Every Library in Riverside
We are blessed with wonderful library options here in Riverside! From eight city library branches to several Riverside County library options, my family of bookworms is at the library regularly (and using the free Libby app even more!)
We’ve visited most of these libraries before, and I’m looking forward to putting together posts with more info about each location. (I’ll link to them below as we visit them!)
Riverside Public Library (City)
The Riverside Public Library is a robust city library system with 8 locations in the City of Riverside. Check their web site for hours and days open; at the moment, they’re closed Mondays but usually open the other six days of the week.
Each of these eight locations hosts story times for children and other special events. I try to keep the Riverside Fun Kids Calendar updated with these events, and you can find more info here on the Riverside Public Library web site.
SSgt. Salvador J. Lara Casa Blanca Library - they have a nice children’s section and a lovely little garden in the back
SPC. Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library - This will eventually be located at Bobby Bonds Park, but for now while they’re doing construction this library is open for limited hours at Lincoln Park Community Center.
Main Library - this is the multi-story library located downtown near the Mission Inn.
Marcy Library - we refer to this as “the library with the tree in the middle” - there is a tree shaped puppet theatre in their children’s section.
Orange Terrace Library - this is located near Orange Terrace Park, so you can play on the playground and pick up books on the same visit!
Riverside County Library
The County of Riverside has a separate library system, with locations all over Riverside County. They operate with totally different policies and hours than the city library, and you don’t want to return the city books to the county drop-boxes, or vice versa.
They have branches throughout the county (all the way towards the Arizona border!) but there are a few county library locations close to the city of Riverside, including:
Woodcrest Library - as the name suggests, this library is located in Woodcrest. We’ve always liked visited here for story time and they have an especially good Summer Reading Program.
Louis Rubidoux Library - this is a nice library with a big children’s section, located in Jurupa Valley. The Western County Literacy Center is next door.
The Glen Avon Library is also in Jurupa Valley.
The Eastvale Library is located on the campus of Eleanor Roosevelt High School, so it’s only open in the afternoons/evenings and on weekends.
Home Gardens Library - this library is temporarily closed, as of March 2025
El Cerrito Library is in the Corona area
Other Nearby Libraries
The city of Corona has a beautiful, robust library that may be worth the drive- when my daughters were young, we used to go to story time there (along with nearly 100 other families!)
Moreno Valley has its own library system, with three branches:
Little Free Libraries in Riverside
Finally, there are many Little Free Libraries scattered throughout Riverside. These are little cabinets and shelves, often in someone’s front yard, where you can donate your own used books and/or take books to enjoy! You can find a map of Little Free Libraries by typing in your zip code here.
By the way, my own family’s custom-built Little Free Library was sadly taken from our front yard just a few days after we set it out :( I’ll keep sharing the picture of our missing Little Free Library in the hopes someone will recognize and return it someday!