Northside Library in North San Jose is a very well-used, decent, and modern community library. I haven't been there in a while until few days ago when I had a whole bunch of expired, used household lithium batteries I had to get rid of. This library has a convenient drop-off point for expired household batteries, so I went there to throw it all away (~25 batteries!). It's located where the copy machine is. The library is tucked away in the back of Rivermark Plaza..... close to Safeway. The library has a dedicated parking lot that's on the smaller side and tends to fill up quickly because of the adjacent park and businesses nearby. read more

Northside Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I am a book lover and i love the idea of free clean books shared by the community. I have been coming here for almost a decade now and i am still not bored of it :) It has its own parking lot in rivermark plaza and has a gorgeous park adjoining it with kiddie swings/ slides and a decent pathway to take a stroll. It has friendly staff, weekly activities, print and copy area and self check out options. Its open 6 days a week with longer evening hours (till 7 pm) on tue and thu and shorter on sat (till 4 pm) read more

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What a beautiful library!! So modern, clean, and sleek. Seems like a great place to study. They also had a pretty large kids book selection, but it seemed a little too quiet for kids to actually play. But if you have a very calm child you can def spend hours here reading! read more

Comfortable library, a bit on the smaller side. I like the location because it is in the rivermark plaza and there are nearby places to eat and shop at. Keep in mind it's really busy after school hours, so it'll be a bit harder to find a seat if you just want to hang out here. read more

Not really an ideal place for studying, especially if you are looking for a quiet and peaceful environment. I went in the morning, and there were a lot of kids running, screaming, and crying everywhere. Even with headphones, I could not concentrate. Only 4 study rooms to reserve in advance if you want a quiet area. Great library for children, but not for high school/college students. read more

Northside is part of the Santa Clara City Library system. They have a great selection of books in English for kids and adults. The kids section is great and has several reading spaces. The books have been curated well for all levels of young readers. Note that you can return your books here from other county libraries! Don't miss this place! read more

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the staffs always. been helpful and friendly. they have meeting room which you can reserve. one of the newer library in the santa clara city. check out the event calender read more

Little library. Lotsa love. This library has lol kinds of ambience. From its architecture to inviting entrance esplanade. Lovely garden is inviting. The location is unique. It is right next to a shopping area with cafes, restaurants and a grocery store. The fact that it is in the middle of a satellite shopping area makes a a community magnet. I'm a big fan of libraries and their mission of a free and under appreciated resource of free knowledge. read more

Located on the side of rivermark plaza, this is a nice library with children's area, compact meeting rooms, computers, and various places to study and read. I made a reservation on liquid space to reserve a room online and I originally booked for two hours in a row but apparently, you can only have one reservation (1 hour time slot) at a time. However, after my first session ended, the app prompted me and asked if I wanted to book another session after since no one wanted it and I did. The room i was in was nice and quiet. You can still hear the outside with the kids running around, so I'd recommend bringing noise cancelling headphones. Unfortunately, the TV didn't work? I tried plugging in my laptop via HDMI and it didn't turn on. I didn't need it, but was just curious to see if it would work. Bathrooms are clean. I went to an open area to get some more work done and as I walked pass they had a teen room and just a large shared space where people could work. I talked to the front desk lady about getting a physical library card and she gladly gave one. Really like this library! Definitely plan on coming here again. read more

Northside Branch Library - Shared study space with window view on the right side. - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I've been a member of the library for about 2 and a half years. And I always borrow books from here. They have a really good selection of technical books which is nice given how expensive software book are. I usually like to borrow it and read it before deciding if I want to own the book. I just go online and reserve the book, then go to the library and pick it up after receubf an e-mail that says it's ready for pick-up. You can also opt to pick up the book at another location but I like this branch a lot. Once I have more time on my hands, I'll probably check out their novels. I definitely recommend being a member of the library! read more

Northside Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

My first time there after not being able to find a book at Santa Clara Central Library for my upcoming Bookgroup mtg. I called first to make sure they had the book at Northside & it was waiting at the front desk. The staff was very pleasant, the library was bright, clean, and comfortable. I'll be going back in the future. read more

Huge shout out to Andy P. who renewed my Santa Clara City Library card, super friendly and helpful. It's always nice to saunter into a place and find someone so welcoming. Folks, in case you didn't know, libraries have changed. No longer will you be admonished for talking above a whisper. Seriously. Expect some noise. It's all about community. So long as kids aren't coming to blows and running down the aisles, it's all good. Lots of selection here and as an e-book junkie I'm happy to get my fix. I'm a librarian (different system) so I greatly appreciate this newest library. So convenient. I would have loved having this neighborhood library close by when I lived in this area. read more

This is a gorgeous new library. Space-wise, it's not that large - it's one-story and is basically one long room divided in sections. They did a great job with creating different areas using color. The colorful ceiling lights and walls make the space fun and quirky while the furniture is sleek and modern. If you sit near the bank of library computers, know that you will need to be okay with listening to kids' video game strategy the whole time. If you want a quieter space, try the technology room, which isn't designated to be quiet but is an enclosed room. Free Santa Clara wifi, tables with outlets built in, and comfy chairs along a floor-to-ceiling windows make this a great functional place for getting work done. And getting work done is always more fun and motivating with boba, which you can conveniently grab at Fantasia just across the street before you enter the library. read more

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Small library with a small parking lot and only 4 quiet study rooms which requires reservation that's limited to an hour. If you're here to study, make sure to bring ear plugs because the place has a bunch of kids running around (kids being kids). Staff if ok, and there are restaurants across the street if you want to grab a bite. I do not recommend if you're looking for a quiet place to study. read more

Northside Branch Library - Library Hours - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

This is my most favorite Library I ever visited. This is a cute, compact & still-new-looking library in the area. I've visited this place like what..over 25 times!!! Major Pluses, + Ever attentive & polite librarians + Spic and Span facility + All possible library-facilities under this compact roof + Great collection of books & CDs. I saw Indian-Bollywood cds as well. + Amazing scenic view on one side of the library + Just enough parking spots, even otherwise having the option to park on the other side, say near Safeway + Welcoming park near the parking lot of the library. This kid's area is fantastic in my opinion. Parents can help their kids play and as well read a book inside the library. It conveniently serves both purposes in one shot. + Great place for people to prepare for their exams or study their courseworks Only con to this place is their working hours. I wish the timing could be even more flexible. I'm still a huge fan and I highly recommend this library! read more

This is such a cute library located right in the Rivermark Plaza. It's small so there aren't going to be a lot of titles here. They do have this awesome kids/teens room with computes and even manga books. Where was this when I was growing up? They have those fancy self checkout machines that read the books oh so quickly! How does this work! I've checked out Ready Player One here, as well as The Martian. read more

The library is open!!! It has such a beautiful, modern design. The staff are friendly and helpful. It's right next to a great park and shopping center. I will be bringing my kids here every week! read more

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"Shh, this is a library." It's a great library, clean with plenty of desks and chairs, computers ect. However there are tons of kids running around, playing computer games, and screaming. Even teens and adults that are having loud conversations. More of a community center than a place to read, concentrate, or do some work. read more

Brand new library in town ! Ideally located in rivermark plaza. Spacious parking space available. It's gonna be my new hangout spot, what with the colorful study rooms, super comfy chairs/ seats and free wi fi. It's awesome !! Can't wait to explore all the books they'll soon get. Loving it!!!!! read more

Northside Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Beautiful library very close to home. Modern, clean, stylist (check the ceiling, very cool lights in different colors). Nice furniture, one of the most modern and you also get the nicest views to the park nearby. It is a small library that can get overcrowded and, as others have pointed out, can look like a daycare instead of a place to study/read. I would not attend this library for a serious research, you will need to find a quieter place. However, if you live around, it is super pleasant to go there, grab some magazines (do not get too excited on the variety, though) and get out at the patio (they have nice seating area as well). You will also find a section related to foreign books (not huge) as well a lot of material for learning a new language if you feel inclined to that. read more

Northside Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Beautiful new library in our neck of the woods. We have anxiously awaited the opening of this library, and it was well worth the wait. Much smaller than its sister santa clara city libraries, but it's bright, spacious, updated, and full of top-of-the-line computers for kids and adults. Family story time is currently Fridays at 10:30am, and usually packed. They plan to open up more story times in the future. read more

Northside Branch Library - Story time - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

After a long delay the library is finally open! Everything is pretty and new. There are group study rooms, computers, children's section, adult fiction and nonfiction, media, and periodicals. I walked around expecting stairs to a basement floor because it seemed awfully small, but that's it - its just small. The adult section appears to be the same size or smaller than the children's section. This place seems to be more for families with kids or people trying to get some work done... since it's a bit light on the actual books . Great place to study without having to buy coffee. Opens late but doesn't close till 8pm on Monday and Tuesday. Open on Saturday. read more

Northside Branch Library - Hours - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

I really like this library since I love the fact that it is located in the Rivermark Plaza. There is a private parking lot reserved for the library visitors. The library is maintained quite well and is clean. You can study/work at the library in the reading area. It is very quiet and perfect if you need to focus and have no distractions. They have proper furniture for work/study which is convenient too. The other side of the library is the kids' section and that area is usually a bit on the louder side which is obvious. There are conference rooms in this library so make use of the facilities when you need to. You might not find some of the books that you need but just try searching for it in your online library account. The Central library most of the times has the book and you can request for it to be delivered to Northside. Later you need to pick it up when you know it has been delivered here. Love coming here! read more

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This is a great library! The only reason it does not have 5 stars is because there are a couple of downsides. These downsides aren't too bad though, it just depends on what you are looking for! This library is smaller than most other libraries that I have been to. Since it is smaller, it offers a much smaller selection of books as well. I have not wandered over to the children's area, so I do not know what that section has to offer. The library is well kept and clean - it's a great place to go to get some work done if you need wifi, a somewhat quiet place, and some AC to keep you cool during the summer heat. Easy self-check out procedure - you just need to know your account number of have your library card with you. What would make this library even better is if it upgraded so we could use our own phone numbers to check out! I don't necessarily want to always carry around my library card or remember a long string of random numbers. The parking lot is quite small, so parking inside the actual lot can be difficult since a lot of people park there to go to the park right behind the library. There is street parking though, so parking usually isn't too difficult to find. This branch has a convenient location since there are many other stores in the plaza as well, such as Safeway, Chipotle, Red Robin just to name a few. Overall, I don't mind that this library is the closest one to my apartment. I am a member and come here regularly to rent books. I just wouldn't go out of my way to it since there is nothing too special about it. read more

I love the staff and the programs at this library. Everyone is so helpful and knowledgeable. The location is perfect...it's in the Rivermark Plaza and next to a park. I've been here many times for arts and crafts night (usually Tuesday nights), parenting classes and cooking classes. My teen has been here for events like Speech and Debate, teen night and cooking classes. You can check out a Chromebook or Fitbit. You can reserve one of their rooms to study or have a meeting. You can request books that aren't available at Northside but available at other Santa Clara libraries. You can check out DVDs and CDs. For such a small library, it offers quite a variety of services for the community. read more

This is far more the best library around here. It has got good collection of books and the ambience and architecture is as modern as any other library read more

Northside Branch Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

The staff and physical site are amazing. It's a small library, but is very beautiful and conveniently located for me as I live very close by. I'm in the midst of a master's degree program and need a quiet place to think, plan, and write. This library location is not conducive to these needs. The biggest downside is the noise level. There are kids everywhere running around despite the staff reminding them to walk. They're kids - they make lots of noise, of course, but it's really up to the parent(s) to maintain a firm expectation that the library is a quiet place. The upside is you can check out ear plugs, but that only does so much. Unfortunately, I don't know that I'll be returning unless I'm working on something that does not require a quiet environment. read more

Cute little library in Rivermark plaza, Santa Clara. Great location with adjacent park and bunch of good places to eat and shop. Safeway is right next door with both the starbucks and a pharmacy on location. Number of other good places (both healthy and not-so-healthy ones) to eat as well if you get hungry studying. Although the library is small they have a separate kids area, teenager section, silent study area, bunch of computers for use and an outdoor area as well. Love the setup, very bright and colourful. Only drawback is that since it is small the quite study area gets full quite quickly. They do have tables with individual lights and charging stations. This area is farthest from the kids section, hence only one with relative silence. Lot of other spots to sit but not as quite. The staff is friendly and efficient. Free wifi with decent speed. The library comes under Santa Clara City Library and is not part of the SCCL (Santa Clara County Library District) hence you will need to get another card to be able to borrow books here. I got mine on the spot after filling out an online form on one of their machines. Having this card also makes you eligible for discounted entry on select museums in the area. Toilets are usually clean. Parking is usually available in their own parking lot beside the library building. Watch out for kids running after a soccer ball from park next to it. On weekends you might have to park in the safeway parking lot and walk here since this place gets full with the parents bringing their kids to the park for various events One if my favourites haunts lately! read more

This branch of the Santa Clara library system is located just outside the Rivermark plaza. It's smaller than the main one - Central Park Library. However, they still have a decent collection of books. The building appears to be recently built and the architecture inside is a blend of neo-modern looks and an usual library environ. There are enough seats for studying (with electrical outlets), for reading books as well as having closed door meetings. However this one is closed on Sunday. Anyone with a penchant for a quiet place to study or read books will welcome this environment. read more

This library is super small compared to most libraries; it has one floor and not a lot of books. There are a lot of tables and chairs to sit at and work/study though, and the wifi is pretty fast. It's also a bit noisy, though I'm not sure whether this is the norm or whether there are just more kids in here today than most days. read more

Pretty solid for a small library. The selection is a little on the light side, but who am I kidding? I have more books in my e-reader than I do on my shelves. So this industry has done a great job of adapting. Went here mainly to study, though. They have a great lounge area that's all comfy chairs (on wheels!) with little desk attachments and ottomans. There are a few other places that you can sit and comfortably plug in, and free WiFi to boot. I liked the desk areas, but there isn't much privacy for when you're surfing Reddit and too lazy to turn the NSFW/ NSFL filter on. This library is located in the Rivermark shopping area, where parking can be a challenge, but the Northside Branch Library has a convenient little lot next to it that's far enough away from the rest of Rivermark as to discourage parking for shopping needs. I used to live in this neighborhood, so I know how meaningful this little library is to the community. read more

After much delay and heightened anticipation, the library opened its doors to the public on Aug 9th. Thanks to all the volunteers and friends of the library that made it happen. Based on first impression, I give it extremely high marks: 1) Convenient location (complements the bigger Central library well). A great addition for folks moving in to the number of new apartments that have been coming up around this. Also, its location close to Safeway, and a number of good restaurants and parks, makes it a good leisurely half-a-day outing on Saturday. 2) Architecturally well done with a lot of natural lighting 3) Decent collection of books (all books are brand new, right new), with plans to add more. 4) Well thought out plan to accommodate all constituents (kids, teens, adults) as well as things like Tech Center, Teen Zone etc., in the limited space 5) Great neighborhood where people are genuinely interested in making this successful. 6) Ability to borrow books at Central library and return them here and vice versa. Cons 1) If you are used to the size of the Central library (like I was), it may be touch disappointing. -------------------- Update: 6 months later (March 2015) Still 5 star. I've found myself spending a lot of time at the library either with my kids or for my work (go to the library to get dedicated, undisturbed blocks of work time). Liked the many innovative programs that they had organized: Frozen Fest, Story time, Tax 101, Snakes and reptile, magic shows, seasonal events (Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve party), Professional pictures for LinkedIn profiles etc., A small but very good example of the thought that the library staff puts in is offering free ear plugs (if you want to do something in silence) Also, there is a bad part of spending a lot of time at the library, I've been paying fines for late returns - in fact I may go in history as the first person to pay a fine in this library - don't feel too bad as long as it helps to improve the library further or at least that's what I tell myself and my wife :) read more

I can't complain much about this place, since it's a library. There's only one floor, but it's very spacious, clean, and there is so much food around the area. It's very modern looking and they have lots of rooms for you to study in. read more

It's just so unbelievable that so many resources are available for free. It is open for all residents of North America and not just people residing in Santa Clara city. I had seen the library for months open but never went in to check it out. Checked out yesterday and its is fantastic. Got tons of books for kids, fiction, non-fiction, technical, etc. and you can also use their ebook, music, dvd rental services. They also loan books from other libraries and most of the stuff like renewals etc is automated on their website. a very good facility for Santa Clara and North San Jose residents. Check it out. read more

Nice conveniently located library. They have free membership which is always good.

A fantastic library! Its location gives it the convenience of, well, everything! It's close to everything you need to get your errands done. From food to groceries, self-care and banking, it's all there! The staff is extremely helpful and friendly. They are knowledgable about the collections, and systems, which makes it extremely easy for you to find exactly what you need, and they're always willing to help. The layout and decor of the library is relaxing, yet not so much that you can't get work done. The tables there are super easy to use if you have projects to do. Why? Because they have outlets built in along with overhead lights! The drinking fountain in the hallway has a water bottle refill, the bathrooms are always clean and well-maintained. Checking out books and returning are a breeze, and there's always parking nearby. read more

Very decent library for the area. Many types of books, although sometimes looks like a "best seller" book store. Spaces for relaxed reading or working. Teenagers room, where kids can play video games and talk, as it's separated from the main rooms. There is a patio where you can eat. Nice architecture and landscaping. Close to restaurants and stores. Good bargains in the library book store. Bad: lack of connection to public transit. Lick Mill station is good 20 min walk away. read more

I love this library for its facilities and friendly staff but it is also the most awful library I have ever been to! It allows food and drinks and NOISE! Kids and teens flock in at 2:30pm to eat, drink, horseplay, shout, play video games on all the computer consoles, blast their music. It is ridiculous! read more

Lots of kids there , not so quiet . But got plenty seats and not very crowded , I can there for self study

This is a great, new, modern library. It is small, but is a great place to work. That is up until about 2:30PM when kids from a nearby school come flowing in. They use this space like a playground, absolutely lacking all library manners. That's when grownups start leaving. They seriously need to have some kind of policy on restricting these kids. They are out of control. read more