Jacksonville Public Library - Highlands Regional

Nice library. Appears to be plenty of books. As long as you have a Florida license and proof of guardianship you can get library cards for the family. On the wall are different activities.

I love libraries! This afternoon, I came to hang out while my man was working on a car. It I'd definitely quiet. They have a very large and inviting children's section. It is.colorful, a vast number of books to choose from board games are out on tables for public use. The adult section is very standard, no frills there. They do have about 40 desktop computers available for use. This is nice. I do like the categorization of new books coming in, magazines, large print, cds, and movies. Everything is clearly marked. The staff is courteous and efficient. I usually like to sit by the window and read a bit. They do have a large set of windows up front with 3 areas to sit. Unfortunately, they aren't inviting or comfortable for a long stay. The tables are for 2 and remind me of the testing tables we had as kids with wood dividers in front of you. The chairs remind me of squared up seats from a clinic or doctor's office. They had some lower seating with a little lean, but they weren't much better. I guess I was looking for more loungy seating like the coffee house on FRIENDS. (Am I being too bougie?) Maybe I am just having short people problems. Anyway, I did puruse a really great book and will be trying several recipes from it. It helps improve hormonal health through your diet instead of medication. I'm always looking to learn! Thanks for having a spot to pop into and educate myself.Oh yes, the air is on people. It's not crazy cold like the freezer section, but nice enough, you don't need a jacket inside. Book and Credit to author Alan Christianson, NMD

I find it very counter productive to the libraries mission to turn children away from a free publicly funded children's event. I'm not sure not that helps the community to promote the love of our precious libraries to the younger generations which are sadly losing the understanding of their importance. To be made to feel unwanted at an event that we signed up for beforehand is insane to me.Last week while we were in the library we saw a group of kids doing the steam activity and my son was very interested. He loves everything STEAM and honestly advanced in that area (at the very least at a 5 yr level). He was honestly the only one trying to participate when librarian was asking questions last week (I discouraged him because we weren't attending and the librarian seemed annoyed by it). So I signed him for this week with the intention of trying to out to see if it was a good fit for him and staying with him to help him through anything that was over his head. As his parent after watching the previous weeks event I deemed it as something he would be capable of participating in at an adequate level.Unfortunately we were not allowed to attend this FREE public event because apparently the age suggestion is strict although it was not mentioned that we were turned away after we took the time to travel all the way to the library when I signed up. When we arrived a couple minutes before the event we were the only ones there that had signed up yet we were still turned away. It was really honestly discouraging and disappointing.Afterwards I looked over the events for children and there is a big gap for prek kids or kids that aren't toddlers but "school aged" either. Which is really sad because that's the age that needs this environment to get them ready for school and group activities like this.Really disheartened and disappointed in this librarian. I really can't imagine being a children's librarian and turning away a child willing to learn and participate in a free activity.

Seamless voting process. I was wearing my newborn so they let me use a sit down booth... didn't even know that was a thing.

The staff is always friendly at this location however, the powers that be REALLY need to add a drive-up book return option to this location. The whole parking lot needs to be redone and I mean quickly because it looks awful.

The library itself is ok. I love that there is a huge selection of books, and activities for early release Wednesdays. However, I can't for the life of me understand why it always smells like sewage when we walk in. I would like to frequent this library more often but the stench is horrible especially for an extended period of time. I wonder if it is safe to be in there for an extended period of time. I took my daughter today and noticed holes in the ceiling and water damage. I think a makeover needs to be done.

This library is just like any other library I don't go to the library as often anymore. What I do like about the Jacksonville Public Library system is that you can check out books online. I can also reserve a book that is not currently available and they have so many books it's crazy. When I check out a book I normally will get the audio version so that while my husband and I are traveling we can listen to a book as radios tend to go in and out of local stations. When I started my account online the librarians were very helpful. That is why I give this such a high rating is because I have never had a problem with the library itself. Having said that I did notice the other reviews were rather bad because those people go into the library whereas I don't.

The front desk staff totally lack customer service skills; I also pulled up on day 10 minutes to closing to pick up an audiobook (knew exactly where it was) and was met at the door with, 'im sorry we are closed" I advised of the time and was then asked, what I needed to do. I politely turned around and walked back to my car. This is the branch closest to my home, however I would rather drive to the further branches to be treated well

It's a typical library. Fairly small but clean. There's a children's section with a play space and computers and smaller tables/chairs. There's an adult section with computers. And there are a couple of conference rooms you can reserve for your study/meetup group. That's pretty much it. Parking is no problem.

The library staff are impartial in the way that they handle adding funds to library cards as well as verifying identification for card transactions. Certain staff members here go above and beyond to make my experience a pleasant one. One thing that I really like about this library is the JEA charging station for a variety of cell phones. Here is an example of a staff member going above and beyond: Once a man with a cane and a horrible body odor kept walking back and forth behind my back and through the entire computer area, so one could smell his lingering reek. The smell was so unpleasant that I had to get up and walk away from the computer area every time he was about to walk by, and I was in the middle of my much needed online Christian therapy session. Computer usage sessions are timed and motion sensitive, so if the user is inactive on the computer for a certain number of minutes, then the computer automatically logs the user off. I pretended to look at a book until the stinky man limped by. A male staff member with glasses approached the man while he was at the computer encouraging him to wash his body, and that he could not stay in the library smelling that way. The staff member said, "You need to wash up." The man with the cane said that he would never come back, but he did comeback with a different colored hoodie and the absence of the pungent stench. Thank God!Here is the last example for this review: Camille Winbush from one of my latest, favorite shows came to this library a few times, but I was so absorbed in my work that I did nothing more than glance at her. The very first time that I had ever saw Ms. Winbush in-person she had a different hairstyle, and her hair was covering her eyes. All I could see was her smile, that she was wearing heels, jeans, she had a slim figure and a mahogany skin tone. She was at another cubicle across from mine, and I saw her once while I was standing at the printer. Secondly, I have an unspoken thing about my personal space, and once she sat right next to my cubicle at the library. I felt uncomfortable. My eyes slightly popped out, and I probably started to have that slight sensation of feeling closed in. A female staff member with curly hair approached Ms. Winbush (whose hair was in a pixie cut that day) and softly said something to her. I do not know exactly what it was that the staff member said, but the effect of her words moved Ms. Winbush away from my cubicle. The last time I saw her at the library my boyfriend and I were both there. We were in cubicles next to each other. I got up from mine to go sort through some copies. When I returned to the spot I was sitting at Ms. Winbush was sitting there, and she started to stand up. I got a side profile view of her, but I was really, really absorbed in my print job.The bathroom is decent. The toilet paper dispensers have missing parts, but there is always soap and toilet paper in the bathroom. The smell could use improvement.