Been through it - was surprised it is so well done. Looks very much like old Main but better. Well preserved while improved. The new community room looks out on a redwood grove, the community garden and old magnolia tree. Really nice. And the adjacent outdoor spaces will be great to hang by people using community room and others. I didn't expect it to be so nice.

I'm really happy this is back open, absolutely, but perhaps signage a bit more than "library" would be nice. Is there still controversy over the re-naming? If not, then please label it "Rinconada Library" rather than generic "library."

Hope that it is easy for those of us who want to get in and out as quickly as we can. It is good for us to manage to get and out quickly and for others who would prefer to be there for a while that we can get out of their way.

Since there are no drive thru drop off boxes, we need some 5 minute parking spots!

does anyone know why there are no drive-up, drop-off boxes? so now we not only need to park, but need to return books during library hours?

@Curious

There are automated return slots just outside the library's entrance, just like it is at Mitchell Park.

No drop off area for passengers, no 15-minute spaces to return/check out books,instead some recharging stations. Quite a value statement here.
This is a library, not a parking lot. There is a complete disconnect in what was done here.

I'm curious what was the thinking behind removing the dropoff box where you could return things without having to park.

Just to add to the exchange between Curious and Library Patron, the outside automated return machines operate 24/7 and they give you a receipt for your returned book.

Seems worth popping out of your car to use, given the benefits. Plus some exercise doesn't hurt, even if it's getting out of your car!

@ Mitchell Park Library User - for those of us with small children, "getting out of your car" can be a major project! I predict that the Children's Library drop box (which you can reach from your car, although its on the passenger side of a vehicle) will be overflowing on a regular basis.

Remember that the drop-off slot is only on the north side, not on the south side between the library and the Art Center.

Add me to the list of people that miss the drive-by drop boxes. It was especially useful when my kids were little. Yesterday I wasn't feeling well but still needed to find a parking space at Mitchell and get out to drop off my books that were due. Minor, but it would have been great to just drive by and dropoff.

Last time I tried to call in at the library on my errand run, I found that for my couple of minutes stop I had to "fight" for a parking spot. Next time I will drag a child with me so that I can use the carpool spot. It is easy to say park and getting out of the car is good exercise, I would counter with saying that there are not enough parking spots. We could definitely do with some 5 minute parking spots.

I agree that a drop off box is very convenient but is that really what most of you want to comment on? Its a fabulous library!

The renovation was very thoughtfully designed, and the end result is wonderful. I am impressed with how the historical character of the building shines through the now bright and updated interior space. I also love the way the library links with the Art Center. Excellent job!

For people who are handicapped and then need to get their wheelchairs out of their car to return a book, this is not a good solution; it is a lot of trouble. Then they need to get the wheelchair back into the car before getting themselves back into the car - think of the trouble that is. It doesn't seem like the city ever thinks of handicapped people. How about making life a little easier for them?

Why would anyone use a traditional library when you can get virtually everything in the world in which you might be interested on the NET?

Claiming that this is a library for everyone perhaps is a mission statement, but people who value their time, and the quality of information that interests them will not go to a Palo Alto library.

This is just another money pit that will benefit few in this community.

The exquisitely (but, I assume, unwittingly) ironic humor about that comment from "Traditional-Libraries-Obsolete" isn't just that it's badly wrong, but that you'd have no idea just HOW seriously wrong it is unless you spent some real time today with libraries and the sort of things they contain that aren't online!

I encounter that contrast constantly, because I use both. The internet is a trove of _convenient_ information rather than _complete_ or _quality_ information. The best _reference_ sources generally aren't online or Googlable (it costs money to assemble quality information -- you get what you pay for), and most writen work of all kinds created in the last century is legally protected by copyright and not online.

Crowing that traditional libraries are "obsolete" thanks to the internet is like spending your whole life in a small room and thinking you've seen the world. Just your world, alas.

@Common sense -- Well stated. However, I think Traditional-Libraries-Obsolete (yeah, right!) gives away his(?) game with this at the end of their post: "This is just another money pit that will benefit few in this community."

Never mind, of course, that access to any library is free and available to any member of the public.

What's with those limited and unstable hours? How are we supposed to remember? And how can students study late? Spend $18 million on the building, and it can at least be open from 9:00-9:00 each day.

There is a lot of truth in a lot of what people are saying both sides of the argument.

Libraries are not the same as they used to be. They are not going to be used the same way. The internet is taking over a lot of the research that the majority of people will be doing and the average high school student. However, there is a lot of information that can't be found without going to a library. But at the same time, how many people will be looking for that kind of information. I have been trying to look into the family history and without something like Ancestry.com, the only other way to do some of this research is to do a lot of travel and visit local libraries and historical records offices.

Most periodicals are now online. Many old films and tv shows can be found on Netflix or similar. The same for old records.

But even though there are lots of good reasons for using a Kindle, many people still want to read a paper book. I use both and they each have their own advantages.

So getting back to libraries. They are not defunct, but they are being used in a different way. I don't know anybody who claims to still go to the library to cruise the shelves in search of a good book. I don't know anyone who walks or rides a bike to the library and then returns home. I am sure there may be some people who do it, but their numbers are small.

I put my books on hold and when I receive notification that they are available in my choice library, I stop at the library on an errand run or on the way home. I have on many occasions turned up at the wrong time on the wrong day and have to return another time. I am in the library 5 minutes, rarely speak to anyone, and back in my car and on my way to continue with my life. It is an errand. It is not a place I choose to spend a great deal of my time. I believe I am in the majority of users. I want a hold desk, a checkout machine, possibly a library catalog machine, and a simple to use return box. If it is late at night, or raining, I don't want to get out of my car. If I can't find a parking space, I drive to my next port of call and forget the errand for that day.

Our libraries have to suit everyone. At present, the design of how we use them has been suited to an ideal which probably doesn't exist. The parking situation is not a sensible one. Who on earth is going to charge a car at the library? Probably some out of towner who finds themselves low on charge and needs to find a charge before the battery goes flat. Certainly not a Palo Alto resident on a library run. What on earth is a carpooler or share car? Are we going to have zipcars at the libraries? Otherwise, perhaps these spots should be called family spots rather than carpool spots. And why should anyone be expected to get out of their car in the dark or in the rain just to return a book. The old style drive thru book drops worked fine for those who used them. I used them myself at times even though I generally parked and returned books.

The library design has done itself a disservice. We are being patronized into thinking how wonderful the new facilities are, when in all honesty, most of us won't notice.

Most cities in this area have one large new library, open many hours every day, with lots of modern features and large collections. Some have one or two small branches.

Palo Alto has chosen to have many library buildings. This means small collections in each and limited open hours, because of the cost of staffing and buying collections. It isn't cost effective. If your neighborhood library isn't open when you want it to be, or it doesn't have the materials you want, it isn't useful. You also have to drive to another part of town to get what you want. It would make more sense to have maybe a couple of libraries which are open all day every day and evenings, with big collections and adequate staff.

I was there this evening and want to compliment the planners for the facility and grounds. It is really a beautiful facility. There are colored structures outside that change color so that is interesting. And the parking area and outside grounds are beautiful.
GREAT JOB

For all of those Kindle advocates you are probably sitting in your house by yourself with no sense of community. That is not very appealing.

I love the new Mitchell Park library and all of the children having a place to go - people in meeting rooms, a cup of coffee, older teenagers in meetings and hanging out. Especially the location next to the park invites people in. That is how you get children socialized and community oriented.
Also student from the charter school hanging out there. People need a safe place to go - not in their home or a bar. Older people reading books and magazines - having a social outlet.

Rinconada has always had that attraction - a place for kids to hang out, next to the park and art center where you can stroll in and check out the latest goings on.

That is great community building - a place for all ages to get out of the house, get relief from work, have a place to meet others, next to parks where other activity is going on.

And look at the books - great art work on the book covers.

This may be true
>Most cities in this area have one large new library, open many hours every day, with lots of modern features and large collections. Some have one or two small branches.
BUT
Our libraries have cut out so much, I wouldn't trust them having one branch.
Cut hours, cut days, cut drive-up return boxes, cut parking spaces, rules, rules, rules, short days! unrememberable closing times, unruly children, noise.
Built an ostentatious huge Mclibrary at Mitchell Park where library content is less important than sterile open space; awful sculptures. Spacehogging vehicle charging stations that interfere with library users, inappropriate, ostentatious use of space.

Lots of values expressed, (like electric cars, open space) not relevant to libraries.

Diana Diamond has quite a bit to say today about the crazy library hours and the need to put back the drive-through drop box.


Web Link

Funny comments by Diana Diamond - thanks Online Name.

If the two libraries auto check-in the books, then might as well drop off at the Childrens Library near Rinconada library to avoid 25 cent fees if returning the morning after the due date. The walk is shorter too.

I visited the refreshed library. It is improved.

I hope they have a cleaning and maintenance budget to keep all of the outdoor furniture, desks and light color fabric and paint from becoming dirty and dingy.

However puts it well:
Our libraries have cut out so much, I wouldn't trust them having one branch.
Cut hours, cut days, cut drive-up return boxes, cut parking spaces, rules, rules, rules, short days! unrememberable closing times, unruly children, noise.
Built an ostentatious huge Mclibrary at Mitchell Park where library content is less important than sterile open space; awful sculptures. Spacehogging vehicle charging stations that interfere with library users, inappropriate, ostentatious use of space.

Have you tried reserving a room for a meeting? rules, rules, limited hours.
And those ostentatious charging stations free for rich people.
Downtown closes at 6, no exceptions, also closed Sunday AND Monday.
Bureaucracy gone amok.
It hasn't always been like this, our libraries used to be user friendly.