Reviews of Central Library (Richmond Hill Public Library) (Library)

Iris Iri

Great places for students and for casual conversations.

Jim Du

(Translated) There are a lot of Chinese books, and there are also many newspapers and magazines, but I am afraid of the spread of the virus and dare not read it. (Original) 中文书很多，报纸杂志也很多，就是担心病毒传播，不敢看

Yun-Kai Chu

Just renewed my library card virtually. It was much easier and quicker than I expect. Thank you to Angie, for walking me thorough how to turn on my video on my iPad. This is a great and convenient service offered by the Richmond Hill Library.

Owen Graham

I learned a lot here.

Luke Fung

Great place for studying. Lots of seating in the large communal tables area. Plenty of group study spaces as well. Relatively quiet but there is a constant whisper.

Pasha Azad

Cons: Terrible internet connection. Not enough lightning which you will notice in the rainy days. The cafeteria only except cash which is awkward. The water coolers have a low water pressure and pour warm water. And the library is always either too cold or too hot. Pros: Lovely staff; they are all kind and helpful. Library rooms and washrooms are always clean. Great collection of books. And there is a Beautiful statue called "the girl with a book" close to the entrance. I love it.

Bradley E

Beautiful library one of nicest library's IV ever seen

Noman Maheri

Great library with about 3 floors accessible to the public. Only small concern I have is being able to find seats. The library gets packed!

jane Li

very big and it contains lots of books

A Fun Guy Named Kawhi

The library is closed on Sunday but the outside is beautiful. It would be a tourist attraction if it were located in a major city. Will check it out the inside on a week day.

Chan Angus

There is a very nice place for studing! Sadly the richmond hill library website is really unuser friendly as hell because that neither website nor Telephone Service didn't even have Q&A about library card (yes,I forget my library number but nither the webside or Telephone Service dosen't told me what is my library card number!),which make me unable to renew my books without going to library directly.If there don't have such issues I'll give 5 stars

Lavender Jiang

Always nice, except at university exam week. Some kids fool around with food and laughs loudly. Of course they eventually got kicked out by angry people (like me) and librarian. Then they rated the library one star (sigh). If you want quiet study, second floor is great for you. If you need to discuss projects, peer tutor, or just hang out with friends, there's a really nice coffee shop downstairs. Finally, I love this library.

Jenn Yung

I love studying at this library. The wifi is a little bit wonky at times, but it is tolerable. Lots of parking spots too.

jhon

Good books and good environment. Recommend coming for work.

Azim Sohrabi

Love many times spent there to study to prepare for some exams once I had. Very convenient.

Alyssa

Good luck finding seats during exam season but other than that not bad of a place to study.

Vino Thevaseelan

Great place to study!

1 Minute to Mastery

Really a five star library. Amazing everything...except one little problem...yes the internet speed is not acceptable. Unbelievably slow, like a snail or an ant vs a cheetah chasing a gazelle in an open field.

Giovanni Perri

Today at this library, a library I've been going to for years, some homely looking librarian comes up to me and says that I'm not allowed to sit on the floor "at this library". It would have been fine if she had said it nicely, but she had this snarl on her face like this was a rule she was ready to die for. The only spot that can actually be talked in, in the whole library has wooden, uncomfortable chairs, and any good seats it does have is facing an huge open window that is so bright you cant concentrate or even see the laptop's screen in front of you comfortably. Really bad open area for people doing projects or just coming to enjoy some time.

Parnian Raoofnia

Very big library! Has fun games on there computers for and has a quiet space upstairs for adults! Truly in love!

Yuli Shumsky

Best library.

Isla Sophie

The staff has always been approachable and super helpful.

Parksem

It's been here for a long time. They don't have many selections for grown ups but I think they have many children's books. Even in chinese, korean, french etc. It's quiet place with nice view.

Hyunbae Ra

Purchased textbooks for personal study. Always ready to accept my challenges

Albert Zahiri

The staff are so kind and friendly. You feel at home and enjoy studying there in a calm and quiet venue.

Stella Wang

great

Zuhair Blasini

Nice clean, quite and relax

aDi

Big library with good location and nice sitting area

Ayeh

It was closed on Victoria day

PuncHDoDot

Good library staff are good so far I love this place but could upgrade their computers and lower the printing cost

Marshmello Fan

amazing place for kids!

Daniel B

a good one, not so busy always but sometimes you will hear lot of noises

Taha Dharamsi

Great place to study or read.

Sunny Liu

A library I once frequented as a young child, Central library is still a nice place to spend time and find some good reads! The interior is on the older side, and the selection may not be as good as other libraries nearby (looking at you Vaughan Civic Center Resource Library) but Central Library is still an iconic piece of Richmond Hill history. They do also have a handful of Macintosh computers to use as well! Overall, I'd say Central Library is still a cool place to visit.

Eli Ayase

(Translated) Looking at the solar eclipse, the website said that there are a lot of glasses provided, but in the end, they refused to issue them, telling us to queue for them under the scorching sun, and exposed them to the sun for a few hours. In the end, I found out that I didn't prepare many glasses at all. Comparing the situation of several other solar eclipse observation points in Toronto, it can be clearly seen that the Richmond Hill Library and the Astronomical Association have been negligent in organizing large-scale events! (Original) 来看日食，网站上说好的有提供大量眼镜，结果到最后拒绝发放，告诉我们要在烈日下排队领取，暴晒几个小时，既没能拿到眼镜，也没能提供购买眼镜的地方，到最后发现其实根本就没准备多少眼镜，忽悠大众！ 对比多伦多市内其他几个日食观测点的情况，可以很明显地看出列治文山图书馆以及天文协会在组织大型活动的管理失职！

Frederick Goh

Pretty popular location. It can get quite crowded during weekends and weekdays afternoons. If you're looking to get some work done here during the day, the upper floor has a set of long tables and huge windows. This isn't so great as too much light can cause strain on the eyes and temperature regulation issues. Might want to bring your sunglasses and be one of those people. :)

Amy & Al Team

Very organized and good place to studying!

Sharon Kainth

Excellent library and well kept. The exterior should be managed better, people smoking in front of library.

Elvin Taylor

Excellent place to be if you need to study ???????? and they have a very helpful staff .

Alex Monich

The space per se is great but there are two things to consider. First, their climate control is subpar so the temperature inside fluctuates widely. Second, their internet is probably still on dial-up or at least it feels that way.

Ramona Mirtorabi

very very poor, disturbing experience, on January 15th, 2014, the librarian yield too loud at someone who was using the bathroom. Although, I was sitting too far away from the incident but I was too scared. She caused me trouble concentrating and continuing my work. Most of the people working at this library can not communicate in English. It is very shameful receiving such a service from the central library. I can not believe what I have experienced today at this public library that should have provide service to many kids and people in my community!

Noor Mounir

My favourite I wish they add more food or coffee related like varieties of them Love it my favourite

donato berardinelli

Huge

Anisha

Do you want to tan in the sun but have no time because you need to study for exams? Well you're in luck! You can study at the RHPL *AND* get a sunburn at the same time, if you study long enough. RHPL has some really nice long tables on the south-side 3rd floor, but no shades for their long windows! Between 10am and 2pm (in winter) the sun shines directly onto these tables, which sounds nice, until it gets hot and your back or face or laptop starts heating up. Every time I visit I see people get up and leave because of the uncomfortable direct sunlight, NOT because they're done studying or working. I had to write this review in frustration before I leave. Unfortunately, unless you come at 9:30am when they open and get a seat at the back of the library, or come in the evening, it's difficult to stay here long with the sun in your face. This place has so much potential, it's sad they don't simply install shades. Note - I say shades, not blinds. I love that this place has natural light, and would love for it to stay that way. But I feel it needs to be controlled.

ásmán t

It is one of the places you could spend your time. A good variety of books in different languages Also a good place to connect with the community

Glass

Great library, may be hard to find seats during busy days but most cons have been fixed and there's great books. (Children's textbooks are in the children's section and in the second row of books for anyone looking.)

William Idris

One can easily spend all day here,

c3n0t5

This place is awesome. I grew up here as a kid, and recently came back to this library after over 15 years and it's gotta be said . . The staff are SPOT ON! Super friendly and helpful. Thanks for helping me find Dracula! Yall rock \m/

Ariella D.

Great place to relax, think, and get all of your stuff together. Used to go there was classmates so we could complete projects, and the cafe was a must every time we went, although it is a bit pricey.

Crystal Li

Great place to study. Very quiet

TheHappySeeker

(Translated) Looking down on Yonge Street from the window, quiet and comfortable environment, plenty of light sources allow you to read books comfortably, the only hope is that you can have more Chinese books. (Original) 臨窗居高臨下開揚遠望Yonge街 安靜舒適的環境 充足的的光源讓你舒適覽書籍 唯一希望能多一点中文書籍 就好了

David Thompson Marfred Art

great the best

Calypso L.

Used to come to this public library until the system misplaced a couple of books my family has returned (in the bin). We borrowed them in one setting so it made sense we returned them all at once. It was extremely odd that the staff didn't just misplace one book but a couple! Not that misplacing one book is justifiable, but it really made you question how secure the bins were and how the staff "cleared" those books. Anyways, it was horrendous! My family has been returning books for decades and this had never happened to us. Just imagine the look of our faces after we went overseas for a vacation and noticed the fines. My gramp was enraged. He took the matters into his own hands and dealt with the issue over the phone and in-person. Now, I borrowed books electronically. If I must visit a library, I go to Richmond Green. The library is smaller but the staff are so much friendlier and the place is cleaner. From what I've heard, the coffee shop at the library was privately owned by a family. The customer service skills may not represent the staff at the library.

Arniya Faraji

(Translated) It is far from expected that the library would be closed during the Corona. They could leave part of the library open. (Original) انتظار دور از تصوری هست که تو دوران کرونا کتابخانه بسته باشد.میتونستن قسمتی از کتابخونه رو باز بذارن

mito . . .

nice and cozy

Muneeb Khatana

You can also get GTA weekly pass from here

Sam

This is great to come and find a place to study and read a good book. It is a newer library and it fairly big, four floors in total. First two floors is the main library space with lots of place where are you can sit at a desk and work. They also have computers that you can use as well. Last two floors are mostly use for staff and I believe you can rent out some of the rooms for meetings.

Elnaz Golestani

The staff are helpful. They offer variety of activities for all age groups

Leo Bibo Liu

Great location and environment, good for kids

Peter Lai

One of the grandest libraries around. I've spent countless hours downloading data onto my brain here. It's quite a popular library so going early or late is ideal if you'd like to find a good seat to study.

Reby

Love this Library. Is big and everyone is really nice.

Courtney Burns

Good place for quiet ness and good at helping me out when i need help in what to find and look out for and hard to find a place to sit up stairs thow

saba s

Amazing place

Mohammad Gholami

Large silent study spaces. Slow internet connection, tolerable though.

Joshua Ching (Josh)

I found this place a nice place to relax and study. Very quiet. Being in there was an overall agreeable experience.

Billie Chan

Fantastic study space on the second floor with lots of natural light

Martin Frank Wong

great spot to study

S M

Terrible study place! If you want to study seriously in a quiet environment this place is horrible. The "quiet" study area on the second floor is always full of loud mouth people on cell phones and groups of high schoolers chatting with their friends. The sun is also always on your face, blinding you due to the southern exposure and big windows with no coverings. The big open room allows sounds to travel easily and it's just not good for productivity.

Anaswara NV

I haven't gone to study here. But the library is spacious.staff are really nice.once I requested for a book.They even called me to provide details of the book even though they couldn't get the book.they suggested where I can find the book and all.

John

The atmosphere is great for studying and relaxing. I love the sofa/chairs facing the windows, such a comfortable place to nap.

Christopher Dodd

One of my favorite places in all of Richmond Hill. Helpful staff and a great local history section upstairs.

Husayn Jaffer

This library is great it’s a great place for students to study kids to take out books and it’s all around a nice vibe and atmosphere.

Emily Angelica Bridge

This library is quite large. It has a good amount of books. Plus it has a cafe on the bottom floor.

Mon Chere

Very cold

Brian Andrews

I have been coming to the new Central Library since it opened. It has become much busier recently and there is now much more young people using the facility - which is to be commended. The staff have always been helpful and friendly – even when I once broke the rules and had my laptop plugged in across a fire extinguisher. I've always enjoyed the magazine reading area with large comfortable (almost too comfortable) seats and an open fire (artificial but looks good). Last time I was in they were reorganizing that area – hope they don’t change it too much. The selection of books is great and I can usually find anything I want on the shelf or on-line. My elderly mother has been pleased to have the home delivery service. In the last few years WiFi was installed and initially it was quite restricted but now is free for all. I suspect it is a little slow because of all the bandwidth consuming activities - such as watching movies on YouTube etc. Maybe this will improve with advances in technology. The café is small and has a good variety of coffee and cakes. There are restaurants within reasonable walking distance such as 3-Coins or Mr Congees or Pizza Pizza that I can recommend. In all, I think Richmond Hill is well supplied with Libraries.

Family Room

Beautiful and grand library in the heart of Richmond Hill. There is ample space for studying and they have rooms that can be rented for private (commercial) functions.

Mohammad Hossein Abedi

Very good place to study but the computers are old.

AwesomeCake_Abc

Lots of workspaces. If you get a good spot, the view is great. You can in fact see the CN tower from the South window upstairs.

Mohamad Jamani

Why every where is so dirty????????

Ben Zamani

The best library

Omid Farsani

Very, very, very slow Internet connection!!!

Irina

I love this library, it have this coziness that only an old library's have. The feeling of out of time... High ceiling, spacious. Nice little cafe on first floor, there the video collection is. They have a big zone for kids, many games for small ones and tons of books. Each kid can find something to do.

Sina La

crowded quiet study area(there are usually not many empty seats left), loud people, horrible coffee-shop workers and library staff. On top of that the very slow internet connection is very annoying (cant watch a 30 sec youtube video after 5 min of loading). Library building does have some architectural significance though.

Yooshin Kim

Certainly a nice experience I had when I visited for prepping my interview. Ample seating, friendly staff, and great ambiance. (PS. They have iMacs!! Although they’re not available at this time due to the pandemic)

Alex T

A large and spacious library, with helpful and knowledgeable staff. You can get books from other Richmond Hill libraries, or even from different cities.

S A

Good library, good study spaces. However, there’s an older gentleman that works on the 3rd floor and feels the need to check on people every 5-10 minutes. He walks by slowly every now and then to check if people are consuming food or if they have removed their masks. It’s irritating and overbearing.

Grace Yan

I like it ,suitable for reading

sima m

Too helpful

jin kazama

This is my fave library amongst all, specially our university's. Its quit and all. I just hoped if they could remain open on weekends as well untill 8 ! But all in all this place is blessed. Even sometimes u can enjoy the live music playing for different seremonies. The place gets even more magical.

pat kia

A lot of books and it's very tidy

Maryam Taheri

Horrible service. Was treated like dirt. Rude security guard. Never enough seating. Waste of tax money.

AHA W

Nice place to study

Alireza Jamalifar

Staff are professional and with high quality customer service.

Andrea

Has a great variety of modern services available.

Nicholas Costa

Quite areas to study and well educated staff to help you when needed.

Jessica Wang

Love studying here! Very spacious, lots of study room and the windows allow a lot of sunlight! Very productive environment

Edouard Davlatian

Pretty good library with a nice open area outside.

Dipak Vasani

Nice library with multiple services. Having cafeteria as well. Offer printing and scanning documents. Staff is so helpful and kind. Having many events occasionally. Friendly community .

A L

It was pleasant, a librarian had the order ready and provided good customer service for curbside pickup.

Sarah Musa

Absaloutely stellar library with incredibly friendly staff and a lovely selection of books. Their childrens books selection in particular is very thorough and updated.

James O'Connor

A great resource for the community and I really like the digital online abilities for educational training and audiobook downloads. Excellent facility as well. Thank you for providing such services.

Ksenia Soldatenko

Best library in York region. Period.

Alicia Vaccarella

Great place to study and read

Danya Naushad

It's great to study in

Jason L

Unprepared activity

Nevin Chan

It's a well maintained library ????????

F Y

Good place that very quite. But sometimes not too much seats available.

Ryan Chen

Clean and quiet place to study. Love it !

Anthony Digout

This is a happy place :)

Jinx

Unfortunately, some of the staff members are not as friendly and helpful as they should be.

Melody Fujs

So crowded, people put personal belongings on empty seats, internet REALLY slow, not enough plugs for lap tops, librarians so RUDE cant get any work done here

Aleen Mariec

Great open space, with interesting interior design when you pay attention. Staff is VERY kind! There are some people in need who come to the library during the day (usually the same 5-10people) and I wish we had some sort of donation area at the library for these people to safely access. I would love to donate some stuff to them, without being so direct, as I do not want to offend anyone. If management sees this, please let me know if we can set something such as a donation area up! Or even if I could drop off some items for the library to distribute. Only con is the wifi cutting out at times, and some electric plugs don’t work. Overall great facility!

John Baldwin

Work related delivery

Luo Yalin

Great coffee shop, quiet place and fine wifi connection !

Pasha Javid

da 1 one star is cuz the downstairs computer it will not let u go on krunker... btw im typing this on the libary computer down stairs also buy new computers these computers make me want to barf

Hilary Campbell

We recently went to this library while in a rush to go to a meeting and needed to make a quick photo copy on our way. I expected to be given a run around about needing a card, etc. but the first librarian we encountered upon entering was very helpful and quick to find out the information we needed when she was not completely sure herself. She directed us to another librarian who stayed with us we helped us to make the copy. Although it was only a small fee, this librarian was very generous and used funds from her own card to make the copy as we did not have the exact change. We were very pleased with our experience here!

Kevin Zhao

Great atmosphere! Quiet, peaceful and clean tables. Great staff and huge book collections. Has a great coffee shop. Internet's reasonable and good electrical outlet distribution. Once misplaced one of the books taken out.

Neil Barak

Quite area is good for studying. Big library too

Rhett Butler

The internet here sucks. Come on! this is Canada not a 3rd world country. Already talked to the manager, but he just made excuses! Do something man instead of sitting in your office.

Sonia Davis-Bailey

A home away from home

Krista Jorgensen

This is a great library. The staff are really helpful and the collections in the children's area are good. Books available in several languages and e-books too. Families will enjoy reading books in the castle at the children's area. Also, there are always craft boxes for kids with colouring sheets and crayons. And in winter there is a great tobogganing hill just outside the library.

Jie Qu

(Translated) I often come with my family on weekends and have a wide range of books. (Original) 周末跟家人经常来，书籍种类齐全。

g neilson

It’s a quite beautiful library. It has a lot of items to be checked out. One thing that I don’t like is that although there are a lot of study space, there isn’t many power outlets for computers. I always have difficulty in locating a spot that has power outlets. Richmond Green and Richvale are much smaller and have less visitors but cancan easily locate a spot that has power outlets, same for Vaughan City Centre Library.

Lee Mo

There are excellent books for children and adults.

Annie Chen

Not much interesting books. I prefer the Richmond green location. It is also a much quieter place. Teenagers and high school students chat loudly and is NOT a good place to study.

Tom Deutch

The other reviewers who complain about internet speed and DVDs are yokels who probably can't read, which is the whole purpose of a library. They have a huge selection of fiction and non-fiction, they're very organized, the facilities are clean and presentable, they have plenty of desks for studying, the staff is really friendly and knowledgeable, and if they don't have a book you want, they can always request it from another location. And even if you just want to rent a CD or movie, they have a large selection of that as well.

Jocelyne Gil

I don’t understand what kind of library opens so LATE ! 9:30am? People study early!!! It should open at least at 8:30-am. Same with the open times on weekends 12pm opening is ridiculous ! On weekends it’s just open for 5 hours.

Pouyan Fazeli

Nice environment and quiet.

shirley wong

Spyware was downloaded on a computer which steals your personal information, don't sign in to your personal accounts here

Jason Xiong

Very nice! Cafe is really good here.

Tannaz Hakhaamanesh

More like a park than a library! Everyone's eating, talking and running in the quiet area. Poor management!

Octavian Barbu

Great library. Been going there for over a decade.

summer asavi

Not enough seats to study. Not enough working outlets to charge your devices. Also the library can sometimes get a bit loud if you're trying to study. The lighting in the main study hall room can also get really bad, making it difficult to even look at your screen. This library needs a major renovation. It looks big but the space isn't used effectively.

Catherine

Good library. But the pavement really needs to be redone in the driving area. It’s pretty terrible.

Angela Papov

Good sel croon of books

Michael A

Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card!

Stephen Schwartz

Always courteous and love the CD collection.

Peter Lee

Great library with great service.

Jennifer So

I cannot express how much value I think this library adds to the community. I love the way this library is setup and ran. It is not just a library in the way we think. I went from going to the library to study for exams (and getting a lot of coffee from their cafe), to going there to grab movies to watch with my boyfriend (now husband), to spending Sunday mornings reading magazines, to going almost everyday during maternity leave to attend the baby and books program (it was such an amazing program!!!). We now bring our 19 month old daughter to browse the books and attend programs. The grounds around the library is huge and undeveloped at this point. I think it would be so wonderful if that sense of community could extend to the outside. Parks, picnic tables,..a place for people to gather...maybe read a book they borrowed from the library under a big tree.

Dana Armand

too noisy

Linda Bennett

quality books and service. amazing staff and free colouring paper. the services and events are well run and fun for people of all ages. great library, 10/10 would recommend.

Robert R

Libraries are awesome!!

Sachi Shen

The best library in Richmond Hill. Great area for kids to read and play.

L Jian

I take my baby to the library pretty much once a week, the staff at children ‘zone are super friendly and helpful

Rachel lei

Two people keep talking in the library. Really annoying. Can you date in other place?

Nicole

Studied from open till close. Going early to find a spot reccomended

Kevin Fong

4 star rating instead of 5 because the facility is getting dated and cleanliness needs improvements. Otherwise, very good library with great programs and staff.

Catina Sze

It is very big and has all the books I want

Golda Ryzer

Richmond Hill library put out a sudden policy for entering the library only to fully vaccinated patrons. Aurora, however, will let everyone in their libraries regardless of vaccination status. #science

Carter Ross

Have some time off and pass to look! There are excellent books for children and adults. Found some old texts that had time without seeing.

Jeremy Dang

One of the nicest libraries I've ever been to. I was one of the first to get a library membership when they first opened in the 90s. You can literally spend the entire day here. As a kid, I enjoyed a Saturday or Sunday visit here to read and take out new books.

Nelson Rodriguez

Very confortable place to go and study and also to do group mettings.

wu steven

Great place for studying. Many great books good enough for my family! Just a little bit crowded on weekends. But overall it's great!

Kyle Smith

Very crowded and noisy. It’s not a quiet place to study. In many occasions, there is no available table or even an empty seat. I have regretted whenever I’ve gone there.

Pejman Davari M

A lot of desks and a high speed WiFi.

James Adam

Goode service , staffs are very helpful , reasonable price for printing as well as free to access computers. Also locals can take free memberships to borrow books & DVD’s.

Omar Jaafary

I love the quiet area in this Library. It's one of my favorite places to study. Although it could be quieter at times hence the name. Someone should probably reinforce the rules better.

Samantha Earl

Has a wide of selection of books in different languages. The staff is friendly and helpful, especially the couple running the small cafe. Upstairs floor is for quiet study and main floor is for children's books and the cafe. During busier weeks, it is usually impossible to find a comfortable seat unless you come early in the morning.

Vorpike

These reviews either have nothing to do with anything, or I've personally never seen. I frequent Central and Richmond Green library, and I can't say I've ever saw anything out of the norm. Richmond Green provides a sufficiently large collection of books, although not a lot of each, but they've recently bought a lot of manga and teen fiction books. Central is HUGE, with 3 stories (but the 3rd is for conferences and what not), lots of study space and I've never not found something I was looking for. I always like browsing their recommended section, and the cafe is a nice addon, although overpriced. There are many well-equipped rooms upstairs (with AC, a projector...etc.) and I have taught origami there multiple times. Speaking of which, if you or your children want something interesting to do, keep checking their bulletin!

Anita Vishakan

Nice library with great selection of books. Can be difficult to find spots sometimes but it’s a great place to study/ work nonetheless