We really love this library; it's our favorite one in town. The resources, the wonderful staff, and especially the fantastic kids' section are all amazing. However, we do have some concerns that make our visits a bit challenging. Parking is consistently a hassle, and we've noticed an increasing presence of homeless individuals both around and directly in front of the library, which can be uncomfortable. This became particularly troubling recently when a homeless individual on a bike nearly hit my 6-year-old daughter and then attempted to kick her. While we understand the library can't control what happens outside its doors, and we often see security personnel, it's disheartening that these issues persist. My children have even started referring to it as 'the homeless library,' which is sad given how much we value what it offers. We genuinely hope to see some improvements in the future, as we truly enjoy coming here. read more

Sonoma County Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

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Decided to take a trip downtown this morning to check out the local library. The staff was friendly and helpful in showing me around for my first time visiting. The library is quite large with a wide selection materials and several different study areas. The main drawbacks were the parking and overall cleanliness. There is no dedicated parking lot so most people will need to find paid street parking or use a paid parking garage. I also noticed that some areas felt unclean, with strong odors in certain parts of the library and an unkept bathroom. There were also many homeless individuals sheltering inside or gathered outside, which may make some visitors uncomfortable. read more

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This library was a lot larger than the one i usually go to(coddingtown) and was happy when I found my book club book here. This library is downtown so a lot of homless people hangout inside to stay escape the cold, there are areas that smell pretty bad and the bathrooms also arent the freshest, but this just goes with the territory of having a lot of homesless inside, ifyou decide to come here please be understanding to this. Staff is friendly and are available to help if you need assistance finding a book. They also have laptops for rent & desktops for use. You do need to pay for street or lot parking, but Sundays are free. read more

Sonoma County Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Absolutely love their Baby Bilingual Classes, super interactive and really allows us to engage our little ones with others. Really beautiful community activity, library is clean, with sweet friendly staff. read more

Sonoma County Library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

great. But they neeed moore boooooks on Mespotamia, Assyria, Babylon, and Ur. Wanna try their production and media facilities but have not done so yet. They look interesting. read more

Sonoma County Library - interesting book on Mespotamia - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Great resource for Sonoma County residence. Parking is off street or on parking at Orchard street. Pay attention to Santa Rosa parking ticket agents, they will ticket you. read more

Sonoma County Library - List of possible tool to borrow - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

The outside of the building is ok. The bathrooms are clean and sanitary. If you trust the bathroom cleaniness then bring your own disinfectant to spray around. Wash your hands and go back to what you were doing before using the potty room. read more

Used to love it as a kid and now i love bringing my daughter! I have taken her to the FREE toddler classes they offer. She loves it! We usually spend most of the time in the Children's book area. She loves playing with the train they have , as well as the blocks! The childrens area is clean and tidy for the most part. The only reason im removing one star is due to the smell in the bathrooms. Its been a long time since i stepped into their bathroom, but my husband has and he says theyre horrible. The mens bathroom smells like B.O and Pee. Theres always homeless around the facilty also, it makes it uncomfortable to walk into the library by myself with my toddler. I usually try to walk next to another Mom with her child. read more

Wow, two minutes past closing and person on the phone stopped mid conversation and said, "I can't help you we're closed." and hung up on me. I'm going to give two stars because I have had good service in the past, but combining a -1 for getting hung up on with a 4 leaves me with a 1.5 rating for them. I think this person definitely needs some additional training, or maybe this is the library policy to hang up once you reach closing time. I found it incredibly rude and unnecessary, especially since I had asked for a referral initially at ten minutes to closing. He could have provided it then, but did not. read more

My favorite place to come when I visit Santa Rosa. A well loved - and arguably stunningly gorgeous modern library building. The staff have always been friendly and helpful. read more

Sonoma County Library - Interior panoramic shot showing the beautiful interior of the library - Libraries Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

I usually visit the branch closest to my home which does not have the most extensive in-house collection, but I frequently order items using the on-line system. Unless the book / CD / DVD is a "hot" item with a long waiting list, I get my item within a few days. I still prefer reading a paper book rather than from a screen, though I have used the electronic download system for several e-books. Lending period is 3 weeks. Research librarians are helpful. Due to budget cuts my branch is only open 5 days per week. Overall, a good county library system for a suburban locale. read more

This review is for the library events for kids. Each month my grandson and I plan out the activities he is going to at the different branches. He's enjoyed the Lego Club, the Bay Area Museum Engineering event, and many others at no cost. We are huge fans! read more

Sonoma County is blessed with a great library system for kids! They have TONS of baby and kid programs for all different ages. Baby storytime, toddler wiggle time, read to a dog to practice your reading out loud, summer reading challenges, Lego groups, holiday art projects, guest shows, and so so much more and it's all FREE. If you are a new mom in the area you are in luck because all of the Sonoma County Library Branches have these benefits. read more

KvLove this Library when I was a young boy my grandma took me here very fond memories the lady Liberian working here is very sweet and very helpful her name is Nancy Sampson she helped me with questions I am disabled man and I am slow with understanding things she is always smiling. And goes out of her way to help me with my disability the Library is very lucky to have. Her. Thank you. For her excellent help and understanding. Sean Dower read more

An avid reader since preschool (OK I'm a nerd) I have had the wonderful experience of using many public libraries, university level incl, in many geographic locations over the years. I am happily surprised at the level of excellence at the Central SR Library downtown. Having enjoyed this library since moving here 1 1/2 years ago with a constant revolving door of average 5 books out at a time in a variety of subject matter, I definitely recommend this library branch. Not only is the staff helpful face to face, they also regularly showcase recommended books whether on a topical subject (gardening, Black History Month etc) as well as Staff Picks. So you will ALWAYS find something. If you cant - they will happily help! You can easily borrow many kinds of books : fiction, non-fiction, biographies, reference, kids books, old faves to brand new contemporary best sellers, current Oprah picks, the book your friend just told you about that you MUST read, political topics, research on the new diet you are on with recipe books galore, lovely coffee table books to peruse on a quiet night... you think of it, it's here. Then there are the mags, manga, CDs, DVDs, and childrens' books of all shapes and sizes. Put what you want on "hold" on the Library App, then pick them up when you can. Borrow for 3 weeks and renew if you need, so long as someone else hasn't "reserved " it. And if you neglect to get it back on time the fines are minor - tho I try to round up, figuring it's going toward new books anyway, right? Oh and there are always childrens' storytelling hours (age specific so they can have fun too!) as well as musician and dance events, community info (flyers, brochures, transit schedules, coming event info... in Spanish and also demographic specific too, e.g. senior, vets etc. What more can you ask for, for FREE?!?! OK our taxes help pay for this, but then hey - use it! Go to your local library, you'll be glad you did! read more

I've been in libraries all up and down the West Coast in the last year. Libraries are becoming the last bastion for some people to go to. However , a lot of people are very disruptive. For instance, if not for the security guard here, the quality would go down very fast. He keeps this library going, when he's not here it's not as good. We need more positive authority like this in our society, there has to be enforcement or people just take advantage. read more

It has been so awesome with curbside delivery! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Workers have been so friendly, and with the COVID lockdown, it has helped me to use more on-line library goodies. Great people who will find you great books! If you have finished your favorite author, just tell them via a questionnaire and they will find three similar authors. read more

Good library, gotta make sure they scan all your books when checking in. What you really think I wouldn't know when it wouldn't let me check out....Come on now. Give me a break. Also the one librarian was not as nice when I asked her to check them in for me. They always do it no problem at the Windsor branch. Just saying. Be nice to younger people. read more

Perhaps you need to work on something, and don't feel like coffee. Come to the library! There is plenty of space, both indoor and out. The staff are friendly. If you get bored, they have books on essentially everything. read more

My first visit was a nice one, spacious library. I was having trouble with the printer and a staff member kindly assisted me. Received a guest pass as I am not a member (yet). no complaints, I'll be back read more

I love being able to search the library on-line and reserve a book for pick up. Most recently I picked up a few DVD travel logs to watch while I am on the elliptical machine and decide where I am traveling to next. read more

There is one man who gives the stink eye to leave after story time (although I think they usually have some event) but other than that, a great library! read more

This library has a very nice look throughout. We are mainly there for the children's section, and there are a great variety of options for the kids. I was having problem remembering a password, and the lady was polite, but passed me on to the front desk, where they were able to help me faster. The only comment I have has to do with their Read To A Dog program. The last couple times we've gone, I have felt like the owners don't really want a child to read. I completely understand if the dog is having an off day, or something. However, the first sentence out of their mouth has been, "You can just pet him. You can read next week." Maybe it was a disclaimer about not pressuring the child, but my kid really wanted to read to the dog, and we felt like it was kind of a rejection tone. And once my child was reading (well, I might ad) the next sentence was "You don't have to read, you can just show pictures." So...OK. It just really felt like they didn't want kids there. Kind of an awkward situation, but aside from that, I'd recommend the books and the computer section for kids is always neat and clean. I love that they have ABC Mouse. read more

pretty nice layout, dislike you have to renew your card in 90 days though.

As others have noted, this is a very nice, older (late 1960's) library, that is in need of refurbishment. At 48,000 square feet, medium-to-large-sized compared to other California libraries. Well maintained, with clean restrooms and common areas. Solid wood chairs could use upgrading to more comfortable, modern fare. I'm in town visiting relatives and needed to use the WiFi to get some work done. Passable WiFi speeds: downloads at 6mb/s; uploads at 3mb/s. Electrical outlets are almost non-existent - bring an extra battery for your laptop. Library staff were really helpful and friendly. Library hours are essentially 10:00 am to 6:00 pm - extended to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. Shorter hours on Sundays. I didn't find a quiet room at this branch. The branch is generally quiet, with high noise levels near the entrance - too many patrons don't understand "quiet voice". Metered street parking and the public parking garage are basically a dollar an hour. Un-metered street parking is about a 1/2 mile walk. I had a fairly nice experience... if there was a dedicated quiet work area and more outlets, I would have rated 5 stars. read more