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Our Library is for everyone. We are a free resource that helps our community connect, create, and learn.
Address
585 Franklin St.
Mountain View, CA 94041
Phone
650-903-6887
Questions?
Contact Us
Website
Library.MountainView.gov
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sunday: 1:00-5:00 p.m.
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- The Library will be closed on Monday, May 25 in observance of Memorial Day.
- The Friends of the Mountain View Library Book Sale will take place May 2-3. The sale will be in the bookmobile garage along Mercy Street in the driveway next to the Library's underground parking lot.
- Saturday, May 2:
- 9:30-10:30 a.m. Members-only Sale
- 10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. General Public Sale
- Sunday, May 3:
- 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fill-a-Bag Sale
- 2:00-4:00 p.m. Bulk Sale $1 per foot length
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Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month |
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Celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the Library by coming to one of our featured programs! These events are generously sponsored by the Friends of the Mountain View Library.
- Join us for a virtual conversation with award-winning author, activist, and professor Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni on Thursday, May 7. She will reflect on her celebrated writing career and creative process, followed by an audience Q&A during the live-streamed event.
- Throughout Mountain View's history, members of the Chinese community have played an instrumental role in shaping the city. Learn the stories of early Chinese residents and current immigrants at a presentation by the Mountain View Historical Association on Saturday, May 9.
- Enjoy a special performance of West Javanese gamelan music by Pusaka Sunda on Saturday, May 16. Pusaka Sunda is a 12-member West Javanese performing arts group, led by Burhan Sukarma and based in the San Francisco Bay Area with strong collaborative connections to Bandung, Indonesia.
- Unsure of where your ancestral village is in China and how to find your jiapu (ancestral lineage book)? Join us at a presentation by Ron Chan on Saturday, May 23 to learn about key resources that will help you find and explore your China roots.
- Eleven countries, thousands of years, millions of people: explore the cultures of Southeast Asia as reflected in secular and religious artworks from this region at a program presented by the Asian Art Museum on Wednesday, May 27. This event will showcase objects from the museum’s collection, including sculptures from Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Buddhas from Myanmar and Thailand, ceramics from Vietnam, and textiles from the Philippines.
Drop by the Library to borrow materials from our AANHPI Heritage Month book and media displays, or browse staff-recommended lists on our catalog.
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Summer is just around the corner, which means it's time for another exciting year of Summer Reading at the Library! Summer Reading begins on Monday, June 1 for readers of all ages from babies through adults. Register and encourage growth all season long by engaging with this year's theme, "Plant a Seed, Read."
To celebrate the start of summer, join us at our Summer Reading Program Kick-Off on Saturday, June 6 in Pioneer Park. This all-ages extravaganza will feature lawn games, treats, and an energizing concert by House of Samba. We'll also have an exciting lineup of special events and activities, so be sure to keep an eye on our Events Calendar.
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Find Your Next Read with NoveList |
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Not sure what to read next? NoveList offers expert book recommendations for every age, enabling you to browse thousands of titles by genre, mood, or reading level. Think of it as a personalized matchmaker for books—and it’s free with your library card.
Once you find something you'd like to read, click the purple Owned button to find it in our Library. You can also check out NoveList K-8 Plus to help younger readers find their next favorite book.
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Engaged attendees asked many questions about growing and caring for bearded irises at a gardening presentation by Master Gardener Sandy Wright.
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Participants at our most recent Sewing with FabMo event made fabric flowers from dress fabric scraps that could be used to decorate hair ties, gift bags, and more.
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The audience enjoyed a folkloric dance performance by Raices de Mexico in celebration of Día de los Niños/Día de los libros (Day of the Children/Day of the Books).
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We counted 122 attendees at the Plant Exchange, where community members exchanged a variety of seedlings, cuttings, and houseplants.
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- Friday, May 1: Pages and Paws Reading Buddy
- Saturday, May 2: Sew Sew Saturday
- Saturday, May 2: Think fast, fit faster: It's Puzzle Palooza!
- Sunday, May 3: Settlers & Saints: The Naming of Mountain View Streets
- Tuesdays, May 5, 12, 19 & 26: Spring Outdoor Storytime
- Tuesday, May 5: JoyFull: Daily Rituals to Eat Freely and Live Radiantly with Radhi Devlukia-Shetty
- Wednesdays, May 6, 13, 20 & 27: Baby Storytime
- Wednesdays, May 6, 13, 20 & 27: ESL Conversation Club
- Thursday, May 7: Magical Bridge Storytime
- Thursday, May 7: On Courage, Turmoil, and the Transformative Power of Love with Marjan Kamali
- Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21 & 28: Breastfeeding Before Birth
- Thursday, May 7: An Evening with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Saturday, May 9: From Strawberry Fields to Silicon Valley: How Chinese Residents Have Shaped Mountain View
- Sunday, May 10: Make Your Own Felt Portrait
- Monday, May 11: Storytime Around the World
- Tuesday, May 12: Summer Vegetables
- Wednesday, May 13: Bilingual Storytime: Mandarin/English
- Wednesday, May 13: Ukulele Jam: Sing and Play Along
- Thursday, May 14: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Technologies for Peak Brain Performance with Dr. Patrick K. Porter and Ruchika Sikri
- Thursday, May 14: Let's Create
- Friday, May 15: Amplify: Bio Bridge Yeast
- Saturday, May 16: Drop-in Bike Clinic
- Saturday, May 16: My Grandmother's Magic Recipe Book
- Saturday, May 16: Pusaka Sunda: Gamelan Music of West Java
- Tuesday, May 19: Public Works Spring Outdoor Storytime
- Tuesday, May 19: Reshape Your Beliefs and Unlock Your True Potential with Nir Eyal
- Saturday, May 23: Needle Crafts Circle
- Saturday, May 23: Golden Acorn Full Body Music
- Saturday, May 23: Chinese Roots: How to Trace Your Family History
- Wednesday, May 27: Glorious Civilizations: An Exploration of Southeast Asia
- Wednesday, May 27: LEGO® Time
- Friday, May 29: Deer Hollow Storytime
- Friday, May 29: Speedcubing for All Skill Levels
- Saturday, May 30: Free Composting Basics Workshop
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History Spotlight: Sakura Gardens |
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As we commemorate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let's reflect on Sakura Gardens, a landmark Japanese restaurant formerly located on El Camino Real, which broke ground 70 years ago this year. The brainchild of Mountain View entrepreneur George Tsukagawa, Sakura Gardens was hailed in early press as “the first Japanese restaurant in the country which will be designed to accentuate the serving of Japanese food.” Sakura Gardens entertained diners for over 20 years in its shoji- and tatami-equipped dining room and cocktail lounge.
Sakura Gardens reflected both the old and new aspects of Mountain View’s relationship with Japanese culture. In many ways, it was the culmination of a decade of effort by Mountain View’s long-standing Japanese immigrant community and their American-born descendants to re-establish themselves after wartime removal. It also reflected the United States’ new relationship with Japan, which combined military occupation with cultural and economic integration. While George Tsukagawa was Japanese American, he favored newly arrived Japanese immigrants as employees at his restaurant.
A September 27, 1957 article in the Mountain View Register-Leader profiled three Japanese-born servers at Sakura Gardens, all young women who had married U.S. Navy seamen and had recently arrived in Mountain View. Toshiko Murphy, Michie Rossi, and Katsuko Himmel all appreciated the material abundance available in the United States compared with postwar Japan, as well as the greater leisure time and career orientation they perceived among American women. More poignantly, all three expressed a desire to start families, but “hinted that the discrimination the children would be subjected to was, in part, responsible for their not having children yet.” Overall, they enjoyed their work at Sakura Gardens with Rossi observing, “It is very nice to work for someone who understands your background when you are in a strange country.”
We invite you to visit the Mountain View History Center on the second floor of the Library during our open hours on Tuesdays from 1:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 4:00-8:00 p.m. to learn more about this history.
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Every month, the Library hosts virtual events with best-selling authors and renowned thought leaders covering a wide range of topics. Watch the live-streamed events or view past recordings at MountainView.gov/OnlineAuthors.
Online Authors in May:
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Tuesday, May 5: How can singing to your food and eating dessert before dinner improve your digestion, skin, and overall wellbeing? Bestselling author and entrepreneur Radhi Devlukia-Shetty takes us on a journey, written with generosity and kindness, in her book JoyFull.
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Thursday, May 7: Join us for an exciting conversation with internationally acclaimed author Marjan Kamali as we delve into the timeless wonder of her New York Times bestselling novel, The Lion Women of Tehran.
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Thursday, May 14: Come to a chat with Ruchika Sikri and Dr. Patrick Porter as we talk about their book, Brain Fitness Blueprint, in which they present a 30-day action plan to supercharge your brain and achieve peak performance.
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Tuesday, May 19: What if the only thing standing between you and the seemingly impossible was belief? This is the question posed by bestselling author Nir Eyal in his new work, Beyond Belief.
For more information and to browse all upcoming Online Author Series events, visit MountainView.gov/OnlineAuthors. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Mountain View Library.
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