Rochambeau Library

I love, love, love Rochambeau Library ! It’s my favorite Public Library in Providence, RI. The staff is super friendly and the area is cozy and easy to navigate. Good collection of New Books and DVDs plus Cds, large print books, audio books and PCs to use. A great area for Children in the second floor with many picture books, i-​books and more. Check out for special programs and presentations from time to time. The new space to read and used your laptop (with free Wi-​Fi) is wonderful, feels like a modern loft. I little advice to this location, please bring more French and Spanish fiction and non-​fiction books. Thanks !

Still a fantastic library with the friendliest and sharpest staff in the area! I love how organized, clean and well-​run this library is, and I love it even more now that I take my little one on Tuesday mornings for story time! It’s probably her favorite time of the week, and they do such a great job with it.
It’s super easy to get a card, and they’re still troopers about ordering you a book if they don’t have it. You can also check books out for your Kindle, which is awesome — the only weird part about that is they have to have the actual physical book on the shelf in order to do it, which I don’t get.
Be sure to park along Hope Street or just off is as there’s no designated parking. However, it’s in a lovely little neighborhood so a stroll will do you good!

The library itself is nice and my daughter has always enjoyed story hour. However, we were severely disappointed that we scheduled multiple events for our group to use the community room until 6:30pm. At our first group event, we were promptly kicked out at 5:45! No one would let us stay, even though they were able to see in the calendar that we reserved through 6:30. Bad coordinating, bad scheduling, and complete lack of accommodation by staff even though the error was on their end. The RUDE security guard watched us struggle with 20+ children to rearrange the tables and chairs and scramble out of there and never once offered to assist us, even though it was clear she wanted to leave as soon as she could. Totally unimpressed and I would not recommend coordinating any events with them. Too bad, since their community room is large and clean.

I go here ALL the time. I wish they had a bigger selection at this library but you can request any book and have it in a week’s time. You can request pretty much any book, movie, books on cd imaginable. I love taking out cookbooks from the library to check out and try a few recipes before I decide to buy it and add it to my collection. Staff are friendly. They have good hours and have community events going on all the time.

This library is ugly and cramped. The space on the Middle floor feels hectic and unwelcoming. There should be better displays of new books. The three floors give it a choppy feel. It lacks warmth and unity. Of all the branch libraries it is my least favorite, redo the space!
BW

Once upon a time there were these things called books. They were heavy and often bulky to carry, but felt wonderful in your hands and had a distinctive but faint paper smell. I love book… real books! Big fat juicy summer reading novels, but alas my itty bitty home can not accommodate all the books I love… thank god my library can!
I usually make a bimonthly pilgrimage to the Rochambeau Library (aka «my library»). It is super conveniently located on Hope St near all the great shopping and eating destinations, and walkable from most parts of the East Side. The on-​line reservation system has made a total junkie out of me… once I am almost done with one book, I can request the next at the PVD library website, it is delivered within a few days to «my library», and they send me a email reminder when it is time to pick it up! The only way they could make it easier is it they delivered the books directly to my home! Also, the staff there is always friendly and accomodating. It is a true East Side Neighborhood institution!

This is a great little neighborhood library. The building is beautiful, the staff are great and they really have everything you need (or they can get it for you). Despite its small size, Rochambeau has consistently had the 3^rd highest rate of circulation of library materials in the entire state of RI. It’s only beat by Cranston and Warwick, which are easily three-​to-​four times the size, with a lot more staff.
It’s a great location, and beloved by the neighborhood, as evidenced by how crazy busy it gets in there at times. I’ve gone to a few music performances in the basement that were standing room only. They’re open til 8:45 two nights a week and until 5:45 other nights, which is pretty impressive and convenient to people who have a 9 – 5 job. Most other libraries in the state are only open until 5pm.
I just can’t say enough good about this place. Plus, if they don’t have the book/​DVD/​CD/​magazine you’re looking for, you can ask a librarian to order it for you and usually have it in less than a week. It’s a tremendous resource for the community and it’s completely free! They even lend kindles loaded with best sellers so you don’t have to lug a bunch of hardcovers on vacation.
The library is where it’s at.

I’ve been a very bad immigrant to Rhode Island. I officially moved here in 2011 and I JUST got my library card yesterday! I can’t believe it took me two years to go into a Providence Library branch. That is just embarrassing. In my home town of Nashville, I was at the public library at least once a week! It’s a shame, really, how much money I’ve spent buying books I could have borrowed and how much time I spent doing other things than investing time in one of my favorite places to be.
That said, I visited the Rochambeau branch because it is closest to my house. The library was quaint and the staff were generous and helpful. The employee at the circulation desk set me up with a new library card in under two minutes. Afterward, I browsed all the sections, not really looking for anything in particular, just trying to get to know my way around. I just love libraries.
I ended up getting a book I’ve read before but enjoyed it so much I knew I should read it again, a newer book that was released last October, and an amazing book about the forgotten arts and crafts, such as rake making, horse shoe forging and basket weaving. I was surprised and happy to find the book that had been released last October because it has been on my to read list for a while. The arts and crafts book it just what I needed to fulfill the longing of creativity I’ve had for a while and the drawings and descriptions are amazing!
I am excited to next visit the downtown location as I am sure they will have a more contemporary art section and a larger selection of new books. I am also glad they have an online circulation so I can have books sent from other branches to the one closest to me.
Here is my civic duty for the day: If you haven’t been in your cities libraries, go. Love your libraries and the people in them. There is no place in the world like a good library.

I was expecting to love the Rochambeau branch of the Providence libraries based on what I’d heard, but I haven’t been impressed by it. Although it is nice inside, and the staff are friendly, the selection doesn’t seem as extensive as at some other branches. In addition, the hours are very strange — maybe I’m the only person in the world who prefers to go to the library on weekend mornings!
The biggest thing that keeps me away from this branch is the lack of designated parking. You have to park on Hope street (or nearby side streets), as there is no private lot. Mostly I end up parking on the northbound side of Hope, having to cross the busy street. No thanks!

What an amazing library for kids!
First of all, the kids’ library is on a separate floor from the rest of the library so the kiddos can play and be loud and it’s ok. They have a little train table to play with, plus a huge reading/​play area that is bordered by huge windows and a big old shelf of board books that my 18 month old couldn’t get enough of. There are a ton of bean bags and stuffed animals to play with and a long bench bordering the windows that is great for crawling and cruisers.
As a Californian in town for a long visit during a super chilly 2 weeks, thank you, Rochambeau Library! You saved me and my cooped up little hellion from a terrible doom!

I want to love the Rochambeau branch of Providence’s public libraries since it’s in my ‘hood, but the truth is, the selection here isn’t that great. I feel like all of the books that I go in looking for are already checked out or there’s a mile-​long wait list to get them from another branch. I know it’s not the library’s fault, but I just wish they carried more copies of the best-​sellers, especially during summer months when more people tend to be checking out books. I am fond of their children’s book section, and they always have some nice displays highlighting certain topics or authors, so that’s a plus.
All of the staff I’ve encountered has been more than helpful, and they always offer to search the other branches and have a book brought in for you. I guess I’m just impatient sometimes. And maybe I’m the only one, but I always feel somewhat accomplished if I can search the online catalog and locate a book on my own without any help from the staff (must be my Catholic-​school Dewey decimal training in effect)!

Rochambeau is definitely a lovely little library. It’s not the biggest since it’s only a branch but I think it’s a great size for the neighborhood. They have plenty of comfortable seating and lots of computers to browse the internet.
My personal favorite section of their library is their great selection of graphic novels and manga, set in their teen section. In comparison to many other town libraries, they have a substantial amount of complete series to browse from. I think this is great because its just so easy to eat through manga and graphic novels so borrowing books here is a better option than buying them at a bookstore. I’m really impressed.
This library is worth stopping by, and if you’re a (cheap) graphic novel/​manga dork like I am you might find some good things to read here!

For a branch library in a city Providence’s size, the Rochambeau Branch is great. The staff is helpful, and they have a good selection of magazines. (Goodbye New Yorker subscription and piles of clutter, helllooooo library!) Plus you can request books from anywhere in RI and have them sent to Rochambeau (or any public library for that matter).
My only complaint is the hours: I’d love to see Sunday hours!

I used to be anti-​library. I couldn’t get beyond the smell of musty used books and the stereotypical strange clientele, especially the people who hang out in libraries for hours at a time. But I’m over all that. The library rocks! I love it.
The key to maintaining a great relationship with the public library is to use their website and request books for pick up. Like netflicks! No more rummaging through shelves and stacks! Whenever I see/​hear about a book, I go on the library website and request it. They send an email when it’s in/​your turn, you pick it up from the check-​out desk, and that’s it. It’s fast and free — what more could you want?
As far as this particular library (Rochambeau branch) — no complaints. It seems clean, has computers that you can use, and friendly librarians. I had a funny conversation with someone about it recently since they kept referring to this branch as the nice, newly remodeled one and I didn’t think it was all that nice or new so assumed they had a different branch in mind. Turns out this is the new one, who knew.