We ran our Chicago office from the Oak Park Public Library for something like 5-6 months. There was a credible coffee shop on the first floor, and the library allowed drinks. Free wi-fi. Desks. For meetings, we could book private study rooms for 1-2 hours on almost no notice.
The only real downside to the library was that you couldn't get on the phone during the day without going outside.
The nicest thing about the library is that it works well exactly up to the point where you need and can afford an office.
Unlike the coffee shops, which mostly lose out by being packed full of people who buy one cup of coffee per hour, the library basically exists for the purpose of providing a quiet space for knowledge work. You fund it with your taxes. Library architecture in most metro areas is excellent. You should work out of the library.
Innovative advice; do you know how the library staff felt about it? Did they know?
Also, I read your last sentence as "You should work out in the library," and imagined laying down under a cart full of large hardcover volumes, trying to grunt very quietly while pressing it. Just sayin'.
While I'm not claiming to speak for all library employees, I worked for a public library for about six years* , including some time when wireless internet access was relatively novel. Someone camping out with a laptop wasn't a problem, even all day, provided they weren't being noisy (cell phones!), downloading porn, or otherwise being a nuisance. Actually, people who bring their own computers are probably a lot less trouble for staff, who may be busy keeping of track of whose turn it is next on the public computers, helping adults figure out how to file taxes online, etc.
The staff (and/or branch policy) ultimately decide what to do if a group of people is obviously using the library as a kind of temporary office, and they may request you make more formal arrangements. (The branches I worked at always had back rooms that could be rented out to tutors.) With several people, noise may be an issue. Still, one person typing, or two or three people working with occasional quiet collaboration is probably on par with a couple teenagers studying together. Just be considerate.
Libraries are paid for with tax dollars, and (as tptacek noted) staff are generally more nervous about empty libraries. Branch funding is often closely tied to usage stats - people coming through the door each day, circulation, internet station sessions, etc.
Also, depending on the neighborhood, the staff are probably more worried about drunk and/or mentally ill street people, misbehaving teenagers, etc. (Oh, the stories...)
The library staff definitely knew about it. I felt bad originally for booking private study rooms for work, and not "private study"; I was vigorously assured that I shouldn't feel guilty for doing so.
Two things to realize:
(1) The library staff is a lot more nervous about the library being empty than they are about it being full. Something about busy libraries being the reason they get paid.
(2) If libraries have headache clientele, it's the homeless. I had no idea what a mess that situation was until I started going to the library every day.
The library staff is a lot more nervous about the library being empty than they are about it being full.
This I can attest to.
At our local public library there's a lady who is constantly picking up and re-shelving kids books only to have some kids take a bunch out and toss most of them on the table or the floor.
When I asked her if she wasn't frustrated, she said counter-intuitively that she's actually happy to come in to the section and find a ton of books to re-shelve.
The big problem with working in a library is theft. You always have to carry your valuables around. If you want to take a wiz you have to pack your laptop, coat (in winter), cell phone, etc. each time.
But if you're in a group or rent a lockable study room, it's less complicated.
Library is usually much bigger, the trip to take a leak longer and more time-consuming, and the presence of other people much less physically dense. With a coffee shop there's a very, very narrow window of time in which someone can take your stuff, and it would be in full view of a much higher number of people per square meter than would be the case in a library. In many coffee shops, much of the customer floor space is within the field of vision of staff.
Oh, yeah, and fewer exits. The coffee shops I go to all have one exit, so if I want to go outside and grab a phone call, I just keep an eye on the exit. There's no other way anybody's leaving with my stuff.
So, while probability of theft may be higher in a coffee shop, it's rather harder to pull off, logistically.
I can't help imagining someone watching when you're off to take a leak, then walks to your stuff, packs it up and walks out. half a minute is probably enough to grab the most valuable item in sight.
Are you still in Chicago, Thomas? I have a house in Oak Park (and go to OPPL about once a week when I'm in the city.)
Didn't the fluorescent lighting (weird, flowery lighting fixtures) and homeless guys bother you? Or the kids that fight/argue and get kicked out by the security guards?
I definitely work better in the library than in coffee shops, but I'm too spoiled to do it full-time now. My concentration isn't what it used to be.
The only real downside to the library was that you couldn't get on the phone during the day without going outside.
The nicest thing about the library is that it works well exactly up to the point where you need and can afford an office.
Unlike the coffee shops, which mostly lose out by being packed full of people who buy one cup of coffee per hour, the library basically exists for the purpose of providing a quiet space for knowledge work. You fund it with your taxes. Library architecture in most metro areas is excellent. You should work out of the library.