Claremont Branch Library
Claremont Branch – Temporary Closure for Renovations and New Construction
Beginning Apr. 4, 2011, the Claremont Branch will be closed for approximately 9-12 months. The last open day for public service will be Sat., Apr. 2. BranchVan service begins April 11 (Garber St. at College Ave., next to St. John’s Presbyterian Church.) For more service information during the temporary closure including BranchVan and children’s storytime schedules see our Claremont Branch Temporary Closure Guide.
For more information click here or call 510-981-6195
Karen Joseph-Smith, Branch Supervisor
2940 Benvenue MAP
Berkeley CA 94705
510-981-6280
510-843-1603 fax
Mon & Tues 10-6; Wed & Thurs 12-8; Fri & Sat 10-6
Closed Sundays - Holidays 2012 
AC Transit 51B & 49. No parking lot; metered street parking is almost always scarce. Plan your trip >>
Collection Strengths
- Mysteries
- Travel
Programs and Services
- Children's Events and Storytimes
- Teen services
- Lawyers in the Library
- Public meeting room
Building Notes
The public library in the Elmwood has been called the Claremont Branch since its founding at Emerson School in 1909. It grew to contain over 1,000 books after it moved to Adeline Street in 1913. Active Elmwood residents lobbied the city for a closer branch, and from 1917-1923, it was located in a storefront at 2939 College Avenue and then, for one year, at 2704 Russell St.
The Library's current home, the Tudor-style building at 2940 Benvenue, was opened ceremoniously by Berkeley Mayor Frank D. Stringham on the evening of October 27, 1924.... A truly neighborhood branch, the new library was designed to blend in both scale and character with the homes around it. James W. Plachek, who also designed the Berkeley Central building downtown, gave the library an Old World charm still apparent today.
from Tales from the Elmwood, 2000, by Burt Willes
Neighborhood
The Elmwood is a Berkeley neighborhood of old houses, gracious tree-lined streets and a shopping area of small stores that has retained its sense of the past with a spirit of community and neighborhood activism. Artists, writers, musicians, political activists, and lesser-known but interesting people have been attracted to the Elmwood since the beginning.
The name "Elmwood" first appeared in a 1905 promotional real estate brochure extolling its bucolic charms and its wide unpaved avenues of elms and poplars.... Today anyone living within easy walking distance distance of the shopping district at College and Ashby Avenues is part of this pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.
from Tales from the Elmwood, 2000, by Burt Willes