Boston has a really solid interlibrary loan system, where you can find any book at any of the branches, and have it sent to your nearest library for pick up. When I lived in Davis Square, the little West Somerville branch library was such a convenient stop across from the subway station, but it’s kind of falling apart and kind of dirty,  so I’d just grab my new books and go.

I was pretty sad to leave Davis Square, but part of setting up in our new place was sending my holds to my new local branch at Coolidge Corner. 

This is a library where you could actually spend time! It’s light and sunny, with seats, tables, and laptop carrels. 

That looks like a reading bed, right? Is it socially acceptable to lie on this bed to read in public? And if not, why is there a bed there? 

In the back of the non-fiction section, there’s a little list with the Dewey Decimal numbers of sexuality, addiction, domestic violence, and other topics one might want to read about but not want to ask a librarian about. There’s also a self-checkout machine, in case you don’t want to make eye contact or show your books to anyone.  Access to information, y’all. 

Now let’s talk about non-book things. There are actually enough outlets here, at the computer desks and at the reading chairs. This library knows that people have laptops, Kindles, iPads and phones, which sounds obvious but *gestures helplessly at other libraries*  Plus there’s a phone charging station with all different plugs. The Coolidge Corner library wants you to have a good day.

This library has gender-neutral bathrooms, with space for baby-changing. The idea of non-gender bathrooms only came on my radar recently, thanks to trans friends, and it seems like a really considerate thing to do for library patrons. (Cislady friends, this also means no ladies room line.)

ALSO this branch has a board with the next bus and train times, so you can maximize your time reading in the heat/aircon before dealing with the MBTA.

In conclusion, Coolidge Corner is a perfect branch library.

Do you have a cool or unusual library near you? Let me know! (Bonus if you’re in Mass or NYC, so I can come visit it.)