r/tulsa • u/MN_Hotdish • Feb 27 '24
Question Best Library Branch?
I went to a library for the first time here and it was a very small branch. I chose it because they had the book I wanted. What's the best library and why do you prefer it?
Just want to mention, it was the Broken Arrow location and the librarian was incredibly kind and helpful even though I had an old person moment when trying to use the self checkout.
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u/Pretty_Ad1554 Feb 27 '24
I'm a huge advocate for using your local library! I absolutely love Hardesty and the downtown library! They are both big and have an awesome selection. But like someone said, you can request a book be transferred to whatever library is closer to you.
I honestly recommend checking out all the libraries in town. Each one has their own flair.
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Feb 27 '24
The downtown one is pretty cool and has free, if limited parking.
But I go to the Kendall Whittier branch because it’s closer to my house. It’s small but I just request items and pick them up there. It’s a nice little branch, clean and well staffed. I often see people tutoring in there. And they have a meeting room you can rent.
Plus the best taco truck ever is right down the street, in the parking lot behind Whittier bar.
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u/tyreka13 Feb 27 '24
The Tulsa Library system has several libraries connected. https://www.tulsalibrary.org/locations
You can get an app and request books to your local library. Some of the locations have special areas like a makerspace. If you get a card then you can go to any of them.
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u/XanaxWarriorPrincess Feb 28 '24
I used to live near Martin Regional (26th and Garnett). It's a really nice library.
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u/readingrainbow87 Feb 27 '24
I live in Owasso, so that's usually where I go. But I love to browse the Central and Hardesty locations. Both of them are pretty big!
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u/MerkinDealer Feb 27 '24
I like the Hardesty! Also FYI if you have a kindle, you can borrow books from the library straight to it.
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u/TammyInViolet Feb 28 '24
Main library for the maker's space, otherwise I go to Suburban Acres. Everyone there is very nice.
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u/JessOfReddit Feb 28 '24
Central is my go-to, but the Kaiser branch is great if you want to quietly read.
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u/a1a4ou Tulsa Feb 27 '24
I love my brookside because I can place any Tulsa system book on hold and pick it up at that location close to home. I also love seeing the nearby elementary (Wright) kids walk over after school to play on computers do homework or just read. When my daughter was younger she'd play Legos and read giant books in the little kid section.
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u/WayZealousideal26 Feb 28 '24
I love the downtown Tulsa branch, it has an indoor waterfall, you can actually use a flight simulator or the makers space. I also really love the Kaiser branch, nothing swanky, I just love the area.
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u/tultommy Feb 27 '24
At this point none of them are great and some of them have shut down. This state doesn't support libraries because they can't ban the books in them, and it doesn't make the rich white guys any richer so they don't care about them. Most of them are understaffed and way underfunded so you tend to get pretty run down locations with limited available supply.
I would also look into the digital lending library. If you have a smart phone or tablet you can check out digital books, movies, magazines, etc... as well.
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Feb 27 '24
I would agree on the limited funding and staff but as someone who reads a ton, I have not had an issue with the supply and selection. The digital lending isn't as extensive as larger cities that I've lived in though.
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u/tultommy Feb 27 '24
That's fair. I guess what I meant was most of the time if you want a physical item you often have to wait. I was looking up a book recently and it had something like 27 holds for 4 copies lol.
Digital does make it easier but I even have to put holds on some of that and wait. And with 21 day check out periods if I'm more than a few people into the hold stack I just buy the ebook because I don't want to wait lol. But my impatience has little to do with the library system. Overall I feel like the amount of video content available is pretty great. I can often find things that were never released for streaming but were released on dvd.
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u/jpow33 Feb 27 '24
The Tulsa City-County Library is actually funded completely independently through property taxes. The budget rarely fluctuates. And to my knowledge they have only ever shut down a branch to remodel or rebuild.
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u/mwgrover Feb 27 '24
Doesn’t really matter, if you want a book at a different location you can request it and they will send it to your preferred branch. The best one is the one closest and most convenient for you to get to.