Cumberland Public Library

Wonderful library! The Children’s Room and librarians are fantastic! There are tons of books, video games, DVDs, book/​music sets, etc for babies, toddlers, and kids. The children’s room also has several toys and games for the kids to use. There are puzzles, train sets, Legos, matching game, crayons and paper, etc. I am very impressed with this library and I love to go with my son!
Tip: there is a playground near the library. My 16 month old loves to run around the playground and cool-​off in the library with toys and a book! :)

Extremely nice place to go to read for a while, they also have cheap snacks you can buy!

I have plenty of wonderful memories at the library but it pains me that it’s so different now. I have two small children that attended the Cumberland Library regularly. During their summer programs we were asked to leave our kids in the room because it’s a «closed program». I think it’s enormously unnerving that people would try to get you to leave your children alone. When we mentioned that our child was CLEARLY uncomfortable we were met with rudeness. This happen to be the 3^rd «rude experience» we have had with the children’s librarian. I brought it to the attention of the Library administrator and was met with an aggressive defense and a slew of excuses. Not even an apology for my experience, just the reasons why Im wrong or why what happened was ok. I was told that the employee would be spoken with but I don’t hold much hope. I will not be taking my family there anymore.

Hikes
parks
and
monasteries
A first glance the Cumberland Library seems pretty ordinary and boring from the outside. Just a bunch of huge blocks stacked on top of each other.
But it you look more carefully you will see that the library is actually quite interesting and the location special and cool.
The library building is connected to an old monastery and you can cross over to it while inside the library. Some really interesting architecture inside that area. Just outside the library is a fascinating little park as well as lots of cool hiking trails with historical sites off in the woods.
The library is spacious and has lots of comfy places to sit and read or do research. It doesn’t have an obvious historical look or feel to it but it certainly has far more ambiance and charm than most modern libraries.
The staff here were pleasant and friendly and the library has a nice children section as well as lots of movies and magazines. A nice library in a very interesting location.

very nice library. staff is nice and seems to like their job. love the monastery grounds. internet access and printing was easy
April 2013 – Do NOT use the book drop here. Return your book and get a receipt for doing so. I returned a book on the due date and checked out 2 more books. Weeks later I get an email saying that book is overdue. I purposely returned it to a person at the desk to ensure there were no issues. Now they are giving me a hard time about it and put late fees on my account. They of course were told that they will be removing those fees because it is not my problem if they lose stuff so they need to keep looking. It is just common sense that if I am there on the exact due date of the book and getting more, obviously I was there to return it. She said that if your late fees are under $ 5 you can still check out books. Ok well that is a stupid policy. If you have late books you obviously should not be allowed to check out more. So they are going to keep looking and hopefully there will be no issue

Out of all of the libraries I’ve been to in Rhode Island this one is my favorite. The people who work there are very kind and helpful, only one in particular is a bit edgy. The building itself is clean and has a lot to offer, a big movie selection (who needs block buster when you can rent and request movies for free). There are a couple dozen audio books and tons of magazines/​news papers. You can even rent e-​readers! The children’s room offers stimulating activities and comfy places to relax and learn.
The outside of the building is even as entertaining as the inside. There are two jungle gyms in which you can cross over a cute wooden bridge to access. There is also a beautiful walking trail through the woods around the library. Beware around dusk in the spring and summer there are A LOT of mosquitoes so bring your bug spray and a sweater.
The monastery (in which the locals still call it because it’s a former monastery) its beautiful. I have seen on a few occasions wedding photos being taken on the premises.
Behind the library is a senior center that offers a few programs. The Hayden center which is connected to the library can only be accessed through its own separate entrance offers a used book store on Thursdays from 5:30 — 7:30 and Saturday mornings from 9:30 — 12:30. You can’t beat buying soft cover books for 50 cents!
There’s always something going, it really is a great place for any one and every one!
To see what’s happening next visit:

In an old stone building with parking that it shares with the walking trails around. Very clean and bright inside.
Pretty much everything is on the 2^nd level which makes it a little less convienent, but if you didn’t go to the 2^nd level than you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the beautiful hallway. I love the old architecture details.