City of Palo Alto – Mitchell Park Library

After a 2+ year remodel this library finally reopened. If you’re interested in a quiet environment for some solid study/​reading time, go elsewhere. This space is overrun with yelling, crying, running, screaming kids and their helicopter parents/​Tiger Moms. It is a joke; one big daycare center for out of control kids and mentally ill, homeless people. Avoid.

Very nice spacious library would have loved more chill space that rivaled the old community center.

Amazingly beautiful. It’s a two story library so there’s a nice view from all the windows. There’s plenty of sun light coming in, lots of comfortable seating, there’s a balcony with outdoor seating, an outdoor area in the kids corner, and the list goes on. You’ll have to come and take a look yourself.

Love the modern green friendly library. The kids area was treat. See my photos.,

Loving this new library! I spend most of my time in the children’s section with my toddler. We can spend more than an hour enjoying all that this library has to offer. The children’s section even has a play area and an outside picnic area with child-​sized picnic tables. There are many high-​quality, well-​maintained books. Many come with an audio cd so that children can do a read along. There are also many bi-​lingual and non-​English books. I stopped going to the Mountain View Library after visiting this one. Not to say that M.V.‘s isn’t a good one, but this one is FANTASTIC!

Loved the new library!!! Two-​story building and they have Photoshop on computers!!! They even have two 24-​hour return system outside the library!!! HOW FEGGING COOL IS THAT!!!

It’s a wonderful place; with lots of natural light and wide open indoor spaces. My kids love to spend time in the kid and teen areas, and I love that it’s all in a place (Mitchell Park) where we can do so much more. The community center classrooms are right next door, there’s a café out front (unfortunately closed Mondays), and the big and lovely Mitchell Park is just outside. It’s become our family’s new favorite book-​based hangout.

Near-​perfect in every respect but EXTREMELY NOISY.
There are constant activities for large crowds of preschoolers at all hours, and the din of children wailing and crying at peak volume is inescapable.
Then, in mid-​afternoon, once the middle and high schools close, perhaps a hundred students descend to occupy the library. These are good kids from excellent schools largely occupied productively with their homework, but there’s a lot of communal effort and the noise level ramps up to around train station level.
Other libraries in the area have effective mechanisms in place to deal with child-​generated uproar, but the staff at Mitchell are
either too timid or weary to tackle the problem, so patrons simply suffer. By contrast, make the slightest scene in the
Mountain View library and a security guard will lay down the law for you quite unambiguously.
I seriously wonder if the interior of the building, which is quite cavernous, amplifies ambient sound.
Still, the environment is otherwise extremely pleasant, the collection excellent and the staff unfailingly helpful, so we mustn’t be bad sports.

I love it. Everything is so new and modern! It definitely worth to wait for so many yrs to built this new library! Studying in the teen zone, the green color surrounding definitely made study less boring!

The old library was crowded but it was a beautiful expression of Californian architecture. It’s sad to see it go. The new one is noisy and big. Some will like it because it’s flashy but it was a shame to see the old one go.

Great remodel. Beautiful facility.
For a library, this place is loud. As I write, there are two barking dogs immediately in front of the main entrance and it sounds like they’re in the center of the lobby. The location of the children’s area and the overall design means that acoustically, the noises from downstairs are all focused upward.
The last time I was here, a man 10 feet away from me was navigating a phone mail system on speakerphone. Some free library etiquette lessons would be helpful. At the Mountain View library they don’t mess around with noise levels. If you’re being rude they’ll pull your card… your library card. Ok, just kidding.
Also, for some reason, 50% of the brand new desk lamps upstairs don’t work. I have no idea how this is possible, since this facility just opened.
Overall, 8/​10, would library again. Bring headphones.

Great library unless you’re looking for books. Those can be found at the MV or Sunnyvale libraries.

I went to the Grand Opening Ceremony for Mitchell Park Library and it was an impressive celebration. Firetruck and interactive booths for the kids, free cookies and coffee from the new Ada’s Café, Food trucks to enjoy during the celebration and even a school performance of the Nutcracker in the brand new auditorium.
It’s a complete redesign and worlds more modern than the old location. The two story design is spacious and open with all new computers, conference rooms, and lots of kid areas.
San Mateo Public Library on 3^rd Avenue is the gold standard for me with their multi-​level building and plentiful self study rooms and computers. Mitchell Park has only two private conference rooms for only 2 hour intervals and less private space for studying, but there are still comfortable chairs and desks that quickly get filled up.
With the downstairs children’s level, the noise is a bit more than other libraries but it looks like a great spot for all the local families. Wifi is a bit slow and hard to connect to (sad given much is donated by Google and HP) but this library opening was worth the wait.

Platinum LEED certified. Pretty snazzy. New all around. Tons of kids and an interesting enough set of books if you were a kid. Upstairs where adults are is less interesting since the library isnt large. A slew of HP and Asus co puters for net access. I do like the outside areas both top and bottom floors as a place to hang though. Otherwise i think you have to be young for it to be really exciting

It is a fantastic library. It has conference room and group study rooms that students can study together. The café is convenient and the staff is very friendly… I start using the facility more often.

incredible remodel, stylish and clean! And the seats are pretty comfy too

Great new library. It’s huge with a lot of material. It’s also a very green building, being LEED certified. The only issue is the parking lot is pretty small compared to the crowds the library will bring.