Nashville Public Library

Downtown Nashville Public library has the best children's programs anywhere. Every Tuesday and Wednesday they do three readings with the children and have a puppet show, sing songs and play games. The cast of characters are very well loved by the children and they treat the kids wonderfully. There is also a book reward program and on some Saturdays they have marionette shows for the kids. Everything is free and parking is available in the downtown garage! I love this library. It's so neat and warm and friendly, and I am not talking about the patrons per say! RECOMMENDED! more

We regularly use the Hermitage library and have been very impressed with the library as a whole. In particular I love the website access that allows me to reserve books and movies. When the items are available I receive an e-mail notification. It also allows you to renew books and see due dates. Very convenient for busy people! more

Nashville Public Library has so many books. more

Nashville has a great library system. I really like the folks at the downtown library and I like they openness the library has. Some places you go to a library and it seems like they are just pissed that you even showed up, but Nashville just has a good feel to it. The library is quite new, and a lot of homeless hang out at a little park across the street. I think they hang there mainly cause they can go in and use the restroom at the library without getting hassled. more

If you haven't been to the downtown library, you should go. It's a beautiful place, huge, urban, sophisticated, as a city library should be. It's also got plenty of resources. Computers are always available for book lookups, there's plenty of staff, and there's even some hidden-away writing rooms for privacy, if you know where to check for them. There's also a beautiful courtyard in the center on the second floor. You can bring your lunch in and spend an hour reading a good book and eating in the sun at a nice table near a flowing water fountain- a haven in the busy construction of downtown. You can also get video tapes, DVDs, music... and the books are very well stocked. Seldom am I looking for anything that I can't find (although occasionally I have to wait for it to get in, as the place gets more popular). A real gem of the city. more

I truly believe that a city with a great library is a great city. I can't afford to buy books, but for free I can check out more books than I could even dream of reading. I love that; I love the concept of libraries. What a pleasure it is then to also go to a beautiful, huge library absolutely full of resources. Nashville's downtown (main) library branch is gorgeous. The lobby is three stories high, full of light and space. There's a rotating art installation on the second floor balcony. A lovely quiet courtyard is hidden on the third floor, just off the children's section. It's completely surrounded by the library's outer walls but open to the sky. Decorated with trees and a fountain, the courtyard feels like a little piece of New York to me. It's a great place to sit and read. I lived in New York City last year and was severely disappointed with its branch libraries. The main location is immense, all marble and majesty, but the branch locations are like DMVs. New York's internet system for the library is still in a DOS format. Nashville has a better library system by far. And that makes me proud of our city. more