Reviews of Seattle Public Library-Central Library (Library)

Eric Petersen

This place is legit as it gets. They have everything a public Library should: books, people, computers for mindless video games, over the top architecture, t-shirts, and even the homeless scattered throughout. But, let's be real - as a public building with free access, you're going to see all walks of life. And you should. A good library is a place of higher learning and it should be accessible to everyone. This just happens to be one of the most amazing ones you'll ever visit. They have tons of room to sit for probably thousands, random impromptu classes (pretty much anything you can imagine), a large theatre, and about a zillion instagramable photo opportunities.

Gracielli Ely

Amazing design and great facilities

Eddy Green

Seattle Public library has great architecture work. Very busy but has lots of resources!!

ahxockin87

Beautiful library with very friendly staff.

Serena Uible

Such a great library. I especially enjoyed the children's library and the store. Although, really the whole library is great! Staff are friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. Highly recommended! Do stop by.

Baron Saturday

This is one of the most stunning libraries in America.

Kresh Jan Anajao

The Architecture of this building is Phenomenal. Inside the library has some mini stores that you can grab some light snacks and drinks while hanging out in the building. Friendly staff and tons of space for you to do your reading time. I dont suggest bring your car as parking here is so horrible. You better commute to prevent hassles. I highly recommend this place for studying and have some silent time to do your work

Serkan Ozel

Very large library. Plenty of seating. No free parking. Some food options inside. Free and fast internet.

Kris Hadis

Amazing architecture outside and inside. Unique layout which provides conviniencies. Brilliant work!

Madina Alimova

Had an amazing experience visiting the library. Wonderful design and architecture, felt like I could spend a whole day in there just sitting and reading.

Elizabeth Nyland

Beautiful library. Perfect place to chill for a bit and bring the kids to relax

Meaghan Bishoff

We r tourist to Seattle and the kids needed a break so we ventured to the library. The children’s section here is amazing compared to our small town library. It was a perfect place for the kids to unwind and recenter. We left much happier then when we entered.

Steven Engebretsen

Definitely one of the most interesting libraries I have visited! A definite tourist location for the unique architecture, but also full of great books and reading spots. Be sure to check out the fourth floor (all red) and the tenth floor. The king county library system in general is top notch.

Brian Carson

You're bound to see a cross section of Seattle here, and it's a fully modern library.

Lucy Araya

Absolutely wonderful! One of the must see in Seattle and the entry is for free, what could it be better?. I think this is one of the best buildings of OMA. The place is very luminous because of his glass coverture that also allows wonderful views of the city as you goes up. Inside, you have a low level ( 4th street) with a child’s collection and play area with hard cover books and toys, some days they perform puppets shows also. In the main level (at 5th street) is located one of the entries, a small gift shop, an open hall, teens collection, a small coffee shop and stairs/ elevator towards upper levels. The second level is a kind of mezzanine over the main floor, with reference collection.The following levels contain the general collection, magazines, and the most of books in a building inside the building that is call the spiral and you can go up by the ramp, a mechanic stair or the elevator. The spiral finishes in a level with a computers rooms, a closed place for valued books, a lecture room and some administrative offices. From the upper level you have a complete view over the library because theres no closed rooms, and you can appreciate the complex geometry that covers the building like a glass skin. Wonderful experience on the top of architecture.

Manoj Reddy

This is the biggest and best looking library I've ever visited. Kudos to American government for spending such huge amount on libraries. This library has a unique spiral structure and lots of good views and natural light at the top floor. However, compared to San Francisco Bay area libraries, this library seemed to have less opportunities to do volunteering activities. Also, no 3d printers etc but people can rent laptops temporarily.

Kathryn Smith

Great place to find some unique stuff. I like their the calm atmosphere here. They displayed the book in good manner. We can find great stuff to read because of the amazing collection. Perfect place for book lovers.

Justin Sano

The best elevator ever. Go to the 10th floor, get on an elevator going down, and jump right when it starts accelerating.

Daniel Traina

Vaulted ceilings with the city all around in view, a truly amazing and inspiring study space.

Matt Grimm

I love libraries but this one is awkward. If you woke up one day as a zombie and needed a place to hang out, chat with your zombie buddies, and look for your next meal, this spot would be your jam. Like a lot of Seattle, good intentions with poor design.

Dan Garry

The architecture is amazing. It's a shame that the poor infrastructure for the homeless in Seattle has ended up with the place essentially functioning as a makeshift homeless shelter. Can't we take better care of our homeless than making them sleep in a library?

Peter N

Awe inspiring

Sean Bentley

Either 5 stars or 1, depending on whether you enjoy absurd fever-dreams.

J Kai

I could get lost here for ages! Natural light makes the spiraling internal architecture a joy to stroll through the aisles. Staff is patient, kind, and so vastly knowledgeable! Cute shop and cafe downstairs, clean restroom.

pragnesh parikh

An amazing project for Seattle. Most of us probably have visited this library, if not for books or library material, at the least to satisfy curiosity and establish like or dislike. That is probably for the exterior form and surfaces. Move on into interiors only to discover its strikingly different and probably found friendlier than the exterior. And remarkably unique as one moves from floor to floor. Almost 18 years later now, its interiors are holding up pretty well and still could faw attention. Materials, colors, forms, play of surfaces, opacity and transparency, shapes and angles, it all adds to one’s experiences. Images of construction phase certainly can help Architectrual elements behind surfaces.

Sergei Opeshko

Very nice and very good library! Wonderful design and architecture! Me and my wife very likely the place! We have a lot of pictures from the place!

Li-Yi Lin

The library is sooo beautiful. There are a lot of seats available (maybe it is a holiday).

Andy Ortiz

Once upon a time I met a man that knew exactly what he wanted and was confident in each decision he made and never doubted his miss fortune rather he looked at it as a learning opportunity and the only aspect of his life that was missing was a companion and there came along his soulmate which would tear down every idea he ever had about how things should be rather gave him a new perspective on relationships and memories being more important... and then my Uber arrived and I didn’t finish reading the book ... but if you’re looking for a good read and a amazing structure please stop by it’s a great library

Antonio Flores

Wow really wow. Great collection and books.

Kellin Bonilla

Centrally located Public Library right in the heart of downtown Seattle, very near all transit and several parking garages. This stunning display of architecture is a beautiful centerpiece of the otherwise skyscraping business district. There are many grand, expansive reading rooms, as well as a great number of cozy nooks throughout the building. The library is kept as a very nice, quiet environment for reading and studying. There is a no cell phone rule, that I believe is observed by most everyone. I really enjoyed checking out the map room in one of the top floors. If you go in the evening, you'll have many rooms and aisles to yourself. And many of the reading nooks are quite private, while providing a nice view of the surrounding architecture. This is a great stop if you're touring around downtown on foot. I was here in February, and it was a lovely place to warm up and read a little. A lot of people seem to avoid the library because of the homeless folks who frequent it, but they're the public too, and I had no negative interactions with anyone. It was a clean, quiet and comfortable environment.

JESSIE Slothower

Pretty here library I really don’t see why its historic?

Kyrylo Avramenko

Great library, but it's not comfortable to study around homeless people

garrett r

This place has 10 floors of library - the highest viewpoint is really interesting

Donny Forbes

Great library with an awesome staff of librarians. Also one of the funkiest buildings I've ever been too.

Aiste Plechaviciute

Beautifully designed building. I just visited as a tourist, design and architecture enthusiast. It is a huge and very bright space. Very impressive building, easy to navigate. It is also very quiet considering that it’s all pretty much one open space.

klubkarrot

Always crowded with either homeless or just tons of people. You cannot sit certain places if you are not a customer of the shops inside the library, even if everything else is crowded. I do not know why it is called a public library. Homeless people are always in the bathrooms or outside blocking the doors. One even lashed out at me after I passed him by, it is a terrible place, staff are not helpful. Way too hyped up.

Nancy Davis

I absolutely adore this library! This place is huge! Architecturally it's very impressive. It's clean, quiet .Biggest is best when it's the central library where you can check out 50 items at a time.

Kevin Kay

You'll be hard pressed to find a more unique library in this country. I toured it for a class and was awestruck by the architecture, vibrant colors, and friendly staff. In you're in the city, join! Utilize that free library. Stay for a bit to check out a book, or stay all day! It doesn't matter. Overall a great space.

Freddy Hernandez

Incredible! The building itself is beautiful inside and out. The 10th floor viewpoint can’t be beat.

Gi Seob Lim

Was there initially when I was studying spatial design. The way they designed the building to be similar to human body concept was quite intriguing. I was told this design was supposed to be built in Vancouver, Canada but city didn’t approve (dump decision! But doesn’t mean I hate the current one haha) They really seemed to spend a lot of time to design this building when you look at the details (moving shelfs, floor layout, entrance, etc) I think this would be a great attraction for travellers as well! Always love to visit this library :)

raven final

It was a great first time experience. Literally a tranquil environment one can spend their time at.

Rachel Durns

What beautiful architecture!

Sheen Hunter

Biggest is best when it's the central library where you can check out 50 items at a time.

Virginia Serna

These are the escalators inside the book spiral. The longest , I've ever seen. And the floor plan.

Cassandra Sura

Neat architecture and extremely modern inside. We walked through the floors to see the ultra modern decor.

Yibin Yang

Classic OMA design, reinventing program, especially the book spiral.

Gaurav Jindal

Wish they had more parking space free for Library users. Otherwise a good spacious library with a good kids area.

Angela Leed

Thank you for treating those experiencing homelessness as people, because they are!

Nicholas Haeg

Beautiful place to learn

Malachi Domajnko

I went here a while back, but I need to go again because I didn't have enough time to explore a reasonable amount of it! Massive selection of books. Awesome building design. A must-see when visiting Seattle

Nelson Lowhim

This isn't a review but a love note. Seriously, though, love this place and I can usually find a good spot to read or write or work on something on some floor. 4th floor is more open. The stacks above have a cave like feelings, should you want that (with windows, though, as the lighting is great throughout) while the top reading area also has its positives with its clear ceiling and all. Seriously my new favorite library.

Clarkson McKee

Seattle Public Library-Central Library is a beautiful library at the heart of downtown Seattle. It's a great place to take your architecture nerds and out-of-town friends on a rainy day. There's plenty of seating, so you can chill after a day of walking around downtown Seattle and then head over to Sazerac down the street for happy hour or to Frolik on 5th Ave if it's a sunny summer day. When I was working at Disney (across the street), they used to have big company meetings at the auditorium here at the SPL. Being a local, I think I take the Seattle Public Library for granted. They have a lot of great resources for business and market research purposes and the librarians are always happy to help you with your research. Did you know that they have a click to chat feature on their website? You can chat with a Seattle Librarian during business hours but you can chat with a real, live librarian from other places 24/7, 365 days a year! That's better customer experience than what you'll get from most Fortune 100 companies. They also do workshops and fun seasonal things, like Seahawks themed library cards. As with any public library, you'll see a lot of homeless people here during the day. I would totally be here too if I were them.

Jade Tsai

Really abundant resources of books and videos. The environment is spacious and comfortable. The building itself is beautiful. On the highest level, you can have a good view of the city.

Bimal Sandhu

I've been to seattle hundreds of times and always wanted to visit this library. I have a huge interest and appreciation for interior design and architecture. My boyfriend and I finally went here and were amazed by the design. That's an obvious fact. I did read online that there are many homeless people that loiter here and there were a lot more than I expected. It's definitely off-putting. I wouldn't want to bring a young child here to wander. I went to use the bathroom and had a very uncomfortable experience. The bathroom stall doors end at about neck level (depending on your height ...) there was an intimidating looking woman that was just hanging around almost like she was there to try and sneak a peek of people. I got intense anxiety and rushed out of there.

Laura Barnes

Awesome library!!!

Betty Bennett

Widde variety, helpful staff

Richard Miller

This is one of the biggest library I have been too! Great architect Design! I enjoy my visit!

Davey Thornton

Seattle Public Library-Central Library is a very beautiful and unique library for the West Coast. It will be an icon for years.

Nicholas Gangloff

A wonderful piece if architecture in the middle of the city. Very large, spacious, and broken up into 10 stories. The main floors are going to have a lot of tourist and visitors, so if you are actually trying to study and work, this might not be a good area to work. But since there are so many floors and the place is large, it'll be easy to find a quiet place.

Sam Ukulele

Beautiful public library Located in the heart of Seattle city center, nice and quite, clean. People are well behaved, although we saw few homeless guy around but they are fine Simple designed, well functions

Jesus Morales

The central library is huge! There are quiet spaces on the top floor. There are so many nooks and crannies in this place that there is always a spot to sit. Check out peak picks for popular titles.

Christina Beebe

Upon walking up to the library, you are just taken aback by the beautiful architecture of this building, already. The library's structure is so inviting and calls you in, really. Loved the layout of it. Such a great, free resource for the city. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the library was extremely clean and well kept. They had a red hallway that wasn't there when my friend was last here, which made for some fun photo ops. The tall glass windows were beautiful and added a little something extra to the ambience of the place. Beautiful, peaceful everything a library should be.

Josh Smith

I absolutely adore this library! The building has a very relaxed, modern style with so many giant open spaces that it never feels crowded, even when there must be at least a thousand people. I come here often to read and work.

Alexander A. Chaker

Piece of art. Amazing architecture and mood to focus on your job. There are lots of homeless, but they do not disturb the quietness of the place.

Toni Lu

Beautiful architecture! The library has better publicity than I thought. It's nice that it provides a place for homeless people to study.

Ricardo Seah

The best looking library I’ve ever been to! This is a truly beautiful library and definitely worth visiting even if you aren’t going to read.

I Arthur

Beautiful architecture from outside, it is quite industrial look inside , I love the Vancouver library better for sure

Ray L

Love the building. What other city has a 10 story library in downtown? The natural light and open spaces are in perfect harmony. Internet speed is unparalleled. Homeless people keep to themselves and the city is devoting a lot of resources to help them.

Rachel Bell

Huge library and by far one of my very favorites libraries in Seattle . This place is like a paradise for me . They have so many drama and comic options is fascinating.

Shing H

I am absolutely in love with this library! It's not just beautiful from the outside, it's also incredibly comfortable and cozy on the inside! There's also a small cafe in the library where you can get coffee or tea (yum!). I only got to visit this library once when I visited downtown Seattle, I would definitely come here very often if I ever get the opportunity to stay in Seattle! :)

Jeanyoung Im

Such an amazing piece of Architecture. Love and appreciate every bit and corner of the building. The scale, details, materials, lights & shadows, angles, various heights, bold colors, the harmony of organic and geometric shapes, artistic media displays, ramp path around the core connecting the floors at once and a lot more playful elements throughout. As public library it truly embraces everyone in the city who need space for studying, reading and resting in various and dynamic setups. The staff was also very helpful and friendly. Ended up visiting the building twice during our 5 day-stay in the city as it was simply the best place to be in.

Nichole Kuhn

I adore this library. Free to enter to explore the beautiful design and architecture that’s downtown Seattle. The staff is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about the history and making of the library. I asked a few questions about varies installations and if they didn’t know, they found out. A great spot to spend a few hours, grab coffee, and explore the library.

Emma Choi

Splendid building

Vida barjesteh

A great place to study

Jen Hsu

Wonderful building to visit during the day and the night view is gorgeous. I recommended the following: (1) explore every floor by taking the escalator and stairs (2) try the free self-guided cell phone tour of the Central Library; asked the front desk for instructions. (3) visit shop from the 5th Ave entrance.

Sheldonian

The outside of the building alone is amazing because of the architecture and colors. On the inside, it is a great place to kick back and do whatever you want. There are homeless inside, but they do not disturb anything and it has a very cool, calm vibe coming from all directions. When you go higher, the views are even better than from the outside where you can see the city and building all in one.

Familie Hong

One of the most beautiful and architecturally fascinating libraries I've ever been to. Massive, with lots of tables and study rooms for visitors. Lots of great artwork sprinkled throughout. Children's section is especially fun.

Jonathan Bean

The Seattle Public Library has beautiful and unique glass and steel architecture. A must see whether you are visiting Seattle or a life-long resident. There is a large selection of periodicals to peruse and ample supply of computers for public use.

James Stack

Gorgeous architecture, obviously. Great views from the 10th floor on a clear day. Lots of great places to sit and read. Attracts loads of homeless, and the restrooms are kind of notorious for being gross. But if you have kids with you, the restrooms in the Children's Center on the 1st floor are much cleaner and less trafficked.

Amanda Vail

Lovely building with so many great resources, reading spaces, and viewpoints. I love getting out of the office and working here for an afternoon.

Vincent Johnson

Very beautiful. A must see for tourists, but of a destination than a library.

Aaron Johnson

Very beautiful library with a huge selection of books and a nice quiet place to sit and get some work done if need be. From the outside the design looks almost unreal but I assure you, it is plenty safe inside this remarkable design of a city's central library.

Todd Rezsnyak

This place is huge! Architecturally it's very impressive. It's clean, quiet (of course) with plenty of work space on each floor. It's a really neat place to go and walk around, explore what's there. The amount of info available is pretty amazing, when you really look around.

Mikayla Joy Walker

Absolutely beautiful building. Even if you're not looking for a book, this place is worth walking through. Take the escalators all the way up to the top, the view is great.

Nikki Hart

Beautiful architecture and very helpful staff!

Alisha Williams

One of the greatest economic booms in Seattle and yet the library looks like society has totally collapsed with all the homeless. Sad, so sad. Typical of a liberal metro.

roy katsel

You can find any reading material here.

Hoang NT

Awesome place.

Jacob Schmitt

To say unusual architecture is an understatement. The exterior alone is worth the trip to the location but, the views from the inside even more so. It has anything you might want in a library. Excellent selection of books, places to study, helpful staff and even a coffee/lunch area with comfortable seating. To make it even better there is of course no admission fee. A wonder!

Christina May

This place is HUGE! If you're looking for something, they'll more than likely have it. Check out their WiFi. it's fast and free. Plenty of comfy seating. Friendly staff. Plenty of security.

Kelsey Ann

Wow. Amazing architecture with 11 floors filled! There are desks and different areas of noise levels.

Felicity Blake

Beautiful library.Lots of great places to sit and read.Beautiful architecture and very helpful staff!

Matt Jew

World class library with extra ordinary architecture!

David Maddison

Why a dynamic group of visitors at this library? Half of the attendees are legitimately here to conduct their study and the other half are the homeless of Seattle, charging their phones and enjoying the free newspapers and magazines. Apart from the amazing architecture, a browse around the floors will give you a very good cross section of Washington State.

Daniel Hu

This was one of the largest libraries I have ever seen. The layout of it was very cool, I would go there again if I had time.

Angela Han

The library is very cool! Definitely worth visiting!

John Hauck

Fun building. "Spiral" is a cool concept. Enjoy the picture possibilities.

KaZ Moore

Neat Place shows what you can accomplish as an architect when you skip high school geometry

Cody Jordan

Super cool architecture and interior design. We spent an hour wandering around checking it out. Grab a coffee from the coffee cart on level 3, check out the little shop, then go up to the 10th floor for some cool views. Bathrooms weren't super clean, but that wasn't exactly surprising. The whole place looks like it could be in Stockholm or Copenhagen.

brad unich

Such a beautiful piece of architecture...Massive library with unlimited options. If you are a book nerd this is the place for you.

Mandy Lam

well designed and very cool looking library

Yohannes Wubu

Really good place to read your books and get books and it's a really nice atmosphere

Jordan Henderson

A great library with expansive selections. They have a ton of DVDs and a wonderful play selection as well. There are homeless people but hey, they need a place to go too so it's not really a bother. The library is for everyone.

Yullia Pierce

If you're looking for something to do that is free around downtown Seattle, I'd recommend that you stop by Seattle Public Library-Central Library. The exterior of the library doesn't scream beautiful architecture but the inside looks amazing. On the top floor, the glass structure is reminiscent of I.M. Pei's Louvre Museum's Pyramids. I like looking up at the glass, it is pretty darn magnificent. If you go to the top level, you'll go through this elevator tunnel. Design wise, it looks pretty nice with the yellow lights. It kind of makes me feel like I'm in a Star Trek episode on a really high tech space ship. At the top, there is a corner where you can stand to gaze down all the multiple floors that you passed on your way up. If you're afraid of heights, don't gaze down. The Seattle Public Library-Central Library has a lot of amenities for regular library goers. They have a computer section where patrons can use their internet. Not a bad place to study too!

Marilyn Acosta

Great space to kill some time while in the city. There is a coffee shop, outlets, and seating. Check out the view from the 10th floor. Quiet place to take a moment, charge your phone, and enjoy the architecture.

Mariano Garcia

This building really is beautiful and a really amazing piece of architecture. It's a really cool place to spend some time to walk around in too. When you come it, head straight up the escalators to the very top floor to get a really cool view of the city out of the checkered glass roof that over looks the study area on top. Work your way through the collections down to the Red room on the 4th floor where everything is painted red. This is a cool place to visit and check out for a bit, but a poor place to work or study. As other people pointed out, there are lots of homeless people that frequent the library that use the bathrooms there to clean up and the open spaces to sleep. The bathrooms and tight study spaces tend to smell really bad. Avoid them if you can.

Helen Ell Tran

One of the coolest and prettiest library I have been to. It is definitely worth a visit when you are in Seattle. They also have live piano concert and many events throughout the month.

CHIDSANUPHONG PHANPHIPHAT

Huge public library in the city center. Nice architecture and exterior. Good place to spend a whole day there with various books and media. A small coffee shop at the first floor serves a good drink and snack.

Megan Wilcox

Beautiful library with awesome architecture. Definitely a place to visit if your an architecture fan. Lots of natural daylight, great for studying, drawing or hanging out. It is a public library, so it is a little disheartening to see all of the homeless standing outside and hanging out inside. It's a great beautiful place for them to hang out too, though.

Hugh Jasswhole

The library has a really odd smell that I find quite distasteful and which makes me wonder what kind of bacteria and vermin live within the pages of the millions of books available. Do the books get radiated to eliminate things like bed bugs or lice? I think I'll just get my books from Amazon.

Aaron Kleyla

I was looking for something to do on my last day in Seattle and everyone had mentioned the library. The outside looks amazing but the inside really shines. Each level is full of book and amazing areas to sit and read or work. I took the elevator to the top floor and worked my way down with each floor getting progressively larger in size. Level 5 was simply arresting in high gloss red, floor to ceiling. Halls curve with hardly any sharp corners in sight. You could easily spend 30 minutes exploring the area or sit for hours enjoying a book. Either way, you will not be disappointed.

Aida Crystal Rodriguez Soto

The building is amazing. You can go in and buy a coffe. They have an amazing view.

Natalie Kruzz

Stunning glass ceilings let natural light in the vast, spacey library. The Seattle Public Library has a giant collection of books. The library also provides self-guided tours through on a card with specific directions and detailed explanations of various architectural highlights, including yellow escalators, red meeting rooms, and an amazing book spiral. Love the feeling in the library

Peter Ceniceros

In Seattle for a short time phone was running low found this place. I ask for permission to use the sockets and if I had to be a member to use. The staff was kind enough to tell me I could use the outlets. Big points from me with cool staff members.

Kkd253

We loved visiting the Seattle Central library location. Theres so much to explore and see here, we had to ask a few different people for directions, and they were all more than happy to help us out. Lots of tables for studying or working on computers as well.

robin sneed

A lovely place in the rain. The epitome of the romance of the library. A rainy day, a book, and thou.

CRIfinder

The most amazing library I saw in my trips around the world

Mohit Jain

This should definitely be on one’s itinerary for a long, unwinding vacation. Its impressive for its Unique architecture, massive scale, design aesthetics, view points, collection, capacity to read, work with best in classs infrastructure! Well done Seattle city government.

JB Soleda

A unique building for sure. Worth visiting, but not enough new books were available in some of the areas that I visited to do research. It was a disappointment because the building itself is more progressive than the content of the books. It other words outdated books that are almost irrelevant in this day and age. The Library needs to ask big corporations for donations to maintain itself!

lucas Lee

An amazingly large library in Seattle.It is clean,quiet and with a lot of books you like there.The staff there are friendly too!What a nice one!!

Sam Beaumont

Very glitzy, aesthetically appealing modern design. Conveniently located near 3rd Avenue and University Street Station, resulting in easy public transportation access. Has a wide selection of books and historical archives that would take years to fully explore. Top floor has a decent view and is a nice, quiet place to read or study. Restrooms are new, but are quite dirty and have very low stall doors.

Avinash Gupta

Beautiful design and the perfect environment to read a book

David Thomas

A world class city needs a world class library. Seattle delivers with the funky, airy and HUGE Rem Koolhaas beehive. Worth a visit to see the architecture, to get in out of the rain or, shoot, even to check out some books.

J Barden

Let’s you sign up for a lib card online for faster pickup at any library branch in Seattle. Really nice place. Quiet with plenty of workspace. Next to the Austin Central Library, this is the second best lib zone I’ve ever visited.

D W

Moden, fashion, high quality and quite.

Robin Foster

I love the way that this library accommodates "even" the homeless. It's a great place to kill some time "as a bum - nobody, nothing" and learn something. I frequent the library to use my own laptop, access community resources like Ancestry Online, study for work and even to watch a free movie. I love this resource, in my community and am grateful that they welcome everybody.

Sílvia Vallespinós

Wish more libraries had a reading room like this one!

Jacob Carter

Wow! What a huge library! This is the biggest location I have since by far! Helpful staff and knowledgeable librarian! I will definitely coo back here!

Veronica Didi

So loved what they did here! Beautiful building, good vibe for a library, and many other people who come here, each one and the reasons that brought them here. As a frequent visitor to this library, I can tell you it is great.

Sandy Archer A. Baker

Beautiful modern architecture with amazing open space for reading a good book!

Igmu Tanka Luta

They need more sound absorbent material.

Arnold Caplikas

Went here just as a sight to see and what a sight it was. Im very impressed by the design of this building. Can just walk around there and admire the beauty. Clean, huge, beautiful, with plenty of books to chose from.

christian lovell

Perfect place for me to hang out!

Jamey Brewer

This is an awesome library! Beautiful architect, the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. I utilize the DVD section mostly and the movie selection is very broad... something for everyone. Great job Seattle!

SoCal Punx

Cool building, check out the viewpoint.

Kevin Landis

The Seattle public library has a lot to offer the community. From their broaf book selection to the ample study space, this is a place to come learn and be inspired

Greg Lucas

The building itself is very impressive, seems the city is unable to manage the financial aspects of running a city budget so they overspend on fancy buildings yet fail to take care of the roads. The library has a huge selection and the staff really do a great job.

John Love

Every library is a great find!

Walter Hamilton

The building has a very relaxed, modern style with so many giant open spaces that it never feels crowded, even when there must be at least a thousand people.A wonderful piece if architecture in the middle of the city. Very large, spacious, and broken up into ten stories.It is spacious, strong in the number of books, definitely comfortable.

Erkan Saka

This is the biggest public library I have ever seen. 13-floor modern well-designed architecture. The tenth floor has a viewing deck, too. Do not expect a majestic city view though. Still worth seeing. It is spacious, strong in the number of books, definitely comfortable.

stop animal abuse

ick. sigh.

Sharad Patel

Beautiful architecture! Must visit!

Laura Bensona

It was great to have a place to escape to in the middle of a busy day of sightseeing downtown Seattle. The design of the building is very unique, and we went up to the top floor for the views. We also stopped by the rare book collection and the amazing librarian allowed us to read an illustrated copy of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe from the 1800's!

N Asher

One of my favorite places to go to whenever I hang out in Seattle. Sure, there are some homeless people there, and they do kind of trash the restrooms. But in the end, they're mostly harmless and will leave others alone.

Nababjada Hero

I am really looking for sweet dreams for us

Suzie Oh

The Seattle Public Library is amazing! It has the most beautiful architecture from a public library I've ever seen. This library has the greatest views from above, you should definitely take the elevator to the top floor (or second to top, the top floor is administration only) and then walk down through the bookcase spiral. It's completely worth it! One interesting tidbit: the bathroom stalls in the girls bathroom has very low stall doors. Other than that, this library is really great in every aspect!

Quinton Andersen

This library is pretty cool. Large with LOTS of material of all kinds. It's almost overwhelming. The employees are friendly and knowledgeable though, so if you need help asking is the way to go, rather than just aimlessly wandering. Seriously, you can get lost. Here's a tip: If you have a library card and a smart phone, I HIGHLY recommend you scan it into Google Wallet. It makes checking out a BREEZE! Seriously. (If you're tech-savy enough as well, you can even convert you pin-code into a second barcode and scan that in too.)

Tyisha Brown

Beautiful StructureBuilding Architect. Loved everything about this Library. Just Magical

Francisco Villa

Loved the architecture, more than the books, got to meet the director in the elevator hlHecis a cool guy

Patrick Au-Yeung

Iconic OMA/LMN architecture right in the middle of downtown Seattle. Gorgeous and audacious from every angle.

Xin Lone

Gorgeous, quiet, super large

Keriki Purkiss

Wonderful architecture. Friendly staff. Clean bathrooms. Tons of books.

Griffen Wolfe

Biggest library I've ever been in. It's literally 10 floors worth of millions of books ranging from every subject you could possibly think of. Tons of different study rooms, reading rooms, conference rooms, map rooms, and every floor was organized by subject (i.e. art, geography, poetry, etc). The view from inside is incredible, and the viewing platform on the tenth floor is actually terrifying. Overall, a great visit whether you're looking for resources or just touring the city.

Valerie Sherman

Wonderful library, magnificent architecture

Tanner Smith

Gorgeous architecture and very helpful staff. Centralized location is also really nice.

Betsy Perkins

Marvelous! I am from Oly, but I loved spending a few hours here. The building is remarkable, as others have mentioned. But one of its greatest features is how it can hold and serve so many people and still be a place of quiet and calm. This is a very well used library, but it is clean, uncrowded and accessible to all. Well done Seattle!

Ariel Jensen

The building is beautiful inside and out because of the amazing windows & lightness; however, I didn’t feel very welcomed or comfortable once inside. There was limited seating and most of it was taken by homeless people sleeping sitting upright. I wanted to see the view from the top floor, but unfortunately there was a homeless man laying right on the floor, so I missed that. A satisfactory place to check out a book, but not to spend time in.

C A Taylor

Love the library but not the building. As a person with chronic vertigo, I find the book spiral dizzying. As to the “red” floor, I became dizzy and nauseated waiting for classroom to open. Exposure to the color red, in such excess, is known to negatively impact blood pressure. One would think that such a public building would be designed with more consideration for its users and less for show.