Centerville Library is behind Lucky's in the Brookvale Shopping Center. Small space, limited hours. Read: "All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 other myths about Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Background: Britain conquered Ireland in the 1540's, ruled thru settler-colonialism. Encouraged surplus population to settle in Americans to develop a colony. America soon evolved many myths/lies/alternative facts to erase/assimilate/"terminate" the existence of Native Americans: #1 All the Real Indians Died Off -population of Native Americans shrank from 10 million in 1492 to 250,000 in the 1900's due to slavery, disease, Indian wars with United States, Christianization ("kill the Indian, Save the Soul"). -Indians erased from history, "assimilated" -Indian tribes have membership lists, based on blood quantum. #2 Thanksgiving Proves the Indians Welcomed the Pilgrims (1620's) -wasn't called thanksgiving then, basically a shared meal between Indians & Pilgrims after a successful harvest whereby Indians taught Pilgrims what to farm. Pilgrims prospered, proceeded to "settle"/acquire land. Native tribes resisted pilferage of their lands/food stocks/animals.... #9 US Presidents were Benevolent or at least Fair-Minded Towards indians -Declaration of Independence states Indigenous lands were for settlers to colonize. -T. Jefferson, G. Washington, A. Jackson bought Indigenous land from land agents, not Indigenous tribes for speculation. -Jefferson purchased land from France without consulting Indigenous tribes, for example settlers to claim land thereon. -Andrew Jackson thru The Indian Removal Act removed many Indian tribes from their lands. #11 The United States Gave indians Their Reservations -Indian occupied lands have always been Indian lands. -Indian tribes ceded 90,000,000 acres via 400 treaties. The U.S. did not honor a single one. -the ceded lands were to be held in trust for the benefit of Indian peoples. "Reservations" were from Indian lands. Monies due from Indian lands mismanaged, unaccounted for. 5 stars for eye opening info. Barely reported by mainstream media. November is Native American Heritage Month read more

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I needed to borrow a selection of books for an upcoming presentation, and the library staff made the entire process seamless. They pulled the books I requested quickly and efficiently, even offering to help with additional materials I hadn't thought of. The quality of the books was excellent, with up-to-date publications and comprehensive collections. The best part is that library memberships are very affordable, and the range of services available--including free workshops and events--makes it an unbeatable value. read more

If you happen to love Peace Quiet Tranquillity sand Silence!?....Cross this library off your list! I have never been in such a VERY NOISY and CHAOTIC library in my life until I got into this library! This library is designed just like an amphitheater theater that you WILL HEAR every child's pouting shouting yelling and s reaming so forget focusing on what you are reading in whatever book you're reading in this Library! Getaway as far as possible from this library and do yourself a huge favor by going to McDonald's if you like free WiFi and you have something to eat as well. This library is what a Library SHOULDN'T BE if I'm being honest on top of the fact this this library is Tiny compared to other libraries here in the Bay Area. I'd just stay away if I were and this is just a Friendly reminder that YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.... read more

I've been going to the Centerville Library branch for years now since it's close to my house. It's behind the Albertson's in the Brookvale Shopping Center. It's pretty small and I bet all the librarians and clerks know me by sight. They have shortened hours because the City of Fremont loves to cut library hours first in a budget crunch. Nowadays you can get all your CDs, books, DVDs put on hold from their website and they'll call you when it's ready to be picked up. Love this service. Plus, they have a machine that you can check out your stuff without talking to anyone, and it prints out your receipt. Their hrs: Tues 1-8pm; Thurs 11am-6pm. That's it! Bathrooms: one women and one men. One stall in women's w/ a sink. website: http://aclibrary.org/ read more

Love this library. Walking distance from our house and has wonderful staff. Small and quaint.

Small Library... reason why I go here is because its close to where we live. My kids usually borrow books and or dvds from here :) But at times we go to the Fremont Main Library. This location opens only on Tuesdays and Wednesday and recently added Saturdays as well... which is great ! read more

Centerville Library - They open Saturdays now !!!! - Libraries Near Me - Fremont, California

Regarding SR's negative review, Fremont is not a "small" city that needs only one library. Fremont has 210,000 residents. San Francisco, where SR lives, has 28 branches for 805,000 people, so presumably he thinks that at least 24 of them should be closed! It's true that the Centerville branch is fairly small and is only open two days a week, but it is extremely popular on those days, as it gets a HUGE amount of use by the kids (and their parents) in the area. And while the focus is on children, the adult sections are actually quite good, and the Alameda County Library system is very efficient at transferring books and media from other locations as needed. Computers are also available for public use. Closing this branch and making people drive another 15 minutes (30 minutes round trip) to the Main Library would be foolish in the extreme. Community libraries are vital for a healthy democracy -- there should be more libraries, not fewer. Great staff, great library, convenient location. read more

Centerville library has amazing staff. Recently, checked out some books for my kids. Due to a cross checking error at home on number of items checked-out, happened to go back to the library to look for the missing books. Upon arrival, the library is closed and staff are heading home for long weekend (MLK Birthday). Was able to have a conversation with library staff and Becky Machetta (manager) obliged to help. Checked around the library for the missing books and did not find them. However, Becky offered to check for the missing books on Tuesday and took my details. Back at home, double checked the list of books and to my surprise, able to account for all the books checked out. Felt sorry for the trouble created, but was well received and glad to have friendly Centerville library staff. Kudos to Becky and her team!! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Keep up the good work. read more

Please increase the number of days it's open and the working hours. It may be good, but what's the use of its not accessible most of the times? Its current timings- Tue - 1 pm - 8 pm Thurs- 11 am - 6 pm read more

Awesome helpful staff! Really quick too! I needed help printing a sheet and they were so accommodating and safe too! Thank you! Its nice to have a resource like this in my community when financial situation took a turn this year! read more

This review is for the event and their ticket distribution policy. They won't communicate that there could be a line for the event outside. Oh Come on... this library is too small and it won't take much time to announce or post the details online/on the door how they distribute the tickets. As you should be aware that some kids are waiting for the event INSIDE THE LIBRARY TOO. They may be waiting for long and they may get sad. The branch manager is SIMPLY rude. read more

I love Centerville Library! I have been "escaping" here since my American High School days in the mid-70's, when we finally had a neighborhood library to call our own. I love the walking distance and path, friendly staff, and intimate "homey" feel of this library, and the resources offered. It's unfair to "ding" this library for its short open hours or small space, since that is a City of Fremont and Alameda County Library issue based on budgets and funding. I love how friendly, knowledgeable and accessible everyone who works at Centerville Library is!!! Thank you all for making this my absolute favorite neighborhood library--40+ years and counting! read more

I love going to the Centerville Library with the kids. It's within walking distance from the house, the new playground is awesome, and while the selection of books isn't super huge, we can request anything and it shows up on the hold shelf for us pretty quickly! While it is only open 2 days a week, those two days are great - there are a lot of programs for the kids including story times, special event programs (magicians, puppeteers, music, etc), and homework help. The special events are a lot of fun - they usually aren't as crowded as going to the Fremont Main, and often they have them outdoors which the kids love. read more

This library is amazingly small. I personally think it's an abuse of tax payers dollars to keep such a small library open. I think a regular size library could take every book from this library and and you would not even notice the library got more books. The best thing about this library is the courteous and friendly staff. Oh wait theyre not at all. Oh wow now I really have nothing good to say. read more

It's an ok library, definitely the smallest I've ever been to but it serves it's purpose. It is in a convenient location, next to a small playground and grocery store. My kids and I like the various children's activities they put on. Almost half of the library is dedicated to kids stuff, which is great if you have kids. I just wish the staff were better. Most don't make eye contact or seem very happy to be there while others are down right mean. I swear they act like they hate kids and minorities. Stay away from the older female librarian with the white hair, she seems like a b****, based on multiple interactions I've had with her. Often I try to stay out of the librarians way, as the ones I've dealt with don't help much. For example when I politely asked the white haired librarian where to find something, she looked really irritated and snapped "go over there" while gesturing vaguely to one half of the library, providing no help whatsoever. That said, if you avoid the staff and don't ask them any questions, this is an ok library. Only gets two stars though because of the size and the staff. read more

To my surprise (from reading the other reviews), we actually really enjoyed this library. I took my 7 yr old and 2 yr to this library today for their free Lego build activity and had a good time. Although the library is small but it's nicely organized (small kids section one side while the other ones on the other side). For parents with elementary school and younger kid, this library has just the right amount of books and it's the right size. I actually don't prefer the big library as I feel like I'm constantly chasing after my toddler in it. There were 2 librarians there today (one older and one younger lady), they seem friendly. The younger one even helped me look for Captain Underpants books for my son, there was no line to talk to the librarians and they seem very attentive to the patrons there. Overall, I give this place 5 stars, I'm glad there's a little cute library near where I live! Oh, to add to that, there's a nice playground right outside the library that has a lot of shade. The playground is a big plus for my 2yr old bc it's padded ground and more for younger children (toddler to elementary). I'll add pics when we go back again next week! read more

What would it take to increase the library hours here? Is it a budget thing? Driving to Fremont main is not easy for everyone, especially seniors and children. read more

I was in the library about 3 weeks ago. The librarian was sitting at the middle of the library, at her desk. A member walked up to her desk and they had an extremely loud conversation which wasn't library business .I couldn't concentrate on my studies so, after 15 minutes of me listening to them discuss cooking tips like there were a bar, I got up and left. On my way out I told the front desk lady and this should be a quiet place where people can come and study and how disappointed am I about this. I told her the UNION CITY Library has about 50+ people in there at any given day I go and its always quiet there.. As I was taking to front desk lady who was very nice, as she was apologizing. I noticed that, the librarian walked up and stood about 4 feet away from us and listed to my complaint for about a minute, however she didn't do anything. I gestured to speak to her, she quickly walked in the back and pretended not to see me. read more

yay! i used to come here all the time and borrow books. i guess it paid off because i now have a BA in English. I got my first library card on a preschool field trip and I never turned back! the decor is way outdated, but i don't mind because it reminds me of when I used to think this library was huge. the librarians are always nice, though i've seen many come and go. even though the main library has a better selection, this location has a special place in my heart. read more