Posted on August 13, 2013 by Nina Lindsay to Children's Services Blog

Summer's Over?

Updates on library activities following the conclusion of the Summer Reading Program and Free Summer Lunch at the library

Our Summer Reading Program is officially over, and so are our free summer lunches, but you can still:

  1. Get free lunch this week at many non-library locations in Oakland, including most Oakland Parks & Recreation Centers. For a location near you, call the Alameda County Community Food Bank "Get Food Today" Hotline at (800) 870-3663. The hotline provides information to all kinds of free food service for everyone, year round. 
  2. Pick up your Summer Reading Program prize at any Oakland Public Library, if you haven't yet, for any hours completed by August 10 (if you didn't get them logged online, just ask library staff for help).    We do start to run low on prizes by the end of the month, but we want you to get yours!  Grand Prizes will be drawn later this week. 
  3. Come this Saturday, August 17th, to

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Posted on August 9, 2013 by Sharon McKellar to The Library Community

Branch Schedule Change - All the Facts!

In order to increase the public's access to neighborhood library branches, OPL will be implementing a schedule change at the Brookfield, Eastmont, Golden Gate and Piedmont Avenue Branches.

As you may have heard by now, Oakland Public Library is changing the schedule at some of our locations beginning on Saturday, September 14th.  You can read the press release about it here, which gives a lot of the background information.  The short version is that we are implementing a schedule change at 4 of our branches, switching them to a Monday - Friday schedule in order to increase the public's access to neighborhood library branches.  

The branches with a changing schedule are the following:

All other branches will

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Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mary Farrell to Blog

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon, Lakeview Book Club Notes

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Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mary Farrell to Advice for Readers

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon, Lakeview Book Club Notes

Michael Chabon lyrically writes a novel of Oakland in the recent past and the multiracial, troubled and loving small community of family members and friends.

    

Hello Everyone,

 What a great meeting about Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon!

 There were 10 of us and our leader did a great job! She had done research on Michael Chabon and told us about his early life in Columbia, Maryland in an almost utopian middle class Black and White community. This background gave credence to his depicting a multiracial/multicultural world on Telegraph Avenue. One member told us that she knows Michael Chabon, because their children attended the same school. She said he is a really nice person. Other members have heard him speak at other venues and thought he seemed shy, almost childlike, but seemed really nice.

 Our discussion leader set the stage for us by finding a play list of 126 of the 128 musical mentions in the book. We sat down to the

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Posted on August 8, 2013 by Miriam Medow to Children's Services Blog

Full Steam Ahead: Picture Books about Trains

A list of recommended picture books on the topic of trains at Oakland Public Library.

Here’s an understatement for you: train books are popular at the library. They have the power to capture the attention and imagination of wiggly toddlers, curious preschoolers, and knowledgeable school-aged kids alike. They inspire squeals of delight when discovered and, sometimes, tears of despair when returned! Come find these tried-and-true books at the library for the train lover in your life:

Trains book cover

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Posted on August 6, 2013 by Sharon McKellar to The Library Community

National Night Out

Six Oakland Public Libraries are hosting National Night Out parties tonight. We hope to see you at some of them.

Tonight (8/6/13) is National Night Out and all over the country people will gather with neighbors to promote community.  Just here in Oakland there will be over 100 block parties tonight, and 6 of them are taking place outside of Oakland Public Library branches!  Stop by and say hi to your friendly library staff and your fellow library lovers.  Turn your neighbors into friends!

The 81st Avenue Branch's party will be happening between 6 and 8:30pm and features food, fun and live music.

At the Dimond Branch, the party starts at 7pm and includes a performance by Dan Chan Magic Man.

Snacks, games, an outdoor storytime and lots of sidewalk chalk will be found at the

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Posted on August 6, 2013 by Laurie Willhalm to Children's Services Blog

Summer Reading Ends This Saturday!

Take a look at Oakland's Children's Summer Reading accomplishments. And don't forget to log your reading, either online or at one of Oakland's 17 branches.

Sisters ReadingWhat a summer we've had! Together we have read almost 35,000 hours since June 15.

But, wait--that's not all! We have planted seeds in pots we decorated. We have blown bubbles all over Oakland. We have made bracelets and rain sticks. We've planted and eaten vegetables. We have seen performers do magic, blow magical balloons, and take us to magical places through dance. We have met bugs and reptiles and frogs. Puppets have visited us, and we've seen science at its most fun. We have sung and we have danced, and we've seen dogs do both.

Tortoise in the library

Yes, it has been a full summer.

If your child has read for at least eight hours, be sure to log it, either by coming into the branch or by going online to Oakland's

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Posted on August 1, 2013 by Amy Martin to Children's Services Blog

The Right Book for the Right Reader: Introductions

Is there such a thing as the right book for the right reader? Join Miss Amy on her quest, which is not at all monomaniacal.

Greetings! Many of you already know me as Miss Amy, especially if you are under three feet tall and have attended a storytime at Montclair Branch, the Main Library Children's Room, or Eastmont Branch in the last six years. I'm one of your friendly children's librarians, and in this series I will discuss a topic that drives children's librarians and keeps us invested in our profession. A thing that keeps us hard at work, hour upon hour, day after day, and I'm not talking about googling "is Kadir Nelson married*"-- no, it's our guiding principle, the beacon we follow when all else is dim.

It is the concept of the right book

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Posted on July 29, 2013 by Nina Lindsay to Children's Services Blog

Summer Reading Celebration at the Oakland Museum's Free First Sunday

Sunday August 4th, from 12-4pm, enjoy a slew of free family activities at the Oakland Museum, celebrating Summer Reading!

Come to our Summer Reading Celebration at the Oakland Museum! Sunday, August 4, 12-4pm.

Join the Oakland Public Library and the Oakland Museum of CA for our 9th Annual Summer Reading Celebration, Reading is So Delicious!  Enjoy storytime with your favorite librarians, hands-on craft activities, face painting, a live art demonstration, and active games with Oakland Parks and Recreation all on the lawn in the beautiful Museum Gardens.  Following a performance by Busy Bee Dogs, children who are participating in the Summer Reading Game will receive a special certificate of achievement. 

First

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Posted on July 26, 2013 by Rebekah Eppley to Blog

Chef Memoirs and Other Delicious Titles

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