About Dr. Roberto Cruz - Alum Rock Branch Library
 The
new, 26,000 sq. ft. Dr. Roberto Cruz - Alum Rock Branch replaces
the county-operated Alum Rock Branch Library (6,890 sq. ft.), which
closed on June 11, 2005, after serving the area since mid-1978.
The new library adds a branch to the San José Public Library
system and reflects an agreement by the City of San José
to assume primary responsibility for providing library services
to the Alum Rock neighborhood with continued financial support from
the County of Santa Clara. The library, which incorporated "green"
design principles, was designed by Franco Associates Architects,
AIA and The Colyer Freeman Group, LLP and constructed by West Bay
Builders, Inc. It is the fourth library to be completed under the
$212 million library branch bond program approved by voters in November
2000. Its name honors the founder of the National Hispanic University
who died in 2002 and was an inspiration to many.
The Dr. Roberto Cruz - Alum Rock Branch is located on property adjacent
to the original site on White Road and has the look and feel of
an upscale bookstore. The new branch offers an Internet Café,
community living room with fireplace, technology lab, group
and individual quiet study areas, and a community
room that will accommodate 100 persons, as well as significantly
more space for seating, collections and computers. A Family
Learning Center is designed to offer educational activities
tailored to the needs of the local community, especially to provide
children with the skills and confidence that they need to achieve
their full potential and to enable parents to provide a supportive
learning environment. The library will offer English-as-a-Second
Language classes through a partnership with East Side Union High
School District.
Public art at the new library features four large terrazzo discs
inset in the floors, each with a complimentary skylight well, that
reflect historic, cultural, nature and community themes of the Alum
Rock neighborhood and San José. The art was conceived and
executed by artists Jim Hirshfield and Sonya Ishii of Chapel Hill,
NC.
Materials checked out from any San José Public Library branch
may be returned to Dr. Roberto Cruz Alum Rock Library.
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