very well managed.

Been here several times, but the main problem with this library is the pan handlers.
Personally in regards to libraries the ones in Puyallup seem nicer and easier to find parking places! Which is another problem with this place if your driving.
The one plus is that it’s near everything in Downtown Tacoma.

Pros:
Nice attached museum and art work
Fairly clean inside
Average:
Layout is decent — not great, not poor
Staff seems fairly nice if you don’t ask anything more than, «how are you, today?»
Cons:
OUTSIDE: Outside you should consider yourself lucky, blessed and one of the fortunate few if you do not get stopped by someone loitering, drunk or begging for change.
EMPLOYEES: Most of the employees have two personality types 1. Rude or 2. Unpleasant, the guards are blessed with being both rude and unpleasant. It may be because they have a lot of homeless or vagrant population in the library but considering I’m a member of the library and not a vagrant or loitering, I should get some level of decent service.
HOURS: I’m pretty sure this library is closed more than it’s open. I’ve been to a lot of libraries from WA to California and the hours at this one is so un-​user friendly that it seems like they created the hours so that you won’t use the library. THERE IS NO LIBRARY OPEN IN THE CITY OF TACOMA ON MODAY! Who ever created the library hours for the city needs to be fired immediately and it should be a very public firing!
SELECTION: Most of the books are several years old and their new section leaves much to be desired. The only bright spot is that you can order books from around any library.
CHECKOUT: OMG welcome to 1999. Going to Seattle or King County and they have self-​checkouts, quick checkouts and multiple areas where you can check out and go. Not so at the main Tacoma library, you have to be checked out at the main entrance by the same staff that’s slow and impatience with you.
SIDE NOTE: I’ve also heard that they are some of the highest paid library employees in the state of WA. Really? Really? Really?

Great place for City of Tacoma residents to access to the world around them and outside… last time I was there they were offering patrons FREE admission for up to four to the local museums… parking on the street is limited and free up to 90 minutes, so parkers beware!

This is by far the WORST library on the planet, and I’ve seen my share of libraries because I do so much research and also love to read. I’ve been going to this library since I was a kid back in the late 60’s and early 70’s and it wasn’t always the way it has become.
This is the one library to avoid if you don’t want several panhandlers approaching you before you get to the door or asking for a smoke. Then once you get inside, the odor of all the homeless people fills the air. I swear 9 out of 10 people who go into this library each day are homeless. They loiter and nap all day long there because the local shelters make them leave during the day. But it does become a ghost town here once the mission starts serving dinner each night. So, if you want a more peaceful experience here, go after 5:00 pm. The problem is so bad here that I once read where someone wrote on a bathroom wall «Welcome to the Union Gospel Library». LOL!
Something else I’ve noticed a LOT here is how rude some of the employees are! Yep, you read that right! I’ve had so many issues with rude employees that I had to go up to the superintendent’s office several times and complain. In fact they are always out of comment cards because of so many people having something to complain about! The head of this library could care less about anyone’s concerns. It shows when I’ve made a suggestion about something for over 2 years and even some employees agree it’s a good, cheap improvement yet it never happens. Even the security guards are rude here!
My only real compliment about the main library is their Northwest Room is literally overflowing with useful sources of information!!! But, again, it’s the same library and yes, it has issues. The problem here is that only Brian (the head guy in that department) is willing to get off his lazy butt to help someone. The other 2 employees (Bob & Jeanie) spend 90% of their time sitting at a computer. They won’t put stuff back, but instead rely on the library pages to do it. Jeanie cops an attitude if someone’s cell phone rings and they answer it, but then the employees talk so freaking loud on the phones that it gets annoying. I’ve even complained a few times to the library director about how loud employees talk on the phone, but as usual nothing changed. I told her employees should lead by example, as I’ve always been told growing up. You can’t expect patrons to talk quietly if you’re not going to show them the same consideration. One guy upstairs in the main office told me (apparently just to make himself look like he cared) that «this is YOUR library, and your concerns matter». Give me a huge break, dude! Nothing seems to matter here except how little work employees have to do for such high pay!
I was shocked when I found a story on the News Tribune (local newspaper) website that list the salaries of each and every employee of the library. OMG, these people are paid HUGE dollar amounts! For what? Because they’re state employees in a union? I was shocked to see an employee come back from an hour lunch then a few minutes later call for someone to come relieve her for another couple hours. I asked the person who relieved her why she got to leave again right after her lunch and she said it was because employees are entitled to so many hours of «away from their desk time». OMG, if they need time for that, maybe they should just get off their butts once in awhile and find something more to do than be on the computer.
So there you have it, the opinion of someone who has gone here for many years but still can’t come to like it. These days, I only go here to do research mostly. I don’t appreciate being treated so poorly by a public place, hate all the panhandlers and beggars and drug addicts who hang out here, and the smell of unbathed homeless people is often enough to make a person leave. Heck, you would be shocked how many homeless people are crowding around the front door waiting for this place to open every day! More than you can count!
Sure, last year they started being open on Sundays but then they close more Sunday’s than I can keep track of! Being open on Sunday is rare in city libraries but all the county ones are always open on Sundays.
I’m still in awe at how highly others rate this place. Apparently they went on a rare good day.
Oh. did I mention I don’t like this library? LOL!

A favorite location for me… even open on Sundays.

I find this branch icky and uncomfortable due to the people that loiter outside and find their way in the library. The staff is friendly, though. They have museum passes that you can check out for a week, which provide free entrance into our Tacoma museums. What a deal.

The Northwest room has a vast and wonderful trove of genealogical documents that will make you so happy…

This library is older and doesn’t carry very much in terms of newer materials. It’s decent but located in a shady part of town. Get yourself to the newer Puyallup library in downtown Puyallup and you’ll find yourself in a much better atmosphere to study and learn in.