I love studying here because it's always clean, well air-conditioned, and they have consistent hours. The Saratoga Library which is closer to my house has different hours for certain days of the week which I really don't like. Also if you study in the quiet room, there is a nice view of trees outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows which gives an atmosphere of serenity while you slave away on papers and readings. read more

Talk about walking down memory lane. I have so many fond memories here through my childhood. The times I had to check out books (mainly Captain Underpants) for pleasure as a child, to renting DVDs to watch with friends, to the endless hours of studying SAT and classes in high school. Even though Cupertino may seem pretty deserted and barren, this place was always packed with students, children, and adults. Though the parking sucks - I spent 20 minutes once stuck circling - and at times you won't have a table to work at, the memories you make here surpass all. This by far is one of my favorite places on the planet and though I don't come anymore to hang, I do try to get some studying done if I am visiting home or check out the blue-ray/DVDs available. read more

The Cupertino library has grown so much through the years! They have an awesome selection of books and movies!

We love this library for a host of reasons. The staff is always friendly. They organize a lot of family friendly events. Great engaging events for kids. Story time was always a hit when our kids were little. Great book club for adults. We love using the think tank for my adult tech meetups. The nursery and wall to wall aquarium is a huge hit. The latest in the library services that we used was the passport service. So impressed by how calm and helpful the staff there was. It was easy peasy. Love our community! read more

Could be very crowded, noisy and really hard to find a parking spot on weekends. I like the small fish tank where I could relax from study though. Yet I would not choose to study there since I could hardly find any seats often. Need to mention that staff members are extremely helpful with library cards, as well as borrowing and returning books. read more

Our family has been coming to this library for weekend reading events. The speakers are lively and entertaining. Their librarians are helpful, but there aren't enough personnel to answer questions or look up specific books, so the lines are usually very long. There are limited check out stations, so there is quite a wait as well. It's also challenging to find a desk that's available to use for studying. Overall, this library can be beneficial to young families, but not as much for teenagers who need a quiet place to study. read more

This place has a lot of books but the books are not available for purchase. This place also has a wall of live exotic fish. Fish also not available for purchase. This place is ideal if you want to experience the enjoyment of books and fish without the burden of ownership. read more

Kids in Silicon Valley love the library Man no parking spots available so plan for that. There is a really nice splash pad and salt water aquarium inside The kids loved it. Nice grass to picnic on and shaded areas also read more

The Cupertino library has been established for many decades now. However, there are many improvements to be made. The self-return book conveyor belt outside is usually non-functional. There is such a long line inside the library to return books, which makes the whole process highly inefficient. The librarians are really busy, and getting assistance takes a long time. They don't have sufficient staff to help the clients. The check out line is very long as well. For students, it's very difficult to find a desk to study. With the improvements, we would consider coming back to this library more frequently. read more

I am working for De Anza College this summer and the Cupertino Library is around the corner. Finishing up my last Masters Course and just started studying here! I love it- clean, quiet (very important), spacious with several outlets. The only issue is the lack of parking. Other than that, I would say it's a perfect place to study. read more

One of my favorite local libraries. It has a fantastic kids section, a separate teens section (no adults or younger children allowed), computers, free wifi, seating, and a nice space outside where you can get some fresh air & walk around after a few hours of studying. The only downside is that there is no cell phone reception inside. So if you make plans with someone, use email, or make sure they have a phone that'll route calls over wifi. read more

The best library in the area. More books, DVDs, etc. Also the aquarium is too cool. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can't go wrong coming here. read more

We love coming here with my daughter. They have really good books and fun activities for kids of all ages. They have the nicest librarians. The library is very clean and they have the best DVD's. Our kid will grow up with this library for sure. read more

Pros: * Kudos for the holds service. I've gotten a number of newly printed books soon after my initial online request (within a week, that is). * It's also cool that they're now open everyday. * As festive as they are, it was a decent call to shut off the fountains this summer. Apparently there was a bacteria issue? If so, It was probably no help that some kids have run through them in diapers, maybe leaving pee and dookie runoff in their wake. Cons, but aimed at certain patrons: * It's so irksome how much in worse shape library DVDs are, compared to movie rental shops. I can't help thinking that some people excuse their carelessness just because the library's free. Bet they'd never rub their kids' or their own fingernails on personal or paid-account discs. * The 4-minute parking spots for book drops gets used for anything but... A LOT. Have these folks heard of--oh I don't know---parking elsewhere and just walking the extra 10 yards? How lazy are we?!? Grrrrr. read more

Dentist is across the street. Hubby had an appt before mine so I killed time here plus I had to pee! The bathroom was nce and clean, and had about 6 roll of NEW toilet paper ready! There is a HUGE fish tank/aquarium size of the Wall!! Many pretty fish and the first thing the little tykes run to see and play Eye Spy. I went to the CD/Movie/Magazine area and read US Weekly and San Francisco and Traveler magazines. I felt a little lame ready the gossip mags while there were so many literary works of art just inches away from me. read more

This is the best library ever. They are clean and the books are a big selection. They are open with long hours and the librarians are super friendly. We come with the children on the weekends and there are lots of computers to use. The internet is high speed and is free. There are lots of videos of all cultural backgrounds. There are water fountains and there are lots of stationary to use. There are tons of books to choose from. This is a kid friendly place. We like the big lawn in the front. read more

This library would be PERFECT if it had small group study rooms like they have in the Milpitas library. Anyway, this place has a great selection of books/DVDs/other media and if they don't have what you need, another library probably does and they will ship it over for you to pick up at the Cupertino one within a few days. I think that's totally awesome! Their new computers make it so easy to check out really quickly too and return stuff without any hassle. Is this a good place to study for an exam like the LSAT? No. It's not particularly quiet with all the kids running around and high schoolers whispering about who made out with who's ex-boyfriend at prom. I even got in a fight with one fool when I was trying to take a practice LSAT here. The paging system also goes off at random intervals throughout the day and it will mess up your concentration during an exam. The librarians don't enforce the silent room stuff much either, so for that I'd definitely recommend the Milpitas library because they have REALLY quiet study rooms and private study rooms you can reserve for 2 hours at a time. Reason this gets 4 stars: great family library, tons of good selections - particularly for kids, love their aquarium, really friendly service, fun fountains in the front, SOOOO much better than the old Cupertino library! read more

Bottom line at the top: great for kids, Internet is shoddy, great international section. -- This is a fabulous, family-friendly library! There is a large fish tank by the kid's section which is always popular, and during the summer there is a water feature outside that kids through (to their parents' delight or dismay, hahaha). They have a great international section of DVDs, books, and magazines. Beware of terrible internet (is this not the silicon valley..? how is this an issue?) though! Do your research ahead of time because the browsers can only run the catalogue. read more

My favorite library! I still have love for the old library that used to stand in its place, but this 'new' library is awesome. You can always find the latest and newest novels (if you can get a hold of them before they fly off the shelves), and you can easily renew and place holds on books and such online. I like to come here to get my latest books/movies/music. I love seeing HUGE salt water tank on the first floor. It's full of colorful fish and accents the library very well. The only gross part is seeing kid's face prints and slobber on the windows, so be careful not to touch the glass. Gross kid drool. eewww. Some of the librarians are cranky so watch out for them. Next time you have an hour on a weekend, do this*: 1) Get a good book 2) Get a beverage of choice next door at Coffee Society 3) Sit outside, read and listen to the fountain. * best to do during off-peak times due to the huge crowds that are often here. read more

If you use this passport agency for passport documents do not let them mail it because when they send passports with all your vital documents in a batch there is no customer tracking service available and they won't let you see the tracking information as to when it's been mailed or how it's been dropped off. Basically, you're screwed if it gets lost. All of my documents went missing and it's a huge headache not to mention now I have to worry about fraud. The service itself is fine for signing applications but do not let them mail anything and make sure to take it to the post office yourself for proper tracking. They blame the post office and the post office blames them. Now all I can do is wait to see if my identity gets stolen. Two months later they notified me that all my info is lost and are trying to rectify the situation and trying their best to locate my id documents but mostly I'm screwed. No paper trail, nothing. Very frustrating. read more

The library is a good study place, and even if there are people chatting, there are tons of other areas to move to, including the quiet room. Most of the time there are seats, but during exam weeks it might be more crowded. There's also book sales about every 2 months, and there are definitely hidden gems within each of them as there's a huge selection to pick from. The library also has super fast wifi and is fast to connect to. I uploaded ~400 photos within 10 minutes when it would have taken at least a few hours at my house. read more

Best library in San Jose by far. I love the study areas, especially the Quiet Study Room located in the upstairs area (turn L and go down all the way to the end after you take the stairs). There are outlets galore (yay!) and the wifi is fast and free! There are also desks located along the edges of the bookshelves next to tall open windows that lets in a lot of natural light. The only draw back is that this place can get very crowded with high school students (ugh...) and they get pretty rowdy. Get here before school lets out (around 2pm) to claim a good study spot! read more

Apparently, this branch of the Santa Clara library system is known among thieves and punk kids as "the place" to steal DVD's. That's right. The Cupertino library has the biggest problem with keeping new DVD releases on the shelves. As an experiment, I'm tempted to find one of those rolling carts and load it up with as many DVD's as possible and roll it out the front door. Yes the alarm will go off, but there will be NO response from any library staff. Of course, I'd leave the cart outside the front door. Maybe the stupid library staff would begin to realize there was a problem and take action to prevent further theft. Seriously. It's a joke. All day long, the alarm buzzes from someone walking out the door with an item that hasn't been checked out properly or is purposely being stolen. If you use the library website to check DVD inventory for this library, don't be fooled when it says that a DVD title is "IN" and available. Chances are it was stolen weeks ago and no one at the branch is even aware. Sadly, I give this branch one star! read more

Convenient location. Nice staff members at the front desk. She explained to me all the facilities in the library on my first visit. Love the signature fish tank where I can find "nemo"! It's incredibly hard ti find parking on weekends though. The whole library is too crowded for me--they hardly have an empty seat. read more

If you come here for no other reason, come here to check out the beautiful fish tank which takes up a wall near the entrance of the library. It is mesmerizing. The library itself is pretty small, but the Santa Clara County library system is organized so that if the title you want is not on the shelves there, you can order it from any of the other outlying libraries. The library gets busy on the weekends, especially near closing. Thankfully, there are self check-out stations to make leaving the library with your stack of books a little faster. read more

The fountain in front of the library is really nice, and in the summer you can find little kids in their bathing suits running through each mini fountain. The fish aquarium inside is also very fun to look at in your free time. A few months ago the adult section was revamped, so it looks good, I guess, but doesn't exactly attract me. Overall, the library is pretty clean and modern. There is free access to use the computers (hooray!) Though I admit the wifi is a little slow, IT'S FREE. There are "no food and drink" signs all over the library, but drinks with caps or tops on top are allowed. My favorite part of the library is the hold section. When I don't have time to search through an area for a good read, I can do it online and place a hold on the book and pick it up a few days later. It's convenient for me and easier to find a nice book. Drawbacks: 1) I REALLY don't like the air conditioning. Once I leave the library, I am immediately complaining of a huge headache from the cold AC. It's better to bring a jacket even if it's really hot outside, because you will be shivering inside. 2) There aren't enough quiet study areas, also. Even though there are a lot of desks in the open, they're usually taken by teenagers who always seem to be messing around. Some more quiet study areas would be great. 3) The librarians at the front desks can get rude sometimes. One time I had homework and needed a pair of scissors for it but forgot them at home. I went to the children's section's front desk and asked the librarian politely. She looked at me strangely and said curtly, "We don't have any scissors. Sorry." But the tone she used made me feel that she had better things to do but was stuck here for some reason. I like this library. I really do. But some things make it hard to enjoy it fully. read more

There's a man who wears yellow headphones, a white shirt, glasses, and a penchant for drinking gallons of soda. He would pour a cup (with a lid and straw) full, then proceed to not spill it. Afterwards, he would make funny faces while listening to music on the computer. A sticky mess waiting to happen.. I'm not talking about just the soda. He is an epic failure. read more

I finally went back to the library late 2007 after a 8 year hiatus. I had racked up a large fine when I was a little girl checking out Babysitters Club books, and was scared to return for fear they would put me to jail. Anyways, I finally went back, applied for a new library card, and voila! Fine erased! I guess they do forgive little girls. 5 Stars for forgiving irresponsible little girls. This library also has a great CD collection. If they don't have what you want, you can request them from other library and have them delivered to the Cupertino library. I went crazy with Brazilian music. Another cool thing is that they updated sooo many things since I was a little girl!! (unsurprising)... -Automated check-out counters galore -computers EVERYWHERE -organized books -cool magazines -COFFEE SOCIETY -Clean floors and desks!!!! -friendlier librarians (or maybe I just became more disciplined) But my favorite thing about the new Cupertino library is that it has a Jorge Luis Borges quote on the front of the building. Too bad they don't have any of his books. Lame. read more

REJOICE ! The library is now open on Mondays !! This place is beautiful inside and out. There are always a ton of high school and middle school kids around here, and that must mean this place is REALLY COOL because teenagers only do stuff that is REALLY COOL. If the library had been open this Monday, I probably would've seen them when I drove by, looking and just BEING really cool. Alas, it was a holiday. Grab a coffee next door and enjoy browsing the stacks (well, after you finish your coffee, of course). Guess what ? Now you can do that on MONDAYS. And you guys all knew you can transfer items from one Santa Clara County branch to another, right ? So if you wanted like, Princess Diaries 6 or the new Star Wars Lego game for Gamecube, you could go to the website and request to have it transfered ? It's there in like, two days ! Also, you can come pick it up on a MONDAY. I love libraries. This one's pretty hot, but it's not my favourite. The people watching is better at Los Altos. But I am really excited that it now has the funding to be open on Mondays. Did you guys hear about that yet ? read more

God how things have changed. I grew up on this library, and stopped visiting it when I went off to college. We were bored last Sunday, with not much to do being in the south bay for the day, so we decided to stop by the old library to kill some time. The library ain't so old anymore. The renovations they've done have made this place really sleek. Nice layout, free wi-fi, Coffee Society on-site, etc. We spent a good hour or two in the magazine section -- it was well stocked. I do admit that I felt some sense of loss when I realized that my childhood library had changed so dramatically, but I got over it and am happy to see that the place is doing well, and many people are using it. read more

Do these kids not have a family? It's like 7:30 and they're just all hanging out. Thank goodness they have study rooms, to, you know, study. Apparently the idea of a quiet library is lost on the teenagers that hang out there. Otherwise, the Cupertino Library is pretty nice. It's pretty big which means the selection is good. There's also a lot of comfy places to plop yourself down for a read. read more

This is a wonderful resource for the community and a truly beautiful functional building. Surprisingly, for a library, there is a large aquarium that, on some occasions, has had some technical problems (dead fish). However, it is usually well kept. The collection is large and deep. As most public libraries, it lacks a strong academic collection (as you would find in a University Library). However, there is a surprising amount of older types of materials that are difficult to get any where else. As with all other Santa Clara County Libraries, the music collection (especially classical at this library) is truly excellent. The staff is usually friendly and helpful but the reason I knocked two stars off my ratings is the decrease in service that has been a problem in Cupertino for the last few years and is especially noticable in this new building. I have seen the staff regularly refuse to help elderly people or others check out items even when those people had to wait in line anyway to resolve account issues. Often this means people are bounced to a variety of lines to get one function done. The other problem is that this library lacks its own large public meeting room. The library often holds programs in its smaller meeting room but this usually causes problems when more than 20 people wish to attend. The city has created a large meeting space next door to the library but this is not always available for library events. However, in all other respects this is a superior public library and well worth visiting. read more

This library is pretty good, I've been going here for almost 5 months at least once a week. Pros: Very modern and visually appealing. Bathrooms are cleaned a lot so the facilities are never dingy or gross for too long (and trust me due to the amount of traffic this place gets, bathrooms can get really dirty). The fish tank is beautiful and I really like the front room with new book selection and comfy chairs. Huge selection of books keeps me busy for hours. Lots of outlets are available for charging. There is a "quiet" study room which is nice for getting work done. Cons: Almost always packed! It is always so busy here, finding parking can be a struggle. Also it can be hard to find an open table or seat. It is often very stuffy inside on hot days. I don't know if they're having issues with AC or if they don't have one, but it's been sorta miserable and smelly in there with the recent heat wave. Also, in order to check out more than 3 books on your library card, you have to provide proof of residency. I moved here recently and didn't have a state licence at the time so that was definitely weird (they dont require that where I'm from). I get why they do it though. Overall, this is not my favorite Library, but it is the best one I've been to this far in the area. read more

What I love about this place: - The pretty fish tank, it is pretty cool for a library to have that! - The clean bathroom, I am surprised how they keep it clean all the time - The movie/magazine/CD section, large amount of selections to choose - The quiet room, usually the best place to go when place is packed - The free wifi, register for a library card first, it is free - The online book reserve system, select the book via webpage, the book will be on the shelve ready for y'all With that being said, there are still kids running/screaming next to you, the weekend is jammed with people, and they need extend the open hours : ) read more

I've been to quite a few public libraries, but this is one of my favorites. It definitely gets crowded and is super popular, and I do know that non-residents hate the $80/year fee, so keep those things in mind when picking a place to go. Lots of people also commented about the unreliability of the wifi, but I've actually never had a sustained problem, and I've studied here pretty frequently. It's nice and spacious upstairs with quite a bit of space for studying. There are lots of tables of four, and most of the time people go to study on their own, so you might just need to be willing to buddy up with a stranger to get a table, but I've never had anyone bite my head off about it or anything. They have a teen area which I've taken advantage of during school hours because it's pretty empty (which I've also used a ton during my own high school years), but I leave it open for them high schoolers once school is out of session. The children's section is also great because they have a small open area with a couple of toys and some rugs which my 2 year old twins love to play with. They'll grab a couple of books and we'll sit on the ground and read there out loud for a bit (and sometimes other kids will join! haha). Also the shelves in the children's section are nice and short so my kids can already reach almost everything that they have. They don't technically allow food, but I've brought in drinks like jamba juice or my own thermos and that's usually not considered too offensive to the librarians since nobody's ever talked to me about it. read more

This library is awesome. As a student, its a great place to study-nice furniture, quiet (duh) and of course wi-fi. There is also a coffee shop to fulfill your caffeine addicitons. The people who work here are very friendly. As a parent, this is a great place to take your kids. Before walking into the children's area, there is a beautiful aquarium on the wall. In the children's area, there are plenty of quiet, reading areas w/lots of child-sized furniture. read more

I have mixed feelings about this place. I remember the old Cupertino Library, where there were 4 floors. The architecture was an very old design and it looked not welcoming at all. It was not spacious, enclosed and confining type looks. Oh, but how I do miss that place! Cupertino did well by making this new library very open and well-lighted place. They even have a fish Aquarium for kids to marvel at. Let's look at a few things. Kid's Area - downstairs. I haven't visited this place very often but I will when I get a craving to read some Dr. Seuss books. This area is a large place and looks very conducive for fun. Reading Area - downstairs. This place has magazines and newspapers were you can sit and read in comfy chairs (or so it appears). I've never gone in there before, but now as I write this review, I have convinced myself to do so. Study desks - 2 people desks with outlets at each desks along one side of the wall. 4 people desks with outlets along the side of the wall next to City Hall. 4 people desks with outlets in the middle (hard to describe) 1 teenager's study room and study area 1 quiet study room. Here are some things to note: While at the 2 person desk, it can get a bit drafty so bring a coat. There are vents along that wall. The quiet study room can get quite hot because it faces the sun. Sometimes they need to put a loud fan in there. Otherwise it is generally quiet. My grips: First issue: I have to pay an anntual fee for renting/wifi use for being a San Jose resident? I am so peeved about this. I literally live across the street from Bollinger where yes, this is San Jose territory, but I am literally a 2 min drive to the place. It's not the library's fault, but it is Cupertino's. They need some new regulations that covers people who live in a X radius around the library. Second issue: Seriously? They didn't design this place to have a few study rooms?? C'mon. Where am I go to if I need to work on something with a friend or two? I mean MLK in Downtown San Jose has study rooms galore, Mt. View Library has 3, other libraries have 1-3, but this place has none? ughhhh Anyways, these issues aside it's a nice place to go to. Very modern looking. See you there. read more

Love this library. We come here every 2-3 weeks and take out a bagful of books so that we can read to our 6 year old. The picture books section is huge and great for kids. In addition, since our son is learning to read now, there is a whole section of books for beginning readers. There are also DVDs and Wii games you can borrow! Why buy a book? Just come here! read more

The environment at this library is great. Very "open" feeling. Lots of nearby stores. Coffee society, asian food place across the street, Deanza nearby (Think chipotle, etc). The inside of the library feels very modern also. Lots of books, looks nice, cool place. Noticeable better than the Santa Clara library, here I actually FEEL like reading because of the way the library is lain out. If you want to come here to study/do school work then make sure you don't come when it is super packed. It can be really hard to find a seat to work. Whether's it's the teen room or just a table around the library. Librarian gets mad when the teen room gets too loud, which is understandable, but at times she comes off as authoritarian for no good reason. Overall this is a really nice library that can be a bit packed at times. read more

This library is 15 minutes from my house. I came here to use wifi & do some work. Wifi requires a library card. A library card requires that you live in a select city or pay a $80 fee. They directed me to one of the free libraries for "lower class" or said I could use internet at a McDonalds. Pretty poor approach for an expansion that cost $22 million. It reminds me of 1993 when I couldn't afford a modem to call up my local BBS. read more