El Cerrito Library

I started going to this library because I ran up $ 50 in fines at the Berkeley one and would rather drive to El Cerrito for my books than pay it! As others have noted, the building itself is very small and dated, and the selection of new books is quite limited. You can request books from other branches, but the whole system seems to be poorly stocked so wait times can be long. That said, their children’s and YA section is very serviceable and appears to be updated frequently. (I work as a private middle-​school tutor so I’m in this section a lot.) I like their policy of low fines for children’s books — I think it’s something like 10 cents per day.
They have an after-​school tutoring program here and I offered to do some of my work pro bono (I think it’s depressing how wealthy students have such better access to good tutoring than poor ones) and they told me I couldn’t because I’m over 18, and adults aren’t allowed to volunteer for their tutoring program because they ‘might be predators.’ TOTALLY ridiculous, although I understand that’s probably a mandate that was decided by a nervous lawyer for the city, not these particular librarians.

I love this library. Despite its small size, my daughter always finds something excellent to check out. It’s very welcoming for young kids with a nice assortment of toys and magnets to play with. This is a regular weekly visit for us and always great! Great staff and some really fun programs. And don’t miss the book sales (twice a year or so) — such good finds for really low prices!

I can’t give any public function that provides so much information, education, and entertainment to so many people less than 3 stars, but…
Please, people of El Cerrito. Rise up and pass a bond measure or something to renovate/​blow up this 1950s holdover of a building! Look at Lafayette’s new library in the CCC system. Look at the environmentally-​minded new libraries of Berkeley. Look at the Albany library/​community center.
This…Building…Is…Embarrassing.
El Cerritans have got that fancy newfangled recycling center. We’ve got the relatively new civic offices and public safety center. The EC Plaza has reinvented itself. Del Norte is hopping as a transit hub. Let’s parlay that hometown pride to a library and community center that we can be proud of!

Despite the building looks like it is going to collapse at any moment, it feels OK in there. I’d just stay away from the section by the restroom. It smells like they have had major sewage problems.
Oh and if you are going for books, think again. Their selection is seriously anorexic.

The good and then bad come here to meet.
The staff is friendly and do their best to be helpful. I try my best to be a good patron and return books on time, pay my fines and generally be polite to the people around me while there. I love the CC library system and that they offer Link+. I love Link+. And their online downloadable library selection is improving as well. The Discover and Go program is great!
The library needs work though. Not just the building but the collections offered as well, but with a lack of funding, what’s a library to do? I am doing my best to help out. I know certain books are harder to get because people often steal them so I try to buy replacement books and dvds when I can and hope others do as well. After all, what will we do when the Libraries are gone?
I have had one not super great interaction with a librarian who looked over the brand new book I was donating to the library with a sneer and said, «We’ll see if it meets the standards of the library.» WTF? Libraries are for books, all books, even the crappy ones. It’s a public library and should not be held to the whims of citizen groups. It should be free, open to the public and funded publicly and no donated book should ever be greeted with a snotty sneer. But I haven’t seen that librarian since. Maybe she got a new job where snotty sneers are appreciated.

Came by to reserve A Tiger in the Kitchen… my oh my… grateful that this branch exists so that I needn’t cross the Caldecott and go all the way to Lafayette to tap into its plethora of resources and materials, I oft-​times just LINK+ it or reserve intrasystem to «get it over the hill».
But the dismal conditions here. sooo dated that I’d guess this one is even more in need of overhaul and $$$$ than even the El Portal branch! It’s a tad depressing for me to be inside.
However, a library is a library. If one is patronizing for the ultimate reason for coming, then it shall do. Resting within the walls are indeed books… new and old. The intricate linking system of LINK+ and using Overdrive allows reading at one’s fingertips.
hey, it’s your own hard-​earned tax dollars… back at work!
PS 10 am next Sat, Apr28, spring book sale

i’ve been going to this library since i was a baby. i love how its cute and small and the staff is super friendly. i adore this place!

All public libraries deserve 5 stars. They give you books for free! Yes, the building is unlovely and the contents of the stacks on any given day can be a tad uninspiring. The staff at EC is really nice and helpful though. Because so many people put the books they want on hold you are unlikely to just stumble across a new release sitting around in the stacks. This is particularly true for anything that received a positive review.
The way to work it is to figure out what you want to read, then place the books on hold. When available, they will make their way to your local branch. The whole transaction (other than picking up and dropping off books) can take place electronically. The library system as a whole gets multiple copies of a vast number of books– you just have to be organized in how you go about accessing them.

Pain. I give my local library a simple three stars. Sigh…
but Kathyrn Page’s assessment of the EC library’s needs (circa 2005???) has never been followed. The city of El Cerrito seems to have other things on its plate rather than updating the building.
(Staffing comes from the county, buildings come from the city in CCC)
It needs a better signage system. Visible across the room so that if you *can* squeeze around the kids, laptops, and walkers you can get to the right Dewey number.
.
And its simply too old, too crowded and too well-​worn to warrant more stars.
So…
Let’s talk about what the library *has*
1) Terrific staff… who will check out books to you without your card, if you can show an id like a driver’s license.
2) An active «Friends of the Library «group, who even collect «tiny tickets» that you can’t spend on BART so that they can buy *you* more books.
3) Book returns for *any* of Contra Costa County’s libraries… if you check it out in Walnut Creek you can return it in El Cerrito.
4) Close proximity to the senior center and an elementary school. «Cradle to Grave» one stop service nice for the many locals… people like me who have used it for their entire lives.
5) A self-​serve reserve shelf. If you «grab» a book online, you’ll find it waiting for you on the shelf at EC… often the next day.
6) The ability to have a card if you live anywhere in California. I mean ANYWHERE in California. Its a rare library perk… but our state has it so take advantage of your right to freely read.
So…for those who want to reach for those two additional stars…
1) Read and use the aforementioned library study… Ms. Page does thorough assessments… so listen to her.
2) Bug the city to prioritize a building upgrade… now.
3) Join Friends of the EC Library and donate your gently used books.
To paraphrase that old Camelot tune (which…just may be in a cheat-​sheet in the library’s non-​fiction area…
«The way to handle a Library is to Love It, Simply Love It, Merely Love It, Love It, Love It…»

This library is little and outdated but it is just fine if you are searching for a classic to read. So far I have caught up and some of the «oldies but goodies» I should have read before… Shiloh, Of Mice and Men, 100 years of Solitude, etc…
They have a collection of spanish books too.
The floor is creaky.

I am really down with places you walk into and find little people singing, at the top of their lungs, «If you are happy and you know it stomp your feet…» I found myself singing along in the travel section! Yes, out loud.
Thankfully for those seeking the respite of a library this fantastic happy fest only seems to happen once a week at story time. But, I am tempted to visit next Thursday!
This was my first visit to any branch of the CoCo County system. I was impressed. It is smaller and more simple than say the old beauties and modern dreams at Cal/​USF/​SF, but it has an excellent colllection of local history, Chinese and Japanese history in California as well as all the Nero Wolfe DVDs. (Sorry, I have to enjoy a man, even if fictional, that readily admits the all-​too-​common fear of smart women: «A woman that is not a fool is dangerous!»)
The staff was really helpful from the beautifully kind woman that signed me up for my card, even though I am from Berkeley, to the closing staffer with really good end-​of-​day boundaries — I knew she wastn’t going to check my books out if it was one minute after!
After I went home I was also able to monitor my account online and order an entire pile of California Women histories from all around — I’m on a kick.
That you EC library — you are definitely a wonderful gateway into the CoCo County library system.

I spent the majority of my younger years as a complete and utter library nerd. Every week my mother, younger brother and I would go to the main library in Pleasant Hill and check out massive amounts of books. I’m a voracious reader and my intellect was stimulated to out of this world proportions because of the amount of time spent in the library. Just sayin’. I’z kinda smart-​like.
Years passed and I discovered less geeky pursuits and never set foot in libraries unless they were on the various college campuses I attended. Then I moved to El Cerrito.
My close proximity to this library has caused me to rediscover my geeky roots and I spend about 3 days per week here. Not kidding. I avail myself of every service possible. I reserve books I want online (genius!), I use their free wifi (why buy my own?) and I check out VHS and DVD’s of my favorite films and miniseries (FU Netflix!). I also have found a great place to donate. All those books I could never get rid of to used book stores automatically go here now. It makes me feel good to know that I can give back to a system that has brought me so much joy. Maybe this library IS a little small and isn’t open that late at night (except Monday and Tuesdays when they are open til 8pm) but they try hard and I’ve never had a bad experience.
I heart them from the bottom of my geeky little aorta.

As much as I support my local businesses and community, I also like to venture out to see what others have to offer. Since I was on my way to Kaady’s anyway, I decided to check out this library. I’m probably spoiled by the splendor of the new Hercules library. It’s not fair to compare so I won’t.
I liked the fact that the paperback romance books were separated from the hardback books. Not all Contra Costa libraries do that. Hardbacks are nice… but they are also heavy. This library also had a nice stock of hardcover fiction books.
What I didn’t like too much was the parking situation. But maybe that is my fault for going around 11:30 am on a Saturday morning. They have one self-​checkout station but the counter was covered with display books… so unless you are checking out one book and already have card in hand, it would be a bit challenging to use.

I grew up with this library, mostly because we lived (and so did the grandparents) on Liberty St around the corner. We would walk down the dirt hill, through the playground and to the library. This is probably the reason I blow my budget on books almost every month. I was a fan of story time. (I used to go home and read to my dolls and stuffed animals. Reading upside down was a big skill!) When we moved, oh, so sad. I couldn’t just walk to the library any more.
I love that it’s part of a bigger system so there’s more than you can physically see to be gained. I love the fireplace area to sit and ponder. I love the little used book rack.
One star off for the administration that is taking forever to replace the building with the musty basement storage.

I think this library deserves 5 stars. It may be little, but it is connected to the Contra Costa Library system, so when a book isn’t in this library, I’ve had a copy from another library sent over, and in some instances it takes only two days. This has saved me numerous times from impulse buying down at the Barnes and Noble at the EC Plaza.
Also, this is a very kid friendly library. There is story time twice a week. It has a large selection of kids books for all ages from baby board books to teen novels.
They are well integrated into the community around them, showing local artists on their walls, hosting speakers, and serving as a resource for local happenings. It’s a great library.

This was the first library I took refuge in last year when the workers had turned off the electricity to rewire circuits at home. Architecturally it’s not special. It’s 50s/​60s unspectacular and there are plans and intentions to replace it. But it has books and computers and comfortable chairs and nice people work there and the rack of books for sale has better books than the one in Albany does. As w/​most of the libraries its hours are limited.

This library is pretty close to me so that automatically gives it one star. It gets another star for having a semi decent selection of trashy/​cheesy romance novels (a weakness!).
As far as public libraries go, it’s not great but it’s not horrible. It’s one of the smaller libraries in the East Bay (not as small as Kensington!), and doesn’t have the largest or most up-​to-​date selections for nonfiction books. There are DVDs for loan, as well as audio books, which shows it’s at least attempting to attract a younger and more diverse crowd in terms of technology and variety. And they actually have whole seasons of popular TV series on DVD to rent, which is a pretty good deal considering you can watch them at leisure and not shell out a crapload of money.
The librarians are über friendly and willing to chat for a bit. There is plenty of seating, both tables, benches and more comfortable chairs, and there’s actually a little meeting room in the back corner. I think this is where they hold book club discussions etc., but it’s also a nice little area to relax and people rarely hang out back there.
It gets the final star because even though it’s not huge, or current in terms of book selection, it does have that homey feel of a neighborhood library you went to as a little kid for story time.