The Rohnert Park-Cotati Library Closed for the Season. Here's Where Storytime, Holds, and Book Clubs Went.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
The holds shelf for Rohnert Park and Cotati now sits in a lobby on State Farm Drive. The Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library at 6250 Lynne Condé Way closed on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, for a renovation. Since September 8, the books you reserve have been waiting 0.3 miles away in the lobby of the Sonoma County Library headquarters at 6135 State Farm Drive.
Most of the branch is still running. It now works out of three addresses, and each one handles a different part of what the old building did. The renovation adds only a few minutes of driving. What takes getting used to is the shorter, oddly arranged hours at the counter that handles your books.
The old branch put everything under one roof: checkout, storytime, book clubs and the Friends of the Library bookstore. For the rest of 2026, those jobs are spread out like this:
Families feel the split most. Before September, storytime and checking out a stack of picture books happened in the same trip. Now they are two trips to two buildings, and their schedules don't always line up.
Library To-Go is open for four-hour blocks. Some days get an afternoon block and some get a morning block, and on Sundays it is closed.
| Day | Library To-Go, State Farm Drive | Petaluma Regional and Rincon Valley Regional |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2 to 6 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 2 to 6 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Thursday | 2 to 6 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Friday | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed | 1 to 5 p.m. |
That comes to 24 hours a week at the local counter. Each of the two nearest full-service branches is open 56. The pattern matters more than the total. If you work a standard day shift, you can stop in after work on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, but you have to be there before 6. On Wednesday and Friday the counter closes at 2 p.m. On weekends, Saturday morning is your only chance.
The BiblioBox lockers and the printing and copying service that usually cover the gaps are unavailable during the closure. The library's branch page sends people who need printing or copying to other local libraries.
Burton Avenue has kept a steady monthly schedule of storytimes, book clubs and crafts, set on fixed days of the month. Here is what's left on the calendar from the last week of October through December:
The First Chapter Book Club's schedule lists September, October and November dates and no December date. Families with teens should also know that the October 14 and October 28 sessions of "Computer Programming for Youth" at Burton Avenue are marked cancelled. That was an eight-week robotics series run by 404 Found, a nonprofit organized by high schoolers.
This is where the split catches families. Family Storytime falls on Wednesday mornings, and Library To-Go is open Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On a storytime Wednesday, you can leave Burton Avenue at 11:30 and still reach State Farm Drive before the counter closes. First Chapter Book Club falls on Tuesday afternoons, and the counter is open until 6 on Tuesdays, so that pairing works too.
Some trips need more than a holds shelf. For those, the two nearest regional branches are both open seven days a week.
Petaluma Regional Library offers meeting-room reservations and study pods, according to its location page. Petaluma also has two StoryWalk installations up this fall, where families walk a path and read a picture book page by page. One is in the library's sculpture garden through November 30. The other, at Helen Putnam Regional Park, features Moon Rope (Un Lazo a la Luna) by Lois Ehlert and runs from October 16 through November 30.
Rincon Valley Regional Library, at 6959 Montecito Boulevard in Santa Rosa, reopened August 17 after its own renovation. Its new features include a makerspace, a dedicated teen area, an upgraded children's area, new furniture and a more comfortable layout. If you want a look at what a refreshed Sonoma County Library branch feels like before the Rohnert Park-Cotati doors reopen, a Rincon Valley visit is the closest preview available.
The branch opened in June 2003. It is a 24,000-square-foot, city-owned building, and the Press Democrat noted it was financed by the city. After more than two decades, the work is split between what visitors will notice and what they won't. The Press Democrat reported that the visible changes include a new service desk, new shelving, an upgraded children's area with an expanded play space, a new computer area, new lighting and carpet, and fresh paint. Behind the walls, the HVAC, electrical system and fire alarms are being upgraded.
Sonoma County Library Director Erika Thibault told the Press Democrat that "some of these improvements will be visible, while others will enhance the comfort, efficiency, and overall functionality of the building."
The money comes from several local and state sources:
If you have a box of books set aside for the Friends, keep it for now. The library's location page says Friends donations are not being accepted while the branch is closed. The group usually raises money by reselling donated books and media and through sales in February, June and September, and its bookstore sits inside the branch that is now under construction.
As for timing, library officials gave the Press Democrat a target reopening of January 2027. The City says Library To-Go is scheduled to stay open through January 2027. The library's own event calendar lists the branch as closed from September 1 through January 10. Until a reopening date is announced, plan on the State Farm Drive counter and its half-day hours through the holidays.
Library closures like this one are the kind of local detail that comes up when neighbors are deciding where to live or when to list. If you're planning a move around Rohnert Park or Cotati and want someone who follows these projects closely, Ashley McSweeney is glad to talk it through. Request a free home valuation and consultation whenever the timing suits you.
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