Programs We Support
With the support of the Foundation, Alameda County system libraries have gone beyond being repositories of books to being providers of essential services that respond to the community’s needs, particularly those who have limited access to library services like immigrants with limited or no English language skills, and people with disabilities.
Programs We Support
With the support of the Foundation, Alameda County system libraries have gone beyond being repositories of books to being providers of essential services that respond to the community’s needs, particularly those who have limited access to library services like immigrants with limited or no English language skills, and people with disabilities.
Books Into Movies Program
This program, delivered at the minimum-security residential program Camp Wilmont Sweeney, is designed to serve young people detained at the Juvenile Justice Center who read and write below the 8th-grade level. Kids collectively pick a book from our list, then meet for 45 minutes each week for 2-3 weeks, reading the book aloud and discussing it. After the group finishes the book, they have a movie/pizza party and watch the movie associated with it. By forging connections with and between kids, the program helps tear down the stigma around literacy issues.
Homework Centers
Many young people lack access to homework help at home and cannot afford the high cost of private tutoring. The Library’s Homework Centers provide high-quality, one-on-one homework assistance to children and youth in communities throughout Alameda County through paid staff and volunteers.
An online tutoring program provides access to accredited tutors who are well-versed in the full range of academic subjects, including high school and honors levels. Any young person with a library card can access this help from Homework Centers, their homes, or any other place with an Internet connection.
Literacy Programs
The Library offers many literacy programs that provide educational opportunities to youth and adults who want to improve their literacy skills. Free tutoring and small group instruction are offered at most of our branches and in community locations. Students in the program are English speakers from both the U.S. and other countries and are equipped with opportunities to transform lives through the power of books, reading, writing and literacy.
Lunch at the Library
We provide meals to underserved children and their caregivers through our Lunch at the Library (LATL) program, ensuring that children who rely on school-provided lunches during the school year have enough to eat during the summer months. We host LATL sites four days at participating branches, and on average, 100 lunches per day at each site. Approximately 4,000-4,500 lunches are distributed over the entire summer.
Makerspaces
Makerspaces are beneficial for people of all ages looking for a place to cultivate new skills and work with materials and equipment they do not have space or money for. They also promote the acquisition of skills through collaboration. The Alameda County Library currently operates Makerspaces in two locations: The Curiosity Shop in Newark and The Spark in Fremont Main. Each Makerspace is filled with whiteboards, lab tables, hand tools, 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, heat presses, full-sized robotics fields, soldering irons, and more to turn brilliant ideas into a reality.
Mobile & Outreach Services
The Alameda County Library brings libraries and library resources directly to communities through Poppy, our Mobile Library Van, and Redwood, our Mobile Library Bus. In addition to bringing Poppy and Redwood to sites throughout the county, we bring pop-up library services to parks, community centers, and elementary schools, setting up carts for patrons to browse our books. Individuals can also sign up for a free library card on the spot.
New Materials
Each year the Foundation provides funds to augment the Library’s collection with the newest books, CDs, DVDs, ebooks, e-audiobooks, and other electronic resources and enrichment materials that cover the spectrum of interests of our diverse community.
Programming for Seniors
We offer a wide range of programming for seniors, including computer, art, tai chi, ikebana, and genealogy classes; Sunday matinees; and free seminars in partnership with Savvy Seniors for both seniors and their family members, such as Keeping Elders Safe, How to Age in Place, and Consumer Fraud. We also operate the Booklegger Program, through which senior volunteers visit elementary school classrooms to promote a love of reading.
Summer Reading Program
Our summer reading program, titled Summer Adventure offers diverse events throughout the summer that align with the chosen theme, including movies, family-friendly concerts, circus and puppet shows, storytimes, and many others. Participants submit their reading activity and are entered in prize drawings throughout the summer.
Featured Program
Cindy Visits is our video series to keep you connected with what’s happening across our libraries and public-facing services.
In this video, Cindy Chadwick, Former County Librarian visits the Juvenile Justice Center Library. Cindy talks with the Social Justice Services team about how justice-impacted youth are encouraged to be the best version of themselves through authenticity and creativity.
Featured Program
Cindy Visits is our video series to keep you connected with what’s happening across our libraries and public-facing services.
In this video, Cindy Chadwick, Former County Librarian visits the Juvenile Justice Center Library. Cindy talks with the Social Justice Services team about how justice-impacted youth are encouraged to be the best version of themselves through authenticity and creativity.
Libraries We Support
Albany Library
The Albany Library serves the 18,000 residents of Albany and the nearby communities of Berkeley, Oakland, and El Cerrito. The City of Albany provides additional hours of service through funds, passed by the voters in 1994 and 2006.
The current library building was designed by Marquis Associates and opened in January 1994, and two-thirds of the funding was provided by the California Library Construction & Renovation Bond Act of 1988, through a grant administered by the State Library. Other funding came from the City of Albany and private donations.
1247 Marin Ave. Albany, CA 94706
Library Hours & Events
Castro Valley Library
The Castro Valley Library opened in October 2009 and now serves the residents of Castro Valley and neighboring cities by providing modern facilities complete with 58 computers, wifi, and 125,000 books, DVDs, in addition to services and programs for all ages.
Spacious meeting rooms are available for community groups to schedule along with a Multipurpose Education Center, Bookstore, Outdoor Patio and more!
3600 Norbridge Ave, Castro Valley, CA 94546
Library Hours & Events
Centerville Library
This library serves a population of over 523,000 in the cities of Albany, Dublin, Fremont, Newark, Union City, and the unincorporated areas of Castro Valley, and San Lorenzo.
3801 Nicolet Ave. Fremont, CA 94536
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Dublin Library
The Dublin Public Library is an open, welcoming, family-friendly place, committed to enriching lives and creating opportunity through the love of reading, the joy of learning, and by engaging with people of all ages and diversity to build an informed and thriving community.
200 Civic Plaza, Dublin, CA 94568
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Fremont Library
Fremont Main, the largest building in our system, has the highest circulation in the Alameda County Library system and shares its space with the Alameda County Library Administration.
The current building was dedicated in 1989 and is home to the Maurice Marks Center for Local and California History and to the Fukaya public meeting rooms.
2400 Stevenson Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538
Library Hours & Events
Mobile & Outreach Services
We are proud to continue the bookmobile tradition with a new fleet of vehicles that will allow us to adapt to the changing needs of our growing communities. Through our targeted services, we support schools, preschools, and neighborhoods with limited access to books with a vision of delivering happiness at every turn.
For schedule and locations, click here.
Newark Library
The 15,000 sq. ft. Newark Library has over 74,095 items, including books, magazines, newspapers, and DVDs. At this Library, there are special areas for preschoolers, school age children, teens, adults, and seniors.
Designed by architect Aaron Green and opened to the public in 1983, it is located at the far end of the Civic Center complex, off Newark Blvd., just south of Thornton Ave.
6300 Civic Terrace Ave. Newark, CA 94560
Library Hours & Events
Niles Library
The Niles Library is a 2,152 sq. ft. neighborhood library that houses over 11,000 items, including books, magazines and newspapers, videos, CDs, and audiocassettes. Along with the Centerville, Irvington, and Fremont Main Library, it provides materials, programs and services for the residents of Fremont.
150 I Street, Fremont, CA 94536
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San Lorenzo Library
The San Lorenzo Library’s current facility opened in 1968 and was nearly doubled in size in 2015. It now offers a wide array of resources and services, and the friendly staff is always ready to help find books, movies, computer assistance, and more.
The Library engages people of all ages and diverse walks of life to build an informed and thriving community through special activities such as preschool storytimes and free art activities to promote the love of reading and learning across the community. San Lorenzo area residents provide additional support to the library through a Utility Users Tax.
395 Paseo Grande, San Lorenzo, CA 94580
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Union City Library
This Library located in the Civic Center complex across the street from James Logan High School serves the 70,000 residents of Union City as well as the nearby communities of Fremont, Hayward, and Newark. Union City Library has the third largest circulation of Library materials in the County system.
It offers a collection of over 100,000 resources including a growing DVD and CD book collection, with versions in Chinese, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish and Tagalog.
Other services include free internet access, free wireless access, a typewriter, photocopiers, and text enlarger. A meeting room is available for use by community groups free of charge.
34007 Alvarado-Niles Rd. Union City, CA 94587
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