North Sunnyvale's new library branch is on Lakechime Drive, and it keeps shorter hours than the main library. The Lakewood Branch Library and Learning Center opens at 10 a.m. six days a week. It closes by 7 p.m. at the latest and stays dark on Sundays. Most of its first month of programs falls on weekday mornings and afternoons. For Lakewood Village households, the branch takes over a library's daytime jobs: homework space, storytime, and a Maker Lab with a laser cutter. Evening and Sunday visits still go to 665 W. Olive Ave.
Why it took until Halloween
The branch had been planned for more than a decade. The Silicon Valley Voice reported that the City Council first took up a new library in July 2012. It also reported that Lakewood was the only Sunnyvale neighborhood where residents had to travel up to four miles to reach a public library. The City's project page puts the same gap a different way: many north Sunnyvale residents lived two to four miles from any library, and the Lakewood area had the lowest share of library card holders of any neighborhood in the city.
The building sits on land owned by the Sunnyvale School District, at the Lakewood Elementary School site. It is a joint-use project of the City, the Sunnyvale School District and the Fremont Union High School District. According to the Silicon Valley Voice, each district paid $3 million toward construction, and together they will cover a quarter of the annual operating costs. The City awarded the final construction contract in spring 2024 for $23 million, below early projections of about $28 million.
The library first announced a grand opening for Aug. 29, 2026, then postponed it until construction was complete. The Silicon Valley Voice reported that delays with window installation and the exterior stucco caused the postponement. The rescheduled Oct. 31 celebration ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with live music, a Maker Lab showcase, crafts and treats for anyone in costume.
Two buildings, two schedules
On paper, the hours matter more than anything else about the new branch. Here are both schedules side by side, from the City's facility listing for Lakewood and the library's locations page for the main building:
| Day | Lakewood Branch, 760 Lakechime Dr. | Main Library, 665 W. Olive Ave. |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed | 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. |
Lakewood is open 48 hours a week and Olive Avenue 65. Sunday is the biggest single-day difference, because Lakewood is closed while Olive Avenue is open from 1 to 6 p.m. Among weekdays, Thursday has the biggest difference: Lakewood closes at 5 p.m., and the main library stays open until 9. Monday through Wednesday, the branch has evening hours until 7, enough for an after-dinner trip to return a book or use a study room. After 7 on those nights, after 5 from Thursday to Saturday, and on Sunday afternoons, Olive Avenue is the only building in the system that is open.
The two buildings also differ in what they offer. The Lakewood branch is a single-story, all-electric building of more than 20,000 square feet. It has study rooms, separate areas for children and teens, and a Maker Lab.
Monday through Thursday belong to the Maker Lab
According to the City's announcement, the Maker Lab has a 3D printer, a laser cutter, sewing machines, a large-format printer, vinyl cutters, jewelry-making supplies and arts-and-crafts materials.
The easiest way in is Maker Exploration. The library's Nov. 2 listing describes it as running Mondays through Thursdays: staff show the equipment in action and explain how to use it for your own projects. The Nov. 2 session ran from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in the Lakewood Maker Lab. It is open to all ages and free, with no registration, but space is limited and the doors close when the room is full.
The Maker Lab's schedule follows the same pattern as the hours. Maker Exploration is listed for Mondays through Thursdays. A student finishing a project or a parent with an Etsy side project would need to plan around a Monday-to-Thursday visit. If a session is full or doesn't fit, the branch phone number is 408-730-7323, and the main library line is 408-730-7300.
Sewing now has three mornings a week
The Sewing Lab shows most clearly how the new branch adds to the system's schedule. The November calendar lists a 10 a.m. Sewing Lab at Lakewood every Monday and Friday, and the main library's own Sewing Lab every Wednesday at 10 a.m. With both buildings, the system now offers open sewing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.
The Lakewood Sewing Lab is free and for adults 18 and older, with no registration. You bring your own fabric or project, and the library provides machines, thread and other supplies. Staff can help, but the listing says it is not a formal class. Machines and tables are limited and first-come, first-served. On the calendar, the Lakewood sessions fall on Nov. 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23 and 30, after the Nov. 2 opener.
The rest of November at Lakewood
Apart from the Sewing Lab and Maker Exploration, the branch has a short November calendar, and every event on it starts before the 5 p.m. Thursday-through-Saturday closing time:
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 3 to 4 p.m.: Insect Discovery Lab. For ages 6 to 11, no registration needed.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Bilingual Spanish-English Storytime. For children of all ages and their caregivers. No registration, but room capacity is limited.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 1 to 2 p.m.: Traveling Reptile Show. No registration, but space is limited.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27: Library closed for the holiday. The calendar also shows a 6 p.m. closing on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Most of November's evening and Sunday programs are at Olive Avenue. They include Night Owl Storytime at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5, 12 and 19, and a family movie, Hoppers, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29. Lakewood is closed during both.
Next door, a park that is partly open
The library opened next to a park that is still under construction. The City describes Lakewood Park as an outer-space-themed park nearly 60 years old, now being rebuilt. On March 24, 2026, the City Council awarded a $13,607,856.60 contract to Suarez & Munoz Construction for the renovation.
The first finished piece has already opened. According to the City's renovation page, the all-inclusive playground and tot lot opened on July 29. Work continues on the rest of the park, with completion estimated for mid-2027. The rest of the park is closed during construction. The John W. Christian Greenbelt pathway, the basketball, tennis and handball courts, and the playground remain open.
That makes the two easy to combine. A family can go to a weekday storytime or the reptile show, then walk over to the new playground. The park directory lists the park as open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the basketball and tennis court lights on until 10 p.m. The finished park is planned to include a new concession stand and restroom building, separate large and small dog parks, natural grass, a water-play area, a mini skate park and new lighting along the Greenbelt pathway. Until mid-2027, the playground, courts and Greenbelt path are the open parts.
For a grocery stop on the way home, the closest named anchor is New Wing Yuan Market in the Lakewood Shopping Center at 1139 Lawrence Expressway. The City also sells Sunnyvale garbage tags there, if you need some.
Our team keeps track of changes like a new branch's hours, the park's construction schedule and the November calendar, because these details shape daily routines in north Sunnyvale. If you'd like to talk through how Lakewood Village and the rest of north Sunnyvale fit your plans, in English or Mandarin, Heather Lin Real Estate Team is glad to help. Schedule a Free Consultation.
