Reviews of Waterloo Public Library - Main Library (Library)

Deepak Vishnu D

Good library

Stephanie T.

A lovely, bright and quiet library with friendly staff and a great selection of books. I especially enjoyed their tables by the windows and all the friendly touches and decor inside. It is well located in Uptown Waterloo, steps from wonderful stores and restaurants.

Matthew Y (Mid-Knight)

Very nice staff, very well organized!

Muhdin Jahir

Good collections of all kinds of book for all ages

Ella Pettit

I LOVE this library. The location is perfect, and the library is so well-maintained. I love the building and layout. I come here all the time!

Ebru Kamış

A good place to study peacefully. The library is usually very silent. I love their activities

Melody

I really like this library because, its such a nice place, books and specially it’s very quiet for studying

James Kotan

The staff is very friendly and helpful. I was able to walk in and check out some movies.

Alexander

They almost have as many business books as myself.

Raven Perkins

Lots of books! They also helped me renew my book for a longer time period

Thomas Vieira

Great variety of children and adult books.

Noah Stolee

They have books!

Smac

Great library for the kids. Basement has a huge kids space. The space ship was a nice touch. The sandbox with the real time projectored topography lines adjusting with the changing elevations was the best!

Marta Borowska

Massive collection of books. Awesome e-library as well. Love this spot. Wish it was open more often.

kenneth Jr Dumont

They help me with evrythinh I needed

Vic Tran

I Love this Library. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Todd and Mary Lee

Still the place to go to find great books!

F. T.

Great library!

Sebastian B

Needs renovation. Smells dusty and feels dark/damp. Too cramped

Shivam Gandhi

Great location, friendly environment, staff are always there to help. The parking is HUGE! The children's department is my favourite section of the library. There is also a vending machine on the second floor. price is $1.00, very reasonable. The washrooms are always clean. Lots of computers on both floors. I'd recommend this library to everyone!

Jian Fu

A perfect place to do self-studying. easy access to high speed internet almost 300 mbs and outlets if you carry a laptop. one shortcoming is the selection of chinese books. almost all of them are of little value.

carl cunningham

Lots more check out. My meter ran out.

Tailai Cheung

Very quiet nice place for reading. Also wish had more selections tho.

Greg Taylor

Great library

Jiaqing Pan (Canada 家庆)

(Translated) Waterloo Public Library-Main Library Waterloo Public Library (Main Building) (Original) Waterloo Public Library - Main Library 滑铁卢公共图书馆（主馆）

kenneth Jr Dumont

They help me with evrythinh I needed

Maria Diaz

This library is not fancy or eye catchy or hopsyer but it is cozy, clean and friendly and has a wide variety of books, events and services.

Parita Modi

I Love this Library. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I feel like home while studying there.

Randall Culp

I was just passing by today but has always been a well maintained and helpful place!????

Ashish Shah

This is the view from the first floor. Everything is great about the library. Good staff. Children's section, play area for them. Lots of activities also going all. The only problem I have is that there is no space to sit and have food. So can't spend the whole day studying here. You have to go out and have your lunch. And in winters it's not an option.

Breanna MacLeod

I love this library and so do my kids. We visit frequently, through heat, wind, rain, and construction! I hope the city will choose to invest more in the WPL and the services they offer our community.

Chris Courtois

Staff are very helpful and friendly. Just wish parking was free.

Mason Stoneypoint

Always closed every time I come here they’re closed. Why are their hours so terrible? Especially considering they’re in the heart of Uptown Waterloo. Brutal.

Jose Antonio Uvaque

Nice, excellent environment. Computer efficient.

Ernst Lingeman

One of my favourite places in Waterloo. Good collection, nice atmosphere, and a great building.

John Fish

Great library, friendly staff, comfortable chairs. Good quiet areas for working, and great window seats for reading.

Matthew Yang

Great library, kind staff. You can borrow headphones and chess sets. #Chess4Life

Reuben Janzen-Martin

Nice to be able to go inside the library again!

Barath Kumar

One of the best library i have seen. Im new to waterloo and i find they are doing exceptional job even during these pandemic times

Andrew Hannaford

Great place to study, read, or spend some time in Waterloo.

Arunkumar Damodaran

Got most of the books that I looked for and also rented musical instrument

Jacob Nelson

Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card

Guru Siva

Employees help. Easy to take out and return book

Tara Botsford

Very helpful staff.

John Green

Glad to see the library is open to patrons again ????

Sarah Libertini

Beautiful building with tons of awesome books and a great staff! The COVID precautions were awesome as well!

don mills

Watch out, 1) staff constantly miss calculate extended due dates. 2) they don't collect late charges, sometimes letting them drag for months, then try to collect after you have forgotten the event. 3) on occasion they claim a book is overdue even though its been returned. just wait, latter, maybe in a week or two, it will show up in their system as if by magic.

Pauline Weiland

Returned books and picked out new ones.

George Austin

Closed on Sundays

Matthew L

I took out a book recently and it unfortunately had some water damage due to all the rain. I was charged an astounding $50 to replace the book despite it being available for less than $20 on Amazon. I was told by staff that they sometimes reduce the charge, but they were unwilling, despite the fact that I am on long term disability. They were not even willing to make a reduction on their administrative fees despite my being very apologetic. I had even applied to be a volunteer with the library in the past, but never heard a response. All in all, it was an extremely hurtful situation. I understand my responsibility, but was hopeful for some help. Very disappointing and a cause of a large amount of anxiety. As an acquired brain injury sufferer this was hard to deal with. My disability isn't visible so my anxiety often isn't understood. I have used the library frequently to help with my injury, but am now just filled with hurt and disappointment.

Critic Review

I like this library because the building itself is quite comfortable and the selection is vast. The black guy who works at the main floor circulation desk has a terrible attitude with the public. If you go to his check out he won't say hello, won't look at you, won't ask for your card (just sticks his hand out while gesturing impatiently with his fingers). and if you have a fine, he'll just bark out the amount (not "you have a $2 fine", just "$2" in a hostile tone). He never says thank you. He's just been a very rude guy. Last time I was in there, a girl working at the check out was unaccommodating regarding a basic question that she could have easily answered but was too lazy to. So I would say the customer service could improve, at least at the main floor check out. But the library itself is excellent.

Stan Durden

Nice place to study but watch your belongings !!! I left my seat for 5 minutes and my things were gone.

Dorothy Venkiteswaran

Fantastic service. The staff go out of their way to help you, and they don't make you feel that you are bothering them. Ask them questions and they are always willing to help,

Abraham GANIPUR

Great place but no free parking

Bloobloo 8888

The WPL is a fantastic place to study - I'm always so productive there! And the librarians are so nice; yesterday all of the people studying were given little exam care packages, so that was pretty awesome. 10/10 would recommend ????

Matt Boyce

Wish they had more selection but great staff

Bill Wood

Very efficient and friendly service