External Event: Gamble Garden - Once Upon a Garden Family Night

Enjoy a magical holiday evening for kids and families! Get into the holiday spirit and step into a storybook world at Once Upon a Garden, where imagination comes to life. Follow this link for more ......More

Enjoy a magical holiday evening for kids and families! Get into the holiday spirit and step into a storybook world at Once Upon a Garden, where imagination comes to life. Follow this link for more details.  Librarian Alicia will be performing a storytime at this event.

Meditation with Sara

Join us for a guided meditation experience with Sara.  Welcome to all experience levels.  This will be a seated meditation session that lasts about 30 minutes. 

Concert: Palo Alto School of Chamber Music

Please join us for a holiday concert with student musicians from the Palo Alto School of Chamber Music. Students will be performing works for strings, clarinet and piano by Wolfgang Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Finnish clarinetist Bernhard Crusell and German composer Car......More

Please join us for a holiday concert with student musicians from the Palo Alto School of Chamber Music. Students will be performing works for strings, clarinet and piano by Wolfgang Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Finnish clarinetist Bernhard Crusell and German composer Carl Friedrich Abel. Read more about Palo Alto School of Chamber Music on their website, www.schoolofchambermusic.com. You don't need to register, but registering means you will receive a reminder email the day before.

Tai Chi with Nelson Ng

Join us for a weekly Tai Chi session with Nelson Ng! In this weekly class, participants will learn the basic principles and the philosophy behind Tai Chi, gaining flexibility and a better sense of balance, through slow and gentle movement.  Nelson started learning Che......More

Join us for a weekly Tai Chi session with Nelson Ng! In this weekly class, participants will learn the basic principles and the philosophy behind Tai Chi, gaining flexibility and a better sense of balance, through slow and gentle movement.  Nelson started learning Chen's Tai Chi in 1989 from Master Gene Chen, who was a disciple of Grandmaster of Feng ZhiQiang. Nelson has been teaching since 2014. This class is free and open to beginners as well as those who have previous Tai Chi experience. People of all ages are welcome. You must sign in upon arrival.

Teens Finals Study Space!

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved f......More

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved for teens studying for finals only.

Teens Finals Study Space!

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved f......More

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved for teens studying for finals only.

Shut Up & Write!

Looking for a place for a weekly silent writing session? Join us in Rinconada Library's spacious Embarcadero Room every Wednesday morning right after the library opens. Feel free to find a table in the library to continue writing until closing at 6 p.m.  It's not nece......More

Looking for a place for a weekly silent writing session? Join us in Rinconada Library's spacious Embarcadero Room every Wednesday morning right after the library opens. Feel free to find a table in the library to continue writing until closing at 6 p.m.  It's not necessary to register but you will receive email reminders if you do.

Teens Finals Study Space!

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved f......More

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved for teens studying for finals only.

Teens Finals Study Space!

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved f......More

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved for teens studying for finals only.

Pageturners: When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro

Palo Alto Pageturners meets monthly on the second Thursday of the month in the Embarcadero Room. We vote on books to read and......More

Palo Alto Pageturners meets monthly on the second Thursday of the month in the Embarcadero Room. We vote on books to read and sometimes invite local authors to discuss their books. You don't have to register, but you will receive a reminder email if you register. Here's our reading list for 2025: Me for You by Lolly Winston - January Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout - February Yellowface: A Novel by R. F. Kuang - March James: A Novel by Percival Everett - April The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nuñez - May The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and the Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei Fei Li - June The Anxious Generation: How the Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt - July All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley - August Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy - September Sapiens: A Graphic History: The Birth of Humankind by Yuval N. Harari - October North Woods by Daniel Mason - November When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro - December Sign up for the library newsletter and never miss another program!

Teens Finals Study Space!

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved f......More

Looking for study space to help you through winter Finals? From December 8th-December 12th, the Embarcadero Room will be open at Rinconada Library with extra study space for groups and solo scholars from 3:45pm-5:45pm. Lock in and let's go!! This space is reserved for teens studying for finals only.

External Event: FOPAL Book Sale

Don't miss this month's Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sale! There will be three rooms with over 70,000 books, CDs, DVDs, puzzles, etc., new & gently used, all sorted, very reasonably priced! Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto libraries.  For the safety and comfort......More

Don't miss this month's Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sale! There will be three rooms with over 70,000 books, CDs, DVDs, puzzles, etc., new & gently used, all sorted, very reasonably priced! Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto libraries.  For the safety and comfort of all participants, masks are suggested and room occupancy will be lower than usual. Please visit fopal.org for more information. Saturday Hours: Bargain Room 9:30am – 4pm Children’s Room 10am – 4pm Main Room 11am – 4pm Sunday Hours: All Rooms 1pm – 4pm

Meditation with Sara

Join us for a guided meditation experience with Sara.  Welcome to all experience levels.  This will be a seated meditation session that lasts about 30 minutes. 

External Event: New Palo Alto Museum: Community Sneak Peek & Open House

Get the first look at the new Palo Alto Museum's ideas for the inaugural exhibits, events, and experiences to open in February 2026! This is your chance to: Step inside our newly renovated 1932 landmark building Preview 7 Little Big Ideas for our inaugural exhibits......More

Get the first look at the new Palo Alto Museum's ideas for the inaugural exhibits, events, and experiences to open in February 2026! This is your chance to: Step inside our newly renovated 1932 landmark building Preview 7 Little Big Ideas for our inaugural exhibits, events, and experiences Add your voice, support the vision, and help bring to life the Museum! Bring your curiosity, explore plans for the new Museum, and connect with other community members. Don’t miss out on this sneak peek! Learn More

Finals Cram Slam: Late Night Hours!

Calling all High Schoolers! Looking for a quiet and supportive spot to study for finals? Look no further than Rinconada Library!  On December 13 & 14 from 6-9pm, the entire library will be reserved for high school students studying for finals. Come by to work in a g......More

Calling all High Schoolers! Looking for a quiet and supportive spot to study for finals? Look no further than Rinconada Library!  On December 13 & 14 from 6-9pm, the entire library will be reserved for high school students studying for finals. Come by to work in a group or on your own, drink tea and hot chocolate, and receive encouragement and help from library staff. Must show High School ID for entrance into the building.

Tai Chi with Nelson Ng

Join us for a weekly Tai Chi session with Nelson Ng! In this weekly class, participants will learn the basic principles and the philosophy behind Tai Chi, gaining flexibility and a better sense of balance, through slow and gentle movement.  Nelson started learning Che......More

Join us for a weekly Tai Chi session with Nelson Ng! In this weekly class, participants will learn the basic principles and the philosophy behind Tai Chi, gaining flexibility and a better sense of balance, through slow and gentle movement.  Nelson started learning Chen's Tai Chi in 1989 from Master Gene Chen, who was a disciple of Grandmaster of Feng ZhiQiang. Nelson has been teaching since 2014. This class is free and open to beginners as well as those who have previous Tai Chi experience. People of all ages are welcome. You must sign in upon arrival.

External Event: FOPAL Book Sale

Don't miss this month's Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sale! There will be three rooms with over 70,000 books, CDs, DVDs, puzzles, etc., new & gently used, all sorted, very reasonably priced! Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto libraries.  For the safety and comfort......More

Don't miss this month's Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sale! There will be three rooms with over 70,000 books, CDs, DVDs, puzzles, etc., new & gently used, all sorted, very reasonably priced! Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto libraries.  For the safety and comfort of all participants, masks are suggested and room occupancy will be lower than usual. Please visit fopal.org for more information. Saturday Hours: Bargain Room 9:30am – 4pm Children’s Room 10am – 4pm Main Room 11am – 4pm Sunday Hours: All Rooms 1pm – 4pm

Finals Cram Slam: Late Night Hours!

Calling all High Schoolers! Looking for a quiet and supportive spot to study for finals? Look no further than Rinconada Library!  On December 13 & 14 from 6-9pm, the entire library will be reserved for high school students studying for finals. Come by to work in a g......More

Calling all High Schoolers! Looking for a quiet and supportive spot to study for finals? Look no further than Rinconada Library!  On December 13 & 14 from 6-9pm, the entire library will be reserved for high school students studying for finals. Come by to work in a group or on your own, drink tea and hot chocolate, and receive encouragement and help from library staff. Must show High School ID for entrance into the building.