Monmouth County Library - Holmdel Branch

I truly enjoy this library—it’s a beautiful space, and the quiet rooms are especially wonderful. However, I’ve recently been visiting on Tuesdays and have had repeated negative interactions with one of the librarians, a woman with short brown pixie-cut hair. During one of my visit, she informed my friends and I that the library would be closing soon, mind you, it wasn’t even 4:30 yet and the library closes at 5. She also mentioned that she would be “more persistent” as it got closer to 5 p.m. There were many other patrons in the library at the time, so it wasn’t as though we were the only ones present. This is not the first unpleasant encounter I’ve had with her. She often appears visibly unhappy to be there, and her demeanor comes across as unnecessarily rude. While I fully understand and

friendly and kind staff! they have a few conference rooms and kids room. You can see outside from library.

Came in on a Thursday around 10:30 to get The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The librarian that help me was kind and professional in helping me find this book that I really needed! I would come back here again and I recommend going here!

I love this library! It's located inside Bell Works, and can most easily be accessed by the south entrance. The space is brightly lit, and the vibe is professional, except for the children's area. There are tons of nice quiet areas to sit and read or work (yay outlets!!). I especially love the quiet rooms that can be used (and boy do they block out ALL sound!). The librarians are friendly and helpful, and the nearest bathroom is super nice. Would definitely recommend !!

This review is based on the children’s library - this branch has the worst selection of children’s books in the whole system and there has never been a children’s librarian present in the children’s area during any of our visits. The children’s library is an unenclosed area toward the very back and has a cold, soulless environment with a horrible echo, and so children’s already naturally loud voices carry louder than usual and some of the staff are insensitive to this. We refer to the nasty red haired lady that works the desk as “Miss Trunchbull because she clearly dislikes children and creates a very unwelcoming feeling here that fosters the nervous helicopter parenting prevalent in our society. They also have zero respect for the independence of older children. Don’t come here for the li