Thomas Balch Library

The building is an architectural marvel, with beautiful neoclassical and colonial revival features throughout, but you wouldn't know it unless you visit because photography is strictly forbidden (I broke the rules for the sake of posterity, so you don't have to). All bags must be checked into a locker, and strict rules are posted at every table. Feels more like a private museum than a public institution. The other reviews here confirm my suspicion that this library is usually empty. Sadly, alienating patrons only accelerates the irrelevance of libraries. Setting the domineering management aside, there is a generous amount of genealogy and historic primary texts. Certainly a valuable stop for anyone doing research on the area or its peoples.

Not useful. No photos allowed even of book pages. The "archival" records were photocopies of originals, with no provenance cited. They acted like they were guarding the original Constitution. Some of the records in the archive were redundant, such as the DAR patriot "family group sheets." These had very little information on them and the same patriots can be researched in the online DAR database where much more information resides.

I didn't have too much time to spend here because I didn't know it was here and by the time I discovered it there wasn't much time left in the day before closing time. The building is beautiful and when I walked I was greeted and asked how I could be helped. When I responded that I was a reference and genealogy Librarian from out of town and was just wanting to check out the place I was welcomed and offered a tour, which I gladly accepted. While I ran to the bathroom to wash the Chick-fil-A off my hands, the clerk put together a goody bag of materials for me and then gave me a tour of the rooms and an overview of their collections. I only had 15 minutes left to peruse the shelves before closing time, but I definitely plan to come when I am next in the area.

A great, beautiful, and quiet library, but not at all welcoming. Several of the old women working there are so abrupt and follow you around from the minute you arrive waiting for you to do something so they can yell at you. There are usually very few people at Balch and those who I’ve seen visit are very homogeneous. I imagine those who don’t look like upper middle class loudouners avoid the place because they feel uncomfortable. Some of the staff members here need to be reminded that this is a public library, not their personal estate. Rust is sometimes noisier, but they’re incredibly helpful and inclusive and welcome everyone.

Didn't know this genealogy treasure was here until recently. For those researching their ancestry it's wonderful. Staff is great and very helpful.