This library is beautiful and spacious. Love that they have guest computers for public access for non-students!! I just wish they allowed access to the SCU computers for alumni, or had guest computers on the second and third floors. I really appreciate that most people here tend to respect the fact that libraries are meant to be quiet. The third floor study room is really nice and boasts an amazing view of the campus. Parking is free on weekends and street parking is available as well! They also offer free 2 hour visitor parking permits (any time after 8 PM is free), and anyone is able to access the library without needing a student ID card prior to 7 PM. Additionally, the Sunstream Cafe is usually open and has a variety of caffeinated beverages & snacks available for purchase. This library is a gem and I love that it closes on the later side. read more

Very quiet library, open to public, extensive open hours, and parking is easy. Nice supporting staff.

~THE LOWDOWN~ The SC university library is beautiful, quiet, and clean- what more could you want from a library?! I love the natural light that flows through much of the place so it feels less like a dungeon than some of your other college libraries. ~ATMO~ The feel is open and spacious with plenty of different spots to study or read. There are a variety of comfy colorful couches, tables, computers and even individual desks which have dividers that make your desk feel private. ~LOGISTICS~ It's open to visitors without having to check in. You can stay till 11pm when you need to have a badge so that's pretty generous. Parking is also free on the weekends which is great! Weekdays you'll need a visitor permit but parking structure seems to have sufficient spots. ~BONUS~ The surrounding campus itself is beautiful and serene, which makes the whole experience enjoyable! There's a campus bookstore and food hall just across the library in case you need supplies or get the munchies. Will definitely be back for a relaxing reading spot or place to get work done when i dont feel in the mood for a noisy cafe! read more

I really like this library. It gets unbelievably packed sometimes, but that's to be expected with any university library. The parking lot isn't very big, but there's street parking if you're up for a short walk. It should be noted that if you want to use the Wireless Internet you're going to need to be a student at SCU. There's a variety of places to study which is nice. There are study rooms that you can check out, computer stations, couches, long tables, and private workstations tucked away everywhere. There's a little coffee shop upstairs too if you need to get your fix for studying. read more

Santa Clara University Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

As a current SCU student, I have got to say, I love this library with all my heart! IT. IS. SO. BEAUTIFUL. I have spent my past year here studying at least 3x per week. This library has it all! Mac OR PC computers, comfy chairs, PERFECT study rooms, numerous charge outlets, and BOOKS! So many books! I didn't start appreciating the library system itself until I realized what a great system it is!!! There's no limit to the amount of books you can check out! And that's honestly so helpful when you are doing a research paper and you have to check out every book possible on your research topic!!! When they don't have a book, they use the Interlibrary loan, where you can ask for a hardcopy or electronic copy of the book online! They then email you when it comes in the mail! How great is that!? I am literally always raving about how amazing this library is to all the students at SCU! It's so peaceful to just read in here too! They have a cafe in the front that meets all your caffeine needs, especially when you're sleep deprived. It closes at 2 AM usually, unless it's Saturday or FINALS week. Finals week is hell here, as it is in every school, so I NEVER go to the library unless it's to return books. When you become a regular here, finals week will scare you because all these randoms start taking your seat! :( But all in all, this is a great place to study. You can sit indoors, but still experience that outdoor breeze on the third floor. You can check out study rooms, which are absolutely great for group projects. You can easily find the books you need. Help is also great at the circulation desk. Ahhhhhh, what more can you offer! This lib is the best. read more

Santa Clara University Library - This amaaaazing blended fruit tea strawberry flavored. SO REFRESHING. - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Oh Learning Commons, how you've been an excellent host to me for the past 2+ months. For a pre-med wedged between early morning pre-req classes and late night MCAT prep courses, you've provided an unexpected retreat. Friends, the study rooms here are the most amazing rooms I have ever worked/slept/partied in. I've uploaded pictures, but you really won't get a good sense of how amazing this library is until you come here. Good furnishings, good lighting, and, as I've already mentioned, amazing study rooms. They're so amazing, in fact, that I am totally planning on putting up a nice whiteboard wall in my room (whenever that may be). The walls are what make it for me. The flat screen TVs and speakers in each room is just the perfect frosting on my cake. Highly, highly recommend! read more

Santa Clara University Library - Study Room - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

The all new Santa Clara University Library otherwise officially known as the "Harrington Learning Commons Sobrato Technology Center Orradre Library" is what all modern libraries should be. Books are becoming a relic of the past. This library features a state of the art book retrieval system that frees up a lot of library space for state of the art computers (widescreen monitors) great meeting rooms, reading tables and lounges. There is even several outdoor balconies with outdoor furniture. We are fortunate to have so many great NEW libraries in the area - The joint City of San Jose and SJSU's Martin Luther King library, CIty of San Jose Community College's new library, Santa Clara Central Library are now joined by Santa Clara University's library. read more

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This is a great place to study, have a day away, get lost in the basement. Check out the rotating exhibits that they have on the 3rd floor. Currently "The Silence of Women" is there through January 2014. http://www.scu.edu/library/collections/special/silenceofwomen.cfm Amazingly powerful, Amazingly sad. read more

Santa Clara University Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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I really like this library. They recently got cellphone and tablet charging stations which is great. The staff that works there is exceptionally knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. Beware that during finals week and around the middle of the quarter the SCU students will take over, but that is to be expected! They have also been very good about starting to get more popular books. Even if they don't carry the book they are a part of the Link+ borrowing system allowing patrons to check out books from other libraries that participate. The library is clean and has a lot of work rooms that can be used. There is also open seating and they have a few computer labs. They have both MAC and PC computers available and you can even rent out a tablet! read more

Santa Clara has a beautiful library. It is just perfect You can study and focus on whatever you want to do here. I have never seen such a great library. read more

This is a BIG library. I was an unergrad at SCU until 2008 and for 2.5 of the four years I was there the library was under construction. When it was finally open I was VERY impressed. This place is HUGE! It also has amazing hours (closing at 2 AM Sunday-Thursday, 10 PM Friday- Saturday, and staying open 24 hours the week before undergrad finals). It has four floors each with great study spaces. It even has multiple study rooms that can be reserved either on site or remotely online. Each room either has multiple white boards or an entire wall made of white board. Perfect for study sessions. You can even hook up multiple laptops to a projector or giant monitor to work on projects or....watch movies (the latter is only recommended for out of the way study rooms that no one will walk by...). The library has multiple computer labs with all the software you could ever need, it has screening rooms for student films and projects, and it even has a cafe with pretty good snacks for when you need a break from all of that work. The staff is very friendly and quite knowledgeable. They will do whatever it takes to help you out. The only draw back for me may be a plus for someone else. It's the ARS or automated retrieval system. This is basically a giant box that is attached to the rear of the library and its where most of the books are kept. What I like about libraries is the ability to actually look around through multiple aisles. When you are looking for one book in particular you will often find other, more useful books surrounding it. But with the ARS you just search for a book online, a computer arm finds it and you pick it up about 20 minutes later. Though this is pretty high tech (and watching it all work through the windows is the side of the ARS is cooler than you'd imagine) it still takes away the fun of coming to a library. There are still books on shelves spread throughout the library, but most of them are hidden away in this big box. No matter how much I dislike the ARS, I still have to say this library rocks! if you are in the area stop by. It's open to the public until 10 PM everyday (After 10 you need a student ID). read more

Great technology, study rooms, meeting rooms, lounge areas, archives, cafe, long hours. This is a very convenient place to get things done.

Gorgeous library!!! When I think of great university library, I imagine either a beautiful, old brick building that gives off Beauty and the Beast or Harry Potter vibes (kind of like what Cornell's library is like -- seriously, look up a picture, the place is magical) or a high tech, modern building with tons of clean space and up-to-date equipment. Both are great spaces for studying and doing research, and Santa Clara University's library falls into the second category. It's newly redone and everything is super modern. There are FOUR floors, each with so much space, all with high ceilings and tons of natural light from the giant windows taking up most of the wall space. The first floor is where you enter, and it has the Sunstream Cafe, information desk, and technology help area. There are spaces you can study, talk, vending machines for food or for testing materials, and books. Then there's the lower level with more great study space and tons of books. I've worked on several group projects on the lower level and it's a great environment for that. The second level is a very focused, "quiet study space" and there are even specific rooms that you can reserve for classes or for projects. The third floor is also a quiet study space, but it has the three best study spots in the entire school: the sunrooms!!! I'm almost scared to write about them because I don't want the secret getting out, haha! They are gorgeous, glass walled rooms that give you a beautiful feeling of being inside and outside at the same time and are high up with a great view. One of them is actually outside, and the windows are just openings in the wall. All are amazing to study in or even just to nap, lol, because they have super comfy couches, chairs, and tables set up for just that purpose. TL;DR: I definitely recommend dropping by the library here if you are visiting, because it's beautiful and there are so many great spots to check out on the upper levels! Great study spots! read more

The first time I walked in, I was in love. This library is beyond spectacular. Especially coming from my SFSU library/annex days...this one is a masterpiece. I love that I can reserve a room a week in advance and study for up to 4 hours in silence in my own private room that is made of white board walls so I can write wherever I please. The staff here are nice too, they're not nazis like SJSU or SFSU staff that kick out non-students after 9pm. If the SCU staff see you studying, they don't bother. This place has 4 levels I believe and all are nicely spacious and everything is state of the art. i love love love it here! read more

This is one of the best library in the nation. Friendly environment, and great place to study. Students from different colleges could come here too but they have hours limitation. read more

I love Santa Clara University. I'm a proud alumni, and I have some great friends who I met through this school. The new library is high tech, peaceful, and has plenty of space. I come here and study as often as I can! Highly recommended. No weird smelly peeps looking at porn at this library! read more

This, here, has got to be, the best library ever. You thought MLK's Lib was fantastic with it's 9 story modern masterpiece, this beats it with the perfect harmony of modern edge and a 'home' like feel (except this home would be..a mansion. Always check hours before going, they seem sporadic - from 2am closing sometimes, to holidays - all day closed. Private rooms are amazing. Remember, if the lights are green outside, that means it's avail. Only SCU students can reserve a room (4 hours max), but as long as it's not finals week, you'll usually find an avail room. Full size wall whiteboards to draw out all your ideas clearly. Plasma screens with input hooks for your computer to play your thang while working. Two mode lights, one standard, but another, is a single beam spot light, that when all other lights are off, while working, makes you feel like you are the Don. read more

I've never been a fan going library, but when I do it's nice that Santa Clara University has a library that is new and relatively large. I love the openness of each floor and the modern feel of this place. Unlike other older libraries where I feel in a dungeon, I like that this library is bright with furniture that isn't super old and dirty feeling. I like the number of computers they have available as well as the rooms you can reserve to work in groups. The outdoor lounge area is nice on warmer days to study. The problems I have with this library is that the couches and lounge chairs are NOT comfortable. They are squeaky and hard. Also, during finals week it is just TOO crowded. SCU needs to find a way to either make more seating areas or build another library to accommodate the number of students that study here during finals. I mean during finals week I've seen students bring sleeping bags and such, that's a little too much if you ask me. read more

Hands down the best library I've ever been to.....modern... and if it were an outfit... i'd call it, studious-chic. I mean, the Public Library in New York, exhibited a different vibe, and it's uncomparable. New York's gave me a rush of excitment and lots of history. But SCU's. it's seemed very happy and plush and well-lit. Oh psssh. Let's not even talk about Harvard's. - we couldn't even get it. effin smart snobs. I've been done with school several years ago.. (okay. 2004. im old)...not from SCU..however, from one of the prestigious ones in the Phlippines -which I'm so proud to be part of (DLSU)...But i stumbled in the SCU librabry coz i was somewhat appointed to be an editor/proof-reader of a very interesting paper my boyfriend was doing. I thought why not. easy. grammatical checks. spelling.. redoing phrasing.. and also.. "learning" what I've learned from damn philosphers whom i've had argued with so many times in my head when i took my last Philosophy class. But i was just ovewhelmed. Back in time in my university, My library was completeley in a different building from the students' computer labs. Then, we didn't have the flat screet monitors... But SCU's... man... Big screen Imacs galore. (i saw some Dell ones on the first floor too). And there were comfy little couches. We had fucking stiff ass chairs and wooden tables... Now i so want to be a college student again. =( (errr..maybe not) read more

My goodnessXD modern, seating, crowd, location,nice campus,no wonder some people like to study XD

SCU is the only place I know where there are designated 'quiet zones' within its library. Where I come from, the ENTIRE library is a 'quiet zone' because that was where people go to get shit done. At this library, you have all sorts of foot traffic coming in and out: tour guides, annoying undergrads, nosy parents, maintenance people, entitled middle-aged men in a suit walking around, women tottering around loudly on their high heels because they don't know how to walk in them, speaking FREELY at NORMAL volumes. Wtf. Signs are posted asking people to eschew the first two floors and to go to the third floor if they want a quiet study zone, which makes absolutely no sense to me. The first two floors are equipped with study tables and chairs and would be perfectly good places to study if people shut up and didn't use them as sorority meeting places. Also, the third floor isn't even a 'quiet zone.' There is a help desk where you can hear everything, and patrons unabashedly hold Skype sessions, invariably during business hours and invariably in a foreign language, on this floor. People pick up phone calls and answer them like they would outside. I. don't. get. it. The study rooms are a joke. I was studying at a table outside of one once and I could hear everything inside even with headphones on. If the study rooms are soundproof, they did an awful job. If the study rooms aren't soundproof, wtf are they doing in a library? The book collection here is small and super outdated, and it's really sad that some people think this is an actual library. When I had to do research for my law term papers, all the books that I was told were "relevant" to my topics were either published in 1950, falling apart from dust and old age, or both. Powell Library at my alma mater, UCLA, was 100 times bigger, handled 100 times the traffic, and you could still hear a pin drop in one of its rooms because students respected the study atmosphere, their colleagues, had actual shit to get done, and valued that over gossiping about their day. Why do I insist on coming here then, you might ask? It's close to my house, and if they fixed the air maintenance system at the Law Library so that it didn't set off my allergies or dry out my contacts so that they're practically glued to my eyeballs, I would be there instead. read more

Excellent place that stays open late during the school year. I'm not a student but there are not many places that are open late where it's quiet. Only wish there was wifi access for non-students. read more

It's a nice library to go to on weekends. The parking is free and conference room for your group study is more available on weekends.

I go to SCU and I do like this library, but every time I think about the library, I'd remember all those painful days where I'm studying (more like cramming) for my finals. I'd stay in there until they close, sigh. Overall though, they've got great facilities - computers everyone can use - mac and pc, viewing rooms, rooms you can reserve for study groups. Another thing I like is it never gets cold in there and there's also a cafe where you can get drinks - drinks aren't that great and they don't stay open until late. read more

I have gone to the SCU for various reasons. I have used their study rooms which are awesome! I love having a place to go to work on projects and study as a group. The third level study alcoves are floor to ceiling white boards, which is really cool. There are always computers available which are set up to print. One complaint I do have is that you have to choose a printer to print at. I would like to be able to just hit print and print at whichever printer I like. I don't know what each printers name is at. read more

There really are no words to describe this library. Every time I walk past this building I'm in awe of its beauty. Every time. I could spend hours sitting in the Learning Commons' comfy couches, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows. read more

My friend and I came here on a Friday night because we needed to buckle down and study until our brains exploded. Not sure if it was okay, but we parked in the visitors parking lot (2 hour limit). But we figured since it was a Friday night, it would be ok. Luckily, I didn't get a ticket that night! We were there for a good 4 or 5 hours if I remember correctly. We walked in a decided to go down the stairs since there were less people down there. The first thing I saw walking down the stairs was a man laid out, sleeping on the cushioned seated area. As we found a place to settle down, the girl on a computer directly behind us picks up her phone and starts babbling to her friend about some random nonsense extremely annoyingly and loudly. There were people scattered around the room, some watching sports games on the large screens, some actually doing school work (making good use of the library), and some lounging around, sleeping. It was very very warm, I guess because of all the computers that were on. But it was around 75 degrees in there! It was so uncomfortable and groggy. But once I settled down and focused, and moved away from the computers, I was fine. I put my headphones on and put on some classical music and I was good to go! It's a nice place to study if you can find a nice quiet nook somewhere in that massive place. read more

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Nothing much, seeing as how this library is one of the best I've actually studied in. Granted, I have a soft spot being an undergrad here. Honestly though.. it's excellent. They have nice, well-stocked/cleaned bathrooms, study rooms that you can rent out with your friends equipped with walls that are basically made of white-board&a couple of pens in each room&a TV. They have several stories, and if you go to the 3rd floor I believe, there's this giant room with giant windows that allows for a lot of natural lighting to flood in. You can have your group plan out your presentation/skit/etc without having to stay super quiet. Allows for a beautiful view and really brings out the beautifully maintained campus scenery as well (palm trees!). There are plenty of spaces you can find that will let you study in peace and quiet, too. AND if you start to get hungry/thirsty, the Sunstream Cafe on the ground floor has lots of beverages/a few deli sandwiches/pastries that will fulfill that. Near the library entrance are a couple of tables for you to do your thing as well. Overall, I would say this is definitely appropriate if you want to study or hang out with your friends (study rooms - and as others have pointed out, they're pretty much free when it's not finals week! this week ahah). Love love love. read more