Sacramento Public Library – Belle Cooledge

Belle Cooledge is a decent neighborhood library. Granted they have a damn ton of Chinese books and stuff because there’s tons of Chinese old people who come here to read but whatever.
The librarians here are all helpful and stuff. Always know where to find stuff like librarians are uh trained to do and all. There’s sometimes space to sit down and read but this place gets pretty crowded. Lots of kids here for sure. They have nice programs for kids too including sleepovers in summer I think.
Don’t forget to check out the bookstore for some cheap ass books that are actually not bad. And some magazines are free out front. Oh yeah and their music and DVD selection is pretty good as well. They have seasons of shows like Supernatural and Breaking Bad and other shows people watch that I have heard of.

Located right off of freeway next to a park. Lots of parking. Nice little book store.

Cute little library — plenty of parking. Love the location. Only been to this location once and it was around 7pm, not to many people at the library at this time.

My bad… I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet learning environments not loud public forums that people can let their kids run around and play in. Maybe I’m just an old fashioned 20 something but I’m here to study for mid terms and write a paper. So tell me why I can hear people talking over the music blasting in my ears.
This place needs a separate section for kids and adults to study in if they’re not going to enforce the noise limit. If my schools library was open till 5 on Saturdays, I’d go there instead.

Decent public neighborhood library with a private parking lot and nearby playground. This location mainly caters to small children and families hosting activities like; Baby Storytime (Mondays at 12:30PM), Sing Along with Mr. Cooper (Wednesdays at 4PM) and, Toddler and Preschool Storytime (Thursdays at 9:30AM and 11AM, respectively) to name a few. I’ve come here a few times to TRY and study as it is one of the few libraries offering FREE parking but, unfortunately, the whole «quiet» concept fails to be honored making it hard to concentrate. Their hours are also very limited:
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 12 p.m. — 8 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday: 1 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Which is a huge disadvantage for those working fill-​time. During the weekdays this library is populated with young children in the mornings and teenagers in the evenings. As you can imagine both parties tend to get a bit loud and, since this library is extremely SMALL, you’ll find yourself unintentionally eavesdropping on all conversations taking place. If you’re looking for a quiet place to study – this is NOT the library for you! However, if you’re looking for a library with a wide variety of books, free wifi, 18 computers with internet and printing/​photocopying capabilities, interactive children activities, friendly staff, and even DVD/​CD rentals (ALL FOR FREE with a public library card) then you’ve come to the right place!
Overall, great for families with young children or middle/​high school kids needing a place to go after school. Otherwise, for those seeking a quiet place to read, study, research, etc. I suggest looking into the Sacramento City College Library (3835 Freeport Blvd., 95 822)
(Hours:
Monday — Thursday: 7:30 a.m. — 8 p.m.
Friday: 7:30 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. — 3 p.m.
Sundays & Holidays: closed
Parking pass is $ 2/​day or $ 35/​Semester)
the Central Public Library (828 I Street, 95 814)
(Hours:
Sunday: 12 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10 a.m. — 8 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday: 12 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Parking available at the garage on 8^th and J street or two hour street metered parking)
or, lastly, the Sacramento State Library (2000 State University Drive East, 95 819)
(Hours:
Monday-​Thursday: 7:15 a.m. — 11:00 p.m.
Friday: 7:15 a.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. — 10:00 p.m.
Parking $ 6/​day or $ 3/​two hours
FYI Sac State even offers students a 24 hour study room (aka AIRC) located on campus – not too sure how hard it is to access this facility if you aren’t a student as security often asks students to show their school ID.
Hope this helps!

I usually take my child to Robbie Waters Library, we tried something new today (our 3^rd time here) and LAST, the teens play loud music, they literally curse and use horrible language out loud, they take over a huge section of the library and it disturbs the kids that are actually here for homework and reading. What happen to the days when the library was quiet?!

Awesome kids events and ASL interpreters are always considered if requested! Clean and bright library.

The Belle Coolidge branch of the sacramento public library is always busy. I walked in this afternoon to find every computer booked and the wait was 25 minutes. So I did what I do best… perused the book shelves.
Some of the shelves I always browse are the «staff picks», the «new releases,» and of course my favorite genre…“fiction!” For those of you non readers, this branch offers audio books, music, as well as movies for a two week check out. And here’s the real beauty to this.,.its all free ;)

This library is the closest to my house. My son needed to find a book for a book report (7 year old). I stopped by on the way home from work to find out what was required to borrow a book. I have not used a library in years… As we were walking in I noticed the sign that listed their hours. I began to tell my son they were closing in 8 minutes, when an older lady interrupted and said they were closing in 3 minutes. I told her I just wanted some information, when the security guard starts to approach while sucking her teeth, as if we were doing something wrong. Needless to say, we left and I will never return to that site again. No need for a parent with a child to be made to feel like there doing something wrong for wanting to ask a question. My son asked what did we do wrong. I said, nothing some people just don’t like their jobs and are rude to others for it.

I love this neighborhood library! My humble abode is literally a short drive, or 10 minute bike ride. The family & I stop in frequently. All the staff is very friendly and helpful!

I love this neighborhood library! My humble abode is literally a 5 min walk from Belle Cooledge, so my family & I stop in frequently.
As we are regular patrons, many of the wonderful employees know us by face, if not by name. The staff at this library are über friendly and helpful. They take good care of us, and on a couple occasions have even checked out books for me when I’ve forgotten my library card at home!
If you’re doing a quick return or pick up of items, in the parking lot there are two 5-​min drop off parking spots. This is great if you need to dash in and out. These two spots are almost always available.
One of the best things is, with your free library account, you can request items (be it books, CDs, DVDs) and have them sent from any Sac library branch (or Sutter County, Folsom, Colusa, Woodland locale) to the library of your choosing for pick up. They have a surprisingly large collection of CDs/​DVDs — almost newly released titles too — you just have to be patient as the request queues can be quite lengthy if the titles are popular ones!
For those with young kiddos like me, there’s Baby Storytime on Tues at 12:30pm, and Tues 4:00 — 4:30pm Mr. Cooper’s singalong for little ones up to age 7. Beware, Mr. Cooper is quite popular and parking is super hard to come by during this time of the day!
In the children’s area, there are four computers with age appropriate learning games for kids to play. One of the stations has a touch screen monitor, and my lil guy loves to sit and play letter games and Dora/​Diego games at that particular station – (he has not quite mastered use of a mouse yet). Usage of these computers is limited to 15 min at a time.
Attached to the library is a community room that can be reserved for free — but I believe if you do hold an event there, you must be open to allowing the public/​interested individuals to attend. To reserve you must call the main Sacramento Library phone number — and be sure to reserve it well ahead of time (a month or even two would be best!)
The only negative comment I have is that the parking lot is sometimes full, and there is no where else to park nearby. Parking on the street (Fruitridge or South Land Park) is not allowed as there are no parking signs posted on both streets. You just have to be patient and wait for a parking spot to open up.

Lots of «lucky day» books and some movies. This is a community library that is used by everyone.

I like this library because its local. However I do not really care for the fact that it is located near a park. I feel the park attracts a crowd of people that make the library a little sketchy… and that makes me feel like it is a little unsafe.
The library itself is large which I enjoy. I also read other reviews discussing the noise inside, and I always bring my headphones and can’t really comment on such, but I have yet to find any notice above a whisper.
This library is also closed on Sunday and Monday… I find the Monday a little odd but I get it. We hardly have funding to keep libraries open for asking as we do now… overall I’m definitely content.

It’s a great library! It has parking spaces specially set aside to just quickly drop off and pickup books. The inside is in great condition, with a lot of computers to use. The staff is friendly, and has a great kids section. It’s also a great place to sit and work on your computer.

Got here to study. They are open from 10am till 5pm on Saturdays and I needed to put in study time since I cannot study at home. I get a lot more done at the library or at starbucks. It was a little noisy on a Saturday because people brought in their kids and if you are the type that cant handle noise, you will need ear plugs. For me… kids dont bother me. Noise dont bother me as long it doesnt sound like it will rip my ears off or my nerves are like trying to come to the surface of my skin. The sounds were pretty much fair and okay.
This library has a good set of books and if you cant find the book you are looking for, you can order it at the sac library web site and press the button to have it reserved and shipped to the nearest library of your choice that is on their listings.
I also saw on other days waiting outside where the library was closed but was still open for activities for children. They got all kinds of free activities for children to adults. Its a cool library.

Small and pretty busy on the weekends. I prefer the I street library or the one in NATO as off Truxel

A great Land Park library for everyone. It’s moderately sized, bright, and clean. The staff is helpful and friendly. They have a nicely decorated and well stocked children’s area. A plus for me is when Mister Cooper stops by to sing to the children. He plays guitar and sings every Tuesday from 11:00 — 11:30am. My tot thoroughly enjoys it! Also, there is a park with two playgrounds within walking distance.

I serve on the board of the Friends of Belle Cooledge Library so this review might be slightly biased. But, this is a great library and a huge resource to the community. I especially love the Lucky Day book collection which carries new releases that cannot be reserved so you can actually read the newest books without having to get on a year long wait list. They have a pretty good dvd collection too and lot of great books for people of all ages.
It is a smaller library but it never feels crowded or stuffy. The only downside is that since it is smaller you usually have to go to the main library on I street for research resources.

This is my library of choice in the Sacramento area. Reasons why:
1. Parking. While Central is huge and beautiful, quite frankly, parking is a bitch. And it makes me grumpy. And I don’t like chilling out in the library when I’m grumpy and worried about getting a ticket.
2. Location. This location is situated perfectly for me between where I live, my parents’ house and my work. Ideal for stopping in to pick up a book or drop off a book.
3. Employees. For some reason, the employees at Belle Cooledge are just more friendly than the other libraries that I’ve been to.
4. Cleanliness. They keep this place looking really nice.
Alright, and numero 5… THE BIG ONE:
THE BOOK SALES ARE AMAZING! I just went to one this weekend and got 18 (count ‘em… EIGHTEEN) books for $ 6.75. Paperbacks were 25 cents, hardcovers were 50 cents. Incredible for a book junkie like me. It feeds my habit of buying way more books than I can feasibly read in the near future without breaking the bank. Perfection.

Belle Cooledge is a good sized library. I hate that it’s not open in the mornings but there seems to be a good amount of people there when it is open or even waiting for it to open. I don’t think they have a whole lot of new literature but i’m sure they’ll have something from this decade for your research.
Libraries also have CDs and DVDs to check out. You’d be suprised as to what music and movies you might find there and every branch has a different selection.
Belle Cooledge keeps there old magazines for sale by the door and it usually gets me on my way out. I check out whatever and head to the door and a magazine catches my eye. and for a quarter or something, I often leave with an old magazine or 2.