Centerville Library

What would it take to increase the library hours here? Is it a budget thing? Driving to Fremont main is not easy for everyone, especially seniors and children.

This library is amazingly small. I personally think it’s an abuse of tax payers dollars to keep such a small library open. I think a regular size library could take every book from this library and and you would not even notice the library got more books. The best thing about this library is the courteous and friendly staff. Oh wait theyre not at all. Oh wow now I really have nothing good to say.

The only downside to my last review was the lack of wifi access and they now have it! Now if they just opened the library a bit longer on Tuesday/​Thursday or open on Saturday again and I will be extremely happy.

I love this library! They have the best programs for children and families in the area like Harry Potter, Water Day, Jeopardy Game, Narnia canival, Kids Camp, Kids Auction… Everytime we go there, we see some friends there. It’s a place to catch your friends besides check out books and dvds. The only thing is that it gets a bit noisy because there are too many people there. But ok with me since a library is not a study place, especially for a small neighborhood library like this.

I love going to the Centerville Library with the kids. It’s within walking distance from the house, the new playground is awesome, and while the selection of books isn’t super huge, we can request anything and it shows up on the hold shelf for us pretty quickly! While it is only open 2 days a week, those two days are great — there are a lot of programs for the kids including story times, special event programs (magicians, puppeteers, music, etc), and homework help. The special events are a lot of fun — they usually aren’t as crowded as going to the Fremont Main, and often they have them outdoors which the kids love.

Regarding SR’s negative review, Fremont is not a «small» city that needs only one library. Fremont has 210,000 residents. San Francisco, where SR lives, has 28 branches for 805,000 people, so presumably he thinks that at least 24 of them should be closed!
It’s true that the Centerville branch is fairly small and is only open two days a week, but it is extremely popular on those days, as it gets a HUGE amount of use by the kids (and their parents) in the area. And while the focus is on children, the adult sections are actually quite good, and the Alameda County Library system is very efficient at transferring books and media from other locations as needed. Computers are also available for public use. Closing this branch and making people drive another 15 minutes (30 minutes round trip) to the Main Library would be foolish in the extreme. Community libraries are vital for a healthy democracy — there should be more libraries, not fewer.
Great staff, great library, convenient location.

i dont see the purpose of having this library at all. its tiny. the collection could literally be somebody’s private collection. there is no space to study. they are only open tues and thurs. half the library is taken up by the children’s section. i suppose that is a plus for families. and at least service was friendly. the money really should be spent on having longer hours or better services at the fremont main library. its only a 10 minute drive away. that is hardly inconvenient. a city as small as fremont has no need for more than one library.

yay! i used to come here all the time and borrow books. i guess it paid off because i now have a BA in English. I got my first library card on a preschool field trip and I never turned back! the décor is way outdated, but i don’t mind because it reminds me of when I used to think this library was huge. the librarians are always nice, though i’ve seen many come and go. even though the main library has a better selection, this location has a special place in my heart.

I’ve been going to the Centerville Library branch for years now since it’s close to my house. It’s behind the Albertson’s in the Brookvale Shopping Center.
It’s pretty small and I bet all the librarians and clerks know me by sight.
They have shortened hours because the City of Fremont loves to cut library hours first in a budget crunch.
Nowadays you can get all your CDs, books, DVDs put on hold from their website and they’ll call you when it’s ready to be picked up. Love this service. Plus, they have a machine that you can check out your stuff without talking to anyone, and it prints out your receipt.
Their hrs: Tues 1−8pm; Thurs 11am-​6pm. That’s it!
Bathrooms: one women and one men. One stall in women’s w/​a sink.
website: