Posted on December 3, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Beyond the Book Shelf

Beyond the Book Shelf is a 15 minute film about the library. Check it out!

Check out this amazing 15 minute documentary about the Oakland Public Library: Beyond the Book Shelf.  Including interviews with staff and patrons, the filmmakers show the library as an "emerging tool in the community."  This film is the creation of incredibly talented library staff, and it deserves to be shared with everyone.  

What do you think?  What has the library done for you?  What do you see as the library's role in the community?   Check out what these people had to say and comment to add to the conversation!

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Posted on November 18, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Found in the Library, Take Two

Check out these amazing items, all found in library books and around the library.

It's been awhile since my first "Found" post, and it seems like the right time to show off some more library treasures.  All of these items were found around the Oakland Public Library by library staff - many of them in books, but some just in the building.  

Which one is your favorite?  I like to picture the people who left these items behind, and to make up stories in my head about what each of these might mean.  Any ideas?  

Hey - who knows!  Maybe you'll even find something you've been missing!

         

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Posted on November 14, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

KALW's Hear Here is Sharing Library Users' Stories

Listen to some short and lovely life stories from some of our library users.

For a couple of years, KALW 91.7FM’s Hear Here radio producers have been asking OPL patrons to share their personal stories on tape. From Golden Gate to Temescal, César Chávez and 81st Avenue, our patrons have shared stories about the trials they’ve faced and the happiness that they’ve found.  Hear Here is designed to illuminate life in San Francisco and Oakland, drawing out the common threads that tie us together. 

In the last two weeks, two new stories have popped up on the KALW site that have come from our own library patrons.  The first features Visalia Stanley at the 81st Avenue Branch Library.  Click through to listen to her tale of how she found a way to feed herself during

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Posted on November 7, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Happy 135th Birthday, OPL!

Today is the 135th birthday of the Oakland Public Library!

Today is the 135th birthday of the Oakland Public Library!

You can learn a little about the history of the Oakland Public Library on our website, and you can learn A LOT in the Oakland History Room. So, I learned that although the library existed even earlier, it was founded as a municipal entity on November 7, 1878 and was the second public library system in California. I also learned that the first librarian, Ina Coolbrith was not only the first California Poet Laureate, she was also a MAJOR cat lover.

With the help of the wonderful librarians who know the Oakland History Room inside and out I was able to find some of the oldest library-related things we still have hanging around, and I

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Posted on November 4, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Library User Spotlight: Meet Nakia!

Today, I'm very excited to introduce you to Nakia M. White. Nakie is not only an active library user, but she is an active member of the community in a variety of other inspiring ways.

It is finally time for the second in a series of blog posts that let you meet some of our most amazing library patrons. Today, I'm very excited to introduce you to Nakia M. White. Nakie is not only an active library user, but she is an active member of the community in a variety of other inspiring ways. Oakland is lucky to have her, and we are so happy she shared a little bit of herself with us here today!

Nakia works for a public agency in Oakland, but outside of that is involved as both a reader and writer in her community. Nakia describes herself in her own words:

"Reading is my first love, so much so that I have a blog dedicated to my favorite authors: Zora Neale Hurston,

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Posted on October 25, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Nerd Nite East Bay October and Nerd Nite at Sea!

Come see us at Nerd Nite East Bay on Monday, or at Nerd Nite at Sea on Wednesday!

Well, it's almost time for another Nerd Nite, but this month the library has the opportunity to participate in double Nerd Nite nerdy awesomeness!

First, on Monday, is the regularaly scheduled Nerd Nite East Bay at the New Parkway beginning at 8pm (doors at 7pm).  OPL staff will be there, as usual, making library cards, replacing lost cards, regaling you with fine facts about all the things you can do and find at the library, and distributing our newest Nerd Nite Reading List.  The October talks will cover Supercomputers, Lake Merritt, and DNA Sequencing.  Fascinating stuff, right??  Check out the Reading List below, or hit our Nerd Nite Pinterest Board to see the covers and click straight through the the catalog.  

      

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Posted on October 22, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

November!

What do you have planned for November? Perhaps you should come to the library!

Another month has almost passed, and as hard as it is to believe, November is bearing down upon us.  The good news is that, although it is getting colder and darker, the library is still light & bright and full of fun things for you to do!  

   

What do we have coming next month?  Well, as always, we have storytimes, lawyers to help you with your legal questions, and book clubs galore!  This month, though, we also have a Diwali Celebration, a Native American Culture Day, an urban arts workshop for teens, SAT

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Posted on October 10, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Search Saving = YAY!

Now you can save a preferred search and be notified when new materials are added to the catalog. Isn't that exciting?

You know how it is when you just LOVE an author and you want to make sure you know the instant one of their new books comes out?  Well, now we can help you with that!  

As of this week, our users are able to save up to 25 preferred searches in the catalog.  This is, basically, a way of letting us know your preferences, and giving us the chance to email you when new materials that match your preferences are added to the catalog.  What a great way to get to the front of the holds queue!

So, how do you do it?  First of all, this doesn't work in Encore, and only works in the Classic Catalog.   So, take yourself over to the Classic Catalog and log yourself in.   Then just follow these steps:

  1. Search for your favorite author

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Posted on October 2, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

Found, Library Style

You find amazing things inside books, and not just the way you might think I mean!

The little things found in library books and left around the library often give me pause.  I can't help but wonder who created them and why.  I think about where these people might be now, and wonder if they ever noticed they had lost the object I had found.  So many stories can be invented to explain these tiny glimpses into someone's life.

I've collected quite a few things from staff around the library system, and thought it might be fun to share them with you, bit by bit over time.  

So, to start, here is a small selection of items found in the Oakland Public Library by library staff members.  Most were found in books, but some were just left behind in the library.  All of them could tell quite a story.  More to come!

(This is my personal favorite.  Poor CJ!)

       

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Posted on September 30, 2013 by Sharon McKellar

It's Almost October!

October at OPL is busy, exciting, and spooooky! Come see what there is to see!

It's almost October, which is shaping up to be one of our most amazing event-filled months ever at the Oakland Public Library!  With author talks galore, a travel program, Affordable Health Care Act information, Teen Read Week, Halloween and Día de los Muertos events for children and exhibits at several locations, you do not want to miss out!

You can always find our events listed on our website, and you can also grab a print calendar at any of our library locations.  You can also see a PDF version of our October 2013 calendar here.  You might notice it looks

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