Almaden Branch Library

Great place to study with multiple places to study according to your needs. There is a room that you can rent for study groups, a room designated for teens, a quiet area, and staggered desks scattered throughout the library. In the entrance you will find a café that has coffee and snacks (I haven’t tried it yet). There is a self-​checkout for books and two information booths for your questions. Adjacent to the library there is a community room and fitness center. Bathrooms are located in the foyer. Kids area is great as they have different events that occur. Lots of summer programs at the fitness center and the library.
I studied for three hours and I can see myself here again for putting in a couple hours of studying!

The library seems all-​right, but some of the staff seem to make inappropriate/​rude decisions on getting people to leave the library. Before the library closes, some of the staff have decided that flickering the lights is a good approach to getting people to leave. Not only is this childish, but this may even cause seizures among certain people. It is the job of the staff to go around and ensure that no one is in the library; rather than doing so, they feel flickering the lights near the front is an appropriate/​lazy alternative. Flickering lights may be a decision some teachers make at an elementary school, but how about treating people in the library with a-​little more respect.

As a student and young adult, there are a few attractive points about Almaden Library… but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite library in the Bay.
I love the complimentary STRONG and free wifi. This is a great place for me to use the internet while getting my work done. There is also a gymnasium attached to the library that altogether make up the Community Center. I think that’s pretty cool… and there’s a little café as well. It’s a great place for community members to meet or kids to come after school. The restrooms are clean and spacious.
However, I didn’t like that there weren’t many tables/​individual spots for studying and keeping all of my textbooks. I only found a table after walking all the way down the library to the magazine/​newspaper room – and that’s where there’s less air flow (smelled like dusty attic) and snoring people… not my cup of tea.
But all in all, it seems like a great library for young kids (children’s section is beautiful!) or just people who are looking to catch up and do some light reading. Not really a convenient place for hardcore studying.

First time visiting a SJ library today and I had to get a library card. The librarian was extremely helpful and patient (there was some discrepancy with my online application). Everything worked out in the end. The books are well organized and this library branch is not crowded at all, which makes for an enjoyable experience. I’m looking forward to returning to borrow more books. I’m a little disappointed about the business hours. This place would have been nice to study at when my classes begin in the fall but sadly it closes early.

How can you not love your local library. The facilities here are updated and modern. They have a community recreation center that I haven’t had a chance to experience yet.
The library has a great selection of books, magazines and dvds. This a great place to while away a few hours with the kids.

Everything is great, except the open hours. Come on, this is the only library which is closed 3 days a week and open only 8 – 9 hours per day!!! OPEN LONGER AND EVERYDAY PLEASE!!! The parking is just ok. Oh, don’t forget to bring your own coffee! I regret buying a coffee there. It was so bad, I left it on the table after one zip. Blehhhh…

Veryyyy nice indeed. This place still male kind of new. Like the selection of movies. Nice and quite. It’s even open until 6pm on Saturday.
Damn Unilocal.It’s wanting to write more that I want. Two or three sentences should be good enough.

The facility is new and modern and incorporates a community center as well with weekly activities and events. They have a great selection of movies, books on tape and of course traditional books. There is also a computer lab. You check yourself out at a string of kiosks and book return is outside and automated, scanning your returned items as they slide along a conveyor belt to be re-​stacked. The staff is friendly and helpful and made it easy to get a library card and become familiar with the library.

Just recently discovered this place while i was on a walk with my son. They have lots of great activities for kids and adults. The library portion is super nice and organized. I think this is going to become one of my toddlers new favorite places.

Wow what the heck, nice public libraries exist? Almaden library is clean, modern and has a diverse array of materials. I haven’t been to my own local library in years but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have movie dvds, manga, or self checkout counters. I’d give this place 5 stars except for the fact that it’s only open 4 days a week and open later than 6 only on 1 day.

Love coming here because its close to work and it’s a great place to study. I come in the afternoon usually, try to make it before the rush. The library is within a the almaden community center so that’s why it can get packed and noisy. Afternoon weekdays are crazy because there are tons of people and parking can be a hassle. If you don’t like the noise of children running around and screaming then don’t come during after school hours haha.
Other than that, the facility and building is really nice. Farley «new» hasn’t been around too long. The library is actually located within the Almaden Community Center. Has many different rooms and activities for children and the elderly. Which reminds me, beware of horrible parking, older people and parking… well most people know how that is haha. I do love what they do for the community though and they always have things going on to keep your family busy.
But since this is a review of the library and not the whole center, I really like it. Aside from the children running around sometimes, if i come at a good time, usually before school is out, then it is fairly quiet. The noise doesn’t bug me too much though. But if it does, there is a room in the back corner of the library that is closed for no noise. Plenty of tables to work at with outlets in all of them which is super convenient. Free wifi too! And if you get a library card here you can use it at all libraries in San Jose I believe.

All I can say for this library is: WOW, really? a public library with a complete dvd rentals stack, with gyms inside it? The only thing this place needs is an indoor swimming pool and you will have a YMCA. LOL. no joke. You will find varieties of program here, from senior citizen program to baby lapsit time, teen program, and etc, I mean. this place is awesome for a public library. I’ve never seen a public library this clean, this big, anything a person needs for a public library. At least I can see where my tax $$ goes. HA!

Almaden Library and Community Center is an Excellent facility serving South San Jose. It is located on Camden Ave., just west of Almaden Expy. It was the first building in San Jose to function as both a Library and a Community Center. It is a beautifully designed building and I am proud to say that I played a role in helping to build this magnificent facility.
Refer to an aerial picture we took of this project shortly after construction at:
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For more information about this Library go to:
For more information about the Community Center go to:
Also, check out «Friends of the Almaden Library» (FAL) at:
SAN JOSE JUST HAS SOME OF THE BEST LIBRARIES AROUND!
Thank you dot-​com tax money! :)

The Almaden community center and library is nice, open, and airy. Parking is sometimes a little difficult if you want to find out near the entrance but if you drive around or wait, usually a space opens up.
Staff is very helpful, while the libray is not the largest, they have a good selection and you can resrve books online. The library will then call you once the books are in and reserved an you can go pick themup

I think this library is outstanding…

Happened to just walk into this library the other day as I was in the area. Was amazed to see the expansive collection of children’s’ books. In fact the kiddie space is really large, and well designed to hold even an adult’s interest.
What a pleasant change from the overcrowded Sunnyvale/​Santa Clara libraries that I usually go to! The collection is also well catalogued.
Neat ambience throughout –no loose books/​toys lying around.
My son and I spent an entire wholesome hour here reading his favourite books.
The only downside to the visit was when we had to leave, my little one bawled his eyes out when I told him that we could not check any books out because we weren’t members, since we don’t live in the Almaden area.
Any library that can evoke that kind of reaction in a young child has got to be doing it’s job right!!!

This is the closest library to me and surprisingly I am not surprised if and when it is closed. One I donate new books why don’t they put those new books on the shelf?
Next, I accidently put a Santa Clara County library book here and when I went to ask for it back I was told the longest story ever of why I can not get it back that I actually lost two years of my life.
Finally, the magazine rack and newspaper … it is not hard to actually organize this is it? Maybe I need to volunteer here but I have too much of a cheerful attitude to be here for more than a few hours once a week… okay one hour.
I adore the childrens story time and think that this library if a little better management was done would be really successful instead its the Community Center that is successful.

My children and I are really enjoying this library. As my eldest is now an avid reader this is really a life-​saver. Until now I’d been buying all his books. We went armed with a book list from his teacher, and tend to find every third book on the list there, and have been able to request nearly all of the others.
On our first trip there was a man making balloon animals and a juggler. I had to pre-​emptively explain the library won’t ALWAYS be like that, haha, but it was a nice start.
The building is nice and new looking. We have yet to find the ‘café,’ open but by the looks of the cups of Jello in the case, I am going to guess they may not have what we’re looking for as a healthy child snack anyway.
The minus one star is for the preschooler-​height computers in the children’s section. REALLY? This is a library, for books. I get that libraries have now extended into loaning movies, fine, they are off to the side. But why do you need little noisey computers for small children in there? It’s distracting when I am reading with my children and just something I have to tell them ‘no,’ to. We come to the library to enjoy books and encourage reading, not more screen time. I wish your computers would be in a separate location for those who wish to use them, and not right there in the middle.

It’s really a library to put other libraries to shame. It’s brand new, clean and full of new-​looking books, dvd’s and other items. It’s part of a community center so there are lots of other people milling about. There’s also a café to buy snacks. I liked how you could scan your own books to check them out, a cue from the grocery store that really works here. Plus they have free wi-​fi, something I will be taking advantage of again and again.

This is a wonderful Library here in Almaden. It’s easy to find, has a cute park right next to it and plenty of parking. I came in one afternoon just to browse and found it really cute. From their room to use computers, to the books, CDs, DVDs to check out it is great and free! Everything is really clean, organized and new.
Also, there is a small café to buy everything from coffee to sandwiches — so that was nice.
It lost one star from me since it didn’t have a great history selection, I love history. ..