Buffalo has a fair share of interesting places to go to find great books of every variety. I actually prefer going to bookstores rather than to libraries though, since there I can find more recently-published books, and seemingly a wider variety, and the social atmosphere also seems more enjoyable. Well here's a quick rundown on where to find books:
Border's. This is probably the largest bookstore in the Buffalo area, and can be found right next to the Walden Galleria Mall (Buffalo's largest shopping mall). You can find just about anything you can imagine in here, with a very large selection of books available on every topic and subtopic. There are also sections for other media, since as audio and video. Near the entrance there is also a small cafe which serves a variety of drinks, and I believe also some food items too. Very quaint, cozy, shopper-friendly atmosphere, in a very large commercial bookstore. 'Excellent place to stop and browse around -- you just might walk out a few dollars lighter with something interesting.
Barnes & Noble's. This is an excellent bookstore, and one to which I probably go the most, since it's close to my house and university. This one really has only books though; no music or videotapes, and no in-house cafe either. But it's very good for what it has and specializes in, which is namely books of every variety. Admittedly, the selection here is not as great as in Border's or some other larger area stores though. The size is more than adequate however, and there is also a great magazine-browsing section. The atmosphere is outstanding -- my favorite among all bookstores I know of -- and in the background is the constant playing of classical music. One gets the feeling that this is a very literary and intellectual environment, or at least the marketers of the store did a good job of presenting the place in that manner, at least to me. The one I go to is located just south of the Boulevard Mall, on U.S. 62.
Media Play. This is a very large multimedia store, similar to Border's, and I think it even has a very small cafe too. It's located near Barnes & Noble's, in the plaza in the northeast quadrant of the corner at Sheridan Drive (N.Y. 324) and Niagara Falls Boulevard (U.S. 62). A very large selection of books on every subject, comparable to Border's -- you know the rest. The atmosphere is kind of spacious and agoraphobigenic however; I would not describe it as a cozy place.
Talking Leaves. This is a famous private "alternative" bookstore in the area, having rarer, less-commercialized books on subjects often not found available elsewhere. Come here for books that aren't easily found in mainstream stores, books on arcane subjects, intellectual books, books on gay and lesbian culture, etc. The store is popular among people in the academic community, particularly those in the arts & letters.
University Bookstore. This is the private bookstore on the campus of University at Buffalo, where books for nearly all of the school's courses can be found. However there is a very large selection of un-course-related books too, ranging from the literary and historical to the highly technical. 'Large magazine rack too, with particular emphasis among magazines oriented toward the college student market. 'A good place to go if you're looking for a very technical/scientific text you can't find elsewhere, and for modern and classical literary, historical, artistic, and other stuff. 'Prices are kind of steep though. The main store is at 200 Lee Entrance on the UB North Campus, and the satellite University Medical Bookstore in on Main St., across from UB South Campus, near East West Books.
East West Books. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this one. This is a specialty bookstore, of relatively small size, containing a vast array of books on spiritual and philosophical subjects; one might call it a "new age" bookstore. Many many references on all the eastern religious traditions, western spiritual/religious traditions, martial arts; all kinds of psychology and philosophy books; and a lot of little paraphernalia pertaining to all this stuff. It's on Main St. across from UB South Campus, at the corner of Callodine, I think.
Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries. It's been quite a long time since I've seriously made use of the public libraries around here, but they do exist and are available to citizens in the area. Erie County residents can check out material after they've applied for and been issued a public library card. The ones in the suburbs are relatively small compared to what I am used to, though the main branch in downtown Buffalo is said to be larger, though shamefully I have never even entered it.
University at Buffalo Libraries. The UB Libraries consist of at least 11 or so library branches scattered around the two campuses, with the largest of these being Lockwood Memorial Library. The next two (and most popular) libraries are the Undergraduate and Science & Engineering Libraries. All three of these can be found on the North Campus. Lockwood is an entire building in itself, five stories high with a basement, and the other two are in Samuel P. Capen Hall, taking up the first three floors of the building. There are also specialty libraries for Math, Chemistry, Music, Architecture, and probably for other subjects which have temporarily slipped from my mind at the moment. The total holdings of the UB Libaries is over one million volumes, not to mention large stores of multimedia stuff. The Libraries also have an extensive user-friendly online search database called BISON. Students, faculty, and staff who possess a SUNY Card can check out materials.
I shall include further information on Buffalo-area bookstores if and when I discover something new of notable interest.
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