A selection of comments made about the Library at The Lantern, serving Sundorne and Harlescott, appear on this page.

All suggestions and complaints are carefully considered and action is taken to make improvements where these are possible within physical and budgetary constraints.

Do you agree with these views? Is there anything you would like to add? If so, please do tell library staff or comment online.

Customer service

• I am worried about the possibility of cuts at the Lantern Library - Response - "All Council services are being reviewed with a view to making savings over three years but there are no plans at present to make cuts to the Library at the Lantern"
• A friendly and helpful staff.
• The Staff are always happy and helpful and very good with the children.
• Always helpful and polite.
• I find the library very relaxing and my children really enjoy coming here. The staff can not do enough to help us out which is very nice indeed.
• I found the staff extremely helpful in assisting myself in finding reference information, helping to find a book I’d enjoy reading.
• Staff always friendly. A lovely place to come with children. Staff have got to know my children by name.
• I think it is a very good facility, and everyone is very helpful.
• Very good staff and very helpful.
• A very friendly outlook. Staff very helpful, a lot of good new books.
• Could do with more DVDs like the town library. Can’t complain about anything else.

The building

• On a Tuesday very bad to park.
• Parking sometimes a bit difficult! Otherwise excellent.
• Spacious, pleasant building.
• I am mainly pleased about the fact that when me and my daughter visit I can quite happily leave her to look at her books whilst I look for mine knowing that, as there is only one exit, I can see her 99% of the time and know she can’t run off out of my sight!
• A most useful facility in retirement and within cycling distance.
• Air conditioning is sadly lacking in hot weather.
• Extremely good, well designed and staffed building.
• Parking insufficient for usage. What a pity to spoil such a wonderful place. Would like to talk to my local Councillor about it.
• I do find the parking bays are too small and find it difficult to get a baby out of the car.
• Sometime it is a little warm in the building.
• Could do with air conditioning when warm weather.
• Beautiful new library. Nice and clean. Pleasure to use it, lets hope it stays that way.
• Children use it on a regular basis and make good use of all the facilities. It provides plenty of choice.
• Seating is for comfort but not the right height for reading!
• As we live locally it’s lovely to see excellent facilities, easy access and hopefully will be looked after for years of use.
• A fantastic library.

Opening times

• Please be open everyday. Also café all day.
• I am very impressed that you can now use the library outside normal opening hours. The self-issue machine is great!
• I wish the library was open on Monday and Tuesday. Everything else is very good.
• This is a lovely comfortable place. The children really make themselves at home. The Staff are friendly and welcoming. It would be nice if there could be one late evening per week that the library could stay open until perhaps about 7 pm.
• Library stay open longer hours and 7 days a week.
• Would be nice to have a place to leave books, tapes etc when closed.

Books

• There has been a vast improvement in moving the Large Print books to a much lighter area
• Good books/DVDs/Videos
• This is a lovely library but please could we have more large print titles.
• The books are all recent releases or have been recently advertised.
• Needs more books to choose from.
• I would just like to point out that I have only ever had one incident where I could not get the book I wanted.
• Lovely building. Could do with more books.
• More books please. Reference and non fiction.

Services for children

• It's great that there are new toys in the Children's library as this occupies the younger children giving parents time to browse the stock.
• The new sofas are very welcome as they are a comfortable place for parents to sit with their babies.
• I believe this library is second to none as I’ve never seen so many groups of young people using the facilities. I’m very impressed.
• Very helpful friendly staff. My children love the bean bags while they browse.
• Came for Rhyme Time – good.
• We only come to the library for the Toddler Tale sessions. I think this is an excellent service for children and as I childmind for two children it’s been a valuable asset to introduce them and promote interest in books and listening to story time.
• Mothers and Toddlers have a high priority in the community. That I do realise but – On “Mother and Toddler” days the noise is very irritating and toddlers running around whilst one is seriously selecting books. The ideal arrangement of course is to have a separate area but I realise this is not a realistic proposition. Visitors to the library are all mixed up with the crowd of mothers and toddlers in one area and a visitor coming to the library soon makes their exit due to the noise and overcrowding.
Response -"I am sorry that you find Baby Bookworm and Toddler Tale sessions at the Lantern noisy and disruptive . They are only held once-monthly for around an hour each and are well publicised in advance, thus allowing those who do not wish to visit the library whilst they are taking place to choose an alternative time. If you wish to check the timings of children's events at the Lantern please ask staff or pick up a leaflet in the library."

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