Dove Library – Carlsbad City Library

We visited the library while waiting for an after school event nearby. We love coming here. It’s a two level building with plenty of tables to study. Some even have chargers for dying cell phones.
My main reason for doing this review is to give a shout out to the two ladies at the Reference Desk. They are the most helpful and gracious ladies. I’ve sat by their station and listened to them help a lost customer on the phone on how to download a book on their Kindle device. The call took almost ½ hour but the librarian was so patient. The patrons here are blessed to have them.

I like this library for the most part. It’s clean, I can usually find what I want, and I can efficiently check out my own books via the self checkout. I also really like the programs they hold in the theater and also the art gallery.
The 3 star rating is for the kids section. For kids 5 and under, there is a great selection of books. For kids 6 – 8, not so much. My 7 year old was trying to find some books to read and had a hard time. She loves reading but the selection is either an aisle of «oversized» story books or a couple of aisles of old (like 20 – 30 years old) novels she isn’t interested in. I wonder if they ever get any new books for kids this age?

Great library! They have such a large selection of books, and constantly get new books. I think that’s what I love most about this library: the amount of new books in excellent condition.
If you walk in and go to the left, you’ll find the section where they shelve the newest books.

Love this Library!
I appreciate that it is clean, everyone is friendly, the parking is wonderful, and the kids section is always organized. With little ones it is important to go to a place where we all feel comfortable and able to really enjoy what we go there for– BOOKS! I am not sure how they keep it looking like that but I am always a happy camper when I leave.
They have lots of activities, a café outside, and a store where you can buy discounted books.

The entire Dove Library is phenomenal, but this review is specifically about the children’s section of the library.
It’s very clean with a pleasant atmosphere, books are in good condition, and there are plenty of books for every age of childhood (from board books to adolescent reading and scholastic materials). There are scheduled story times for young kids divided into specific age groups that take place in a miniature amphitheater centrally located in the kids section, and there is a large outdoor area with a gazebo and a well manicured lawn right outside.
The entire children’s area is pretty separate from the adult portion, so if kids get noisy, it’s not a disruption to the rest of the library. My daughter gets just as much of a kick out of the library as she does the park, plus I get to be inside with the air conditioning, so I’ll vote library every time. (Sorry, Leslie Knope.) ;)

Best library around. Really nice, very clean and huge, they have everything there and if they don’t have it they can get it for you from another location. Check out their «friends of the library» book store on your way out. Grab some used books and magazines, most are $.25 and they often have very popular titles. Got «50 shades of gray» for a $ 1 (terrible book by the way, don’t pay more than a $ 1 for it).
Check it out.

All of my trips here have been to the children’s section so that’s all I can really review.
Perfect location for us since it’s right down the street from our kids’ school. Very easy to get to. Lots of parking, although the parking spaces are rather small, compact even. I drive a 4 door truck so I usually have to park far away where there are no other cars next me so I can actually get my car door open. I love the drive-​thru book drop. It’s very convenient for when you’re in a hurry. I also like the self check-​out a lot!
The librarians are very nice and helpful. It’s very clean and is usually quiet, usually. They have a large selection of children’s books. Needless to say, my kids love to load up on books during each visit, usually about a dozen! We’ve also rented a few movies here. I believe it’s only $ 1 per day per movie.
My only CON is the occasional loud kids. Parents please teach your children to be respectful of others around them. After all, you are in a library. People are reading and/​or doing homework. :)

This is a wonderful library with lots of great activities for kids as well as adults. Even my parents drive 30 minutes there to attend their events. Keep up the great work Dove!

What a wonderful big library. I love that they offer story time to babies!!! So much fun. Get there early cause they start on time and do not let anyone enter afterwards and only 12 children are allowed. Fun songs and finger plays on Wednesdays.

This is a coffee vendor review. I love the library and the librarians! I just had the worst experience with the coffee vendor. I asked for something strong did she have a suggestion. She told me to back up and read the menu. I asked for An Americano and told her what I wanted. She told me that had not described an Americano. I said I guess it depends on where you order, there seem to be s few definitions not set in stone. I laughed and said it made things so confusing. To my surprise she came back with the fact that she had memorized the menus at the top 5 vendors and that I was wrong. She then offered that I might want to get coffee at The Starbucks in Vons and backed away. Are you kidding? I definitely walked away. A couple of the librarians mentioned that I was not the first with a complaint about her. Why is she allowed to remain? What a black eye for the City!

Very nice librarians. We’ve been going here for years and have yet to come across a grumpy one.
This library has plenty of free parking available in their private lot right in front.
They have an expansive selection of books and dvds… free wifi and lots of computers you can use. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, they will cheerfully order it for you from another location. Just be sure to pick it up within a week or so or they will charge your library card $ 1.
They will also look up a book at Amazon for you if they can’t have it sent over from a neighboring location. They actually ordered (bought) a book for me to borrow when they didn’t have it in stock.
We always go here when my daughter’s school has a reading project going and the books have been checked out from her scholl library.
They have a «honor system» for paperbacks people have donated. You get to just take them home without checking them out and then return them when you can.
BONUS TIPS:
1) This library permits you to bring in food and drinks. There’s a handy snack and drink stand (privately owned) right outside the front door. You can eat food and have covered drinks anywhere in the library. They also have a pretty parklike courtyard right outside the childrens’ area.
2) Return all books before you enter the building. Do so either at their book drop off drive thru or via the drop box to the left of the entry doors.

99% of my experience involves the children’s library and story time, so that is all I can comment on about the library.
My kids love the Friday story time and puppet show! The interactive songs and great for them to get their wiggles out and my kids always love the puppet shows and meeting the puppets after. The staff does a great job with the show!
The mid-​week story time is alright. My kids are really active and it is more of a low key, mellow story time, compared to others we’ve been to. Hard for my kids to sit still and be engaged.

This is one of the best public libraries I have ever been to. I believe it is the biggest library in North County. There’s plenty of desks and tables unless the weather is above 80 degrees outside. I’ve been coming to this library for a while now and never had a problem with finding a desk to study at until this week. Because it was unusually hot, everyone and their grand parents decided to come to the library where the free a/​c was blasting. One day I came at 3 and ended up going back home because there were no seats. The next day I decided to come earlier so around 10am. Note that the library opens at 9am. There were only 2 desks available. After maybe 30 minutes the other seat was taken. Since it’s in the 70s today, I found an empty seat right away.
Some cons about this place would be:
— the wifi could be much better. the wifi connection is very unstable when connected with my phone. and with a laptop it’s better but since it is free and the library is so big the wifi lacks in strength.
— wish there were more comfortable chairs for those who plan on staying for a while.

Excellent we went to see, and hear, a #Mozartquintet. Very nice

A favorite place of mine to hang out and just browse the shelves… It’s quiet, got a good selection of books (I usually just put a hold on the ones I want and come pick it up), and staff is friendly.
It looks like they also recently updated their catalog search online, and it is a million times better than before!
They have a GREAT «Friends of the Library» bookstore, with great prices for their books. This is where I stock up on magazines to read, and cookbooks (many of them pretty much new) and the occasional beach-​read.
I have not been in their art gallery yet, but nice to know that it’s there for me.
Also — they have a pretty good coffee cart in front of the library. It’s a tad pricier than other places, but the coffee is good and they have a small selection of healthy and not-​so-​healthy snacks.

Nerd alert!
I love libraries. My first job ever (after I stopped running my baby-​sitting agency and delivering newspapers) was at a library. I prefer to spend my summer days inside libraries reading (and nights at clubs and beaches). While I have a decent collection of books at home, I don’t have tons of money or space for books so the library is really fantastic for me.
I was incredibly happy to discover this location right by my box post office. It’s large, has a great computer station and is clean and quiet. The staff is overly helpful. When asking questions, they don’t just verbally answer but the actually get up and show you before you can say you don’t need them to do that. I love places with staff that love (or act like they love) their jobs.
Outside during the afternoons is a cute café vendor. I haven’t eaten there yet but plan to do a lunch there one day. Also by the entrance in another door leading to an art exhibit. I don’t think this is a permanent thing, but I will be interested to see how often they have exhibits here.
The hours are great. Open until 9pm on the weeknights (except Fri) works out great.

For a quiet place to study, this library is perfect.
With the exception of Sunday, the hours of operation for this library are great. The place is quiet, fairly spacious and has single chairs, study tables with power outlets and access to free Wi-​Fi provided by the City of Carlsbad.
I didn’t really peruse their collection of books since I just needed a table with power and access to Wi-​Fi to do some studying/​homework, however it looked fairly extensive and everything was clean and organized.
If you are showing up just to study and not use any of the services or check out books, then you don’t need to have a Library card (at least I didn’t) there’s no need to check in or anything like that just grab a table and go at it.
The overall feel of this place is extremely comfortable, the Wi-​Fi worked well for me, tables with power for your Notebooks and/​or other mobile devices are a great convenience. I didn’t interact with the staff at all but watching them interact with others gave me the impression that they are pretty solid.
I’m glad I stumbled upon this place since I now have a place to do homework and study when up in NCSD. It’s a hidden gem and a valuable one at that.
This place definitely works for me.

I usually do not come to this library because the Cole library is closer to my house, but I was on my way home from work and decided to stop here to work on a project. I cannot speak to the book selection, but I can speak for a few other things.
1) In frequenting the Encinitas Library, I became attached to the little coffee cart outside. While, I know it is not the purpose of a library, I found it nice to have the a snack/​coffee break option available. Thus, I was pleased to find that the Dove library had a coffee cart as well. Their options were limited, but they made modifications to drinks upon request. I asked for a Coconut Italian Soda with 2 adjustments: only 1 pump of syrup and use of soy milk instead of regular milk. The barista made it perfectly with a smile! I now crave that beverage
2) I came here to get a project done at 4:00 PM. While I did not find a table all to myself, I found one to share with another person. Tables were still big enough to spread my stuff out and not feel squished. I also had access to a plug for my computer. Each table had outlets linked to the actual table. It was also a very quiet environment to get work done.
3) Earlier this year, I went on a mission to find some BOB books for beginner readers. While this library did not have them, the librarian helped me access the Encinitas Library, which did.
4) This library is extremely clean and well kept.
5) This library combined with the Cole Library have some great children’s activities.
Moral of the story: Great service at coffee cart, quiet and spacious areas to get work done, friendly and helpful staff

Took my son to the Story Theater for the first time the other day. Volunteers/​Staff were very organized and great. Everyone lined up and was given a laminated animal. All of the children seemed to enjoy the puppet show and songs. My son is only 7 months, but he loved watching all of the kids sing and dance. No strollers were allowed inside, which is understandable. It is not a large space.
We went in and took a look at the children’s section, which was very large. I wish the back courtyard was open, but it was closed this day. I will be bringing my 3 year old back!

I’m a huge fan of the Dove library. They have a good selection for a local library. They have self-​checkouts, and are good about getting books in that you’re looking for or would like to see them have in their collection. You can manage your account online, and take care of all of your library needs.
They also have local events here, and the location is beautiful. It’s the better of the two locations, in my opinion, but that’s mostly because of how open and beautiful it is, and they’ll have a book from the other location there waiting for you if you ask. It’s as convenient as you could hope for nowadays.