Menlo Park Library Foundation

"I believe libraries help Menlo Park thrive"
"I believe in lifelong learning for people of all ages"
"I want to give back to my community"

What does Menlo Park Library mean to you? Sharing your personal story is a powerful way to show your support. Even a sentence or two makes a world of difference.

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103 stories

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Jackie Wood shared 2019-03-25 13:40:37 -0700

As a child in England I went to our local library at least once week, devouring books and developing a lifelong love of reading. I’ve lived in Menlo Park for 33 years now, and every few weeks I visit the library for a morning, to read newspapers and magazines. I feel so at home there.
Emma Louie shared 2019-03-25 13:37:09 -0700

I love libraries and Menlo Park Library is a nice, cozy one, just what I lie in a library. It’s well-organized, with computers scattered about to accommodate usage, benches and chairs close by to rest when needed. Especially like the large Mystery section and that it’s easy to borrow from other libraries. I like the fact that Menlo Park Library belongs to the group of participating Peninsula libraries. Emma Woo Louie
Caitlin Darke shared 2019-03-19 16:12:32 -0700

John Weaver you do an amazing awesome spectacular job – my children followed you and hung on your every word while they were toddlers and we nick named you funny guy! Thank you so much for your efforts and enthusiasm and dedication to providing such great programs – believe me we are better off for your talents! We love the library events and hope to enjoy them for years to come.
Kathleen Mudge shared 2019-03-18 17:15:28 -0700

The library opens a world of opporunity to everyone. I love the opportunity to explore the world, be exposed to different points of view and be highly entertained through books. There is so much knowledge to be gained through books. The Menlo Park Library offers this valuable gift to the community.
Elena Reese shared 2019-03-15 07:14:21 -0700

I love the Menlo Park library in part because it was my first library ( I grew up here). I can dimly remember the library before its renovation as smaller and cozier. Of course I was mostly in the children’s section where I spent alot of happy hours reading and going to Marianne Whiting’s Poetry Club. The library is also the home of the Menlo Park Historical Association and its archive, which served me well as a person interested in local history. It is a central asset to this community!
Bettie Thompson shared 2019-03-14 11:16:34 -0700

great place
Audrey Leonard shared 2019-03-13 13:12:57 -0700

I believe that the Menlo Park library is a wonderful connecting environment to and for the entire community…
Susan Singer shared 2019-03-11 09:32:31 -0700

The library is spacious and conducive to browsing and relaxing ..as I sit on a comfy chair and read
Bo Crane shared 2019-03-11 07:38:21 -0700

The library is so much more than books—several community events are continually hosted and the Menlo Park Historical Association is downstairs for research.
Caryn Huberman shared 2019-03-10 17:54:47 -0700

The library is an oasis of quiet, of learning and of peaceful contemplation for me. When I’ve had a project that needs focused attention, I love being able to enter this harmonious space.
Jennifer Carpenter shared 2019-03-10 17:06:04 -0700

It’s such a n incredibly comforting environment- from the grounds, to the stained-glass entry, to the sensible layout, to the chairs, and last-but-not-least, the amazing collection of books and other materials. Visiting this library is an essential form of self-care.
Sandra Weiss shared 2019-03-10 16:33:52 -0700

I love the library because of the helpfulness of its staff and the ease with which one can access the materials one wants. I also love the ambience of the place. Right on Menlo Park library!
Dora Dien shared 2019-03-10 14:33:51 -0700

I love this library because of the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The librarians are always so very helpful in a cheery and gracious manner. The lighting is wonderful and the furniture very comfortable. It is very easy to find books, browse, and read in a relaxed manner.
Charles Russ shared 2019-03-10 13:06:57 -0700

I have enjoyed libraries since I was a boy. This is due to a mother who took my sister and me to libraries whenever we moved to new towns…and there were many moves. Next to homes and churches, libraries are my favorite third place to be. Why would that be? Libraries have always seemed ‘safe’ to me with resources I enjoy and staffs anxious to assist. Years ago I would take our two young children to the Menlo Park Library, partially to give their mother some relief and to give them the joy of books and libraries I had as a boy. I would set up at a table as they went off to find books that interested them. In time both would come to me with a stack of books to check out. They would read every one of them and I credit their success in their studies as they grew older to the joy of learning that began at the Menlo Park Library. To this day, they both enjoy poring over books on many topics and, despite the changes in technology, have the same joy I have always had of holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, and traveling in my mind

to understandings and places I would not know or experience without access to the world of books and libraries. In recent Menlo Park Library history Susan, Nick, and Michael…all librarians have become chums. Bill Russ
Sally Porter shared 2019-03-10 13:02:14 -0700

Being of a “certain” age, I am technically challenged! When I am at Menlo Library and need some technical assistance, the people at the desk are always generous in helping me figure out the problem. Thank you! Thank you!
Mary Wilcox shared 2019-03-10 12:55:37 -0700

Menlo Park Library could be called the co-author of my book, A Song Just For Me.—about sitting with residents in the Health Center of my senior community listening and talking together about their favorite music. But their interests were so varied. How could I find their favorite music? I could always count on the Menlo Park reference librarians who were consistently accommodating and supportive no matter how varied the requests were. I couldn’t have done it without them. And am so grateful.

their favorite music.
Ying Lee shared 2019-03-10 10:13:31 -0700

I just attended the event with the 3 singers, they were great n we need to keep up our history
Cari Costanzo shared 2019-03-10 09:51:51 -0700

My first engagement with public libraries was a child growing up in Hawaii, where I could go after school and read the new glossy edition of National Geographic magazine—a subscription we could not afford at home. The encyclopedias, all the amazing books filled with information about the world—this was the space, and still is the space—where people, no matter what their economic background, no matter what they can afford—can sit in quiet and have access to a world full of information. Having a public library is surely what inspired me eventually to pursue a Ph.D in anthropology, even though I grew up in a house that did not have a single book. I still love the public library, visit often, and enjoy bringing my children to discover new books, films, or to just sit and do homework together.
Hugo Garcia shared 2019-03-10 09:45:48 -0700

Menlo Park Library has been instrumental for our daughter’s educational development. From their first history times, first books, tutoring sessions and currently a place to focus and research, the Menlo Park Library has been for us a great neighborhood resource. We like the organizational structure of the library as well as their kind personnel and knowledgeable librarians.
Sharon Dougherty shared 2019-03-10 09:26:44 -0700

Exceptional warm and inviting library with great, helpful staff and many fabulous, interesting, and creative special events! Wonderful for Adults and Children, Young and Old!
Jeanne Duprau shared 2019-03-10 09:03:12 -0700

I loved the library for 37 years! I’ve moved away now, and the spacious, quiet, light-filled library is one of the things I miss most. —Jeanne DuPrau
Julie Richards shared 2019-03-10 08:26:08 -0700

Libraries are the great equalizers. They open up entire new worlds to people who would otherwise not have access to them. They are life changing throughout life. We are so fortunate to have a local library.
Doris Diaz shared 2019-03-10 08:13:02 -0700

I love Menlo Park library because I can always find a quite place to read a book or to work on special projects on my personal computer. I have becoming to this library since I was a teenager and now I am bringing my nieces and nephews and they love it too. They always find the books they are looking for:)
Sandra Green-Edwards shared 2019-03-10 07:32:11 -0700

I am grateful for our Library, it is a

wonderful place to obtain knowledge to

grow academically.
Ann Cullen shared 2019-03-09 15:16:55 -0800

Our family loves the Menlo Park library because of the wonderful offerings for children. Our girls (3 and 2) have been attending story time at the library since the oldest was 3 months old. Miss Jeneen, Miss Wendy, Miss Lucinda, and now John (“mama, teacher John is SO funny!” was the first thing my daughter said to me after her first preschool story time with him) have provided an enriching and nurturing environment for our kids. Going to the library is one of their favorite activities.
Joan Smithline shared 2019-03-09 09:40:58 -0800

I support the MP library and have for almost 40 years! My children grew up here & we borrowed lots of books each week. The CD & DVD collections are also a big plus. After retirement, we started cooking and traveling a lot. The travel guides were fabulous for trip planning all around the globe & the cookbook section provided new adventures in various cuisines. And we love the books on tape for road trips! Can’t live without the Menlo Park library! Fabulous staff and easy check out!
Beth Rosenthal shared 2019-03-07 20:44:06 -0800

I love Menlo Park Library because it is the only library I know who automatically renews a borrower’s books if they are not on hold. I find that Menlo Park Library has more books available for borrowing than the Palo Alto system, so even though I am a Palo Alto resident, when I am looking for books, my first foray is to the Menlo Park system as opposed to Palo Alto. I love the great children’s audio book collection Menlo Park has. I like the environment, the friendly librarians and the ease of finding books at Menlo Park. In general, I think it is a great community resource.
David Meuel shared 2019-03-02 17:53:38 -0800

An avid swimmer, I started to visit the Menlo Park Library sometimes after I’d finished my laps at the Burgess Pool. First, I simply went to pick up a new book or two. Then, as an alternative to listening to the morning and evening news during my daily work commute to and from San Jose, I began checking out Great Courses CDs from the library’s collection and listening to them. These CDs have been a wonderful, stimulating, and sometimes inspiring way to pass the time heading down or up the freeway. Purchasing them would have been quite expensive, but, because the Menlo Park Library has such a large and varied collection, I’ve been able to listen to course after course nearly every workday for more than three years now at no cost to me … courtesy of the library! Many thanks.
Lynsey Hemstreet shared 2019-03-01 17:13:22 -0800

One of my fondest library memories was winning a raffle in 5th grade, probably as a result of having read so many library books in one summer. The prize was any book we wanted from Kepler’s. I picked a hardcover copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s On the Banks of Plum Creek, an absolute luxury for a bookworm like me! I read it cover to cover until it (and the other books in the series) fell apart.
Fred Bisharat shared 2019-02-28 13:19:38 -0800

The simplicity of the Menlo Library and its calm unpretentious atmosphere, is very inviting to

the public. Its low profile is very soothing versus Stanford’s where students seek solutions to world problems. Viewing a small outside garden is a plus.

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