Portsmouth Central Library

Great hub of learning, collaborating and sharing knowledge - wonderful collections on naval history, science, original works by local artists. Exhaustive sections devoted to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. Up to date collections of movies and literature - self serving kiosks. Helpful staff. Presentations by renowned authors. Social cafe. Space for kids. Playgroups. In a word - everything for bodies, hearts and souls. If you are looking for a friendly, inclusive place to lift your spirits up - you are in the right place.

I love the library. All the staff are so friendly and the selection of books is incredible. They quite frequently have sales of ex-livrary books for 50 pence also so you can stock your shelves cheaply. The library is amazing!!!

Portsmouth has a first class library service and, whilst I seldom read fiction, I can commend their nonfiction collection as comprehensive and up-to-date.

A great place to get a reading book, fiction or non-fiction books. They also have a nice café on the top floor.

Very helpful when I moved to the area. Suggest baby groups for my newborn to join, also suggest books for my 4 year old and told me about the summer holiday book challenge they are doing this year.

The volume of the books is not huge (in the sense of a central library) and new books seem few. Still the variety books should satisfy most readers. Besides it's third floor is a library dedicated to the local history that should be a treasure to researchers or anyone enjoys the reading of history.

A great place to hang out in. You can get totally lost in a good book or have a coffee. I was there doing my voluntary. Shift. Shelved a few books. In the children's section there's quite a good display of winter themed books and also some characters from The Nutcracker.

A treasure trove compared to my old library in Bucks. Spacious and usually quiet depending on basement level.

Edit- having waited over 10mins at desk other day think a bell or some such would be ideal when no one is at the desk. I knocked, called out, even phoned but no one appeared.