Posted on December 13, 2017 by Camille Peters

Music Survey Extended!

One more week to fill out the OPL Survey on Listening to Music, and one more week to win prizes.

The OPL Survey on Listening to Music, originally slated to close on December 6, has been extended to December 20.

That's right -- you still have one more week to tell us what you'd like to see in the music collection. You can find the survey online: http://oaklandlibrary.org/music-survey or at your local library branch. Copies in Spanish and Chinese are also available at all branches.

Raffle extended too, with one exception...

One of the prizes in the raffle is for tickets to a show that occurs before the extended deadline. The tickets to see FKJ at the Fox Theater on 12/15 will be raffled off today at 6:00 PM. Anyone who has completed the survey by that time -- and included their name and phone number -- will be eligible to win.

Click here to read more

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Ajoke Kokodoko

Celebrating Oakland’s Rich Cultural Arts: The Legacy of the Malonga Casquelourd Center

Celebrating Oakland's Rich Multicultural Arts: The Legacy of the Malonga Casquelourd Center

 

Come to the Oakland Public Library Main now until December 1 to “Give Praise to Life”.  The event features:

The Malonga Center Community Ancestral Installation - If you have never been to “the Malonga” you’re missing out on a historical Oakland jewel. Since the 1920s, this grand building has been the go to place for theatre, special events, multicultural arts, classes and more.  Check out their website http://mccatheater.com/

                     

The Malonga Center, formerly known as the Alice Arts Center, was renamed for renowned

Click here to read more

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Camille Peters

A Music Survey -- with Prizes!

Help us serve you better by filling out a short music survey, and you'll be eligible to win tickets from local venues.

Blues or bluegrass? Jazz or folk? Streaming, vinyl, CDs ... or cassettes? What are your favorite kinds of music, and how do you listen to them?

We'd like to know more about your listening habits to ensure that our music collection meets your needs. That's why we've created a short survey on listening to music, whether live or recorded. Please take the survey to let us know what you're listening to and how:

http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/music-survey

Rather write than type? Paper copies are coming to a library near you.

Did you say prizes?

Everyone who completes the survey will be eligible to enter a raffle. Just fill in your name and phone number at the end of the survey to enter. The results will be tallied anonymously, and your information will not be shared.

The raffle is optional, but the prizes are pretty enticing. You could win:

  • A $75 ticket voucher from

Click here to read more

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Emily Weak

Books about Veterans and their Families

A booklist from The Oakland Public Library’s Veterans Center Resource Collection

Did you know the Oakland Public Library has a Veterans Center?

It is located in the lobby of the Main Library. Trained staff or volunteers are often available to help veterans and family members learn about benefits for education, health, employment, housing, and more. There is also a collection of books. They can be checked out from the Veterans Center anytime the library is open or can be delivered to any branch by placing a hold.

You can pick up a paper copy of this list in the Veterans Center, as well as at branch libraries.  

Careers, Benefits and More: The Business of Becoming a Civilian

Cover of Best Careers book      Cover of Military Guide      

Click here to read more

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Kathleen DiGiovanni

Mysterious Thelonious: Monk turns 100

Celebrate the 100th birthday of Thelonious Monk by listening, watching, reading, and playing.

Posted by Camille Peters

Thelonious Monk at the pianoThelonious Sphere Monk is of those rare public figures who is recognizable by silhouette alone. Elements of his trademark style are captured on the 1964 cover of Time magazine featuring Monk: the hat, the beard curling to a point. That Monk is one of only a handful of jazz musicians to ever appear on the cover of Time is a measure of his importance in jazz history.

Today marks the centennial for Monk, a pianist and composer with a reputation for originality and eccentricity. Born on October 10, 1917, Monk got his start as a performer in the early 1940s. He was the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem

Click here to read more

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Dorothy Lazard

James Baldwin and "The Price of the Ticket"

Writer James Baldwin's fiery prose and sharp critiques on American society resonate 30 years after his death

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

--James Baldwin from "As Much Truth As One Can Bear" in The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings 

James Baldwin was living comfortably and productively in France as a successful expatriate writer when the American Civil Rights Movement kicked into high gear in the early 1960s. Spurred by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, racial violence, and widespread job and housing discrimination in America, he returned home to witness for himself what was tearing America apart. He traveled throughout the country to engage student activists, religious and community leaders, and politicians to hear what they thought about the turbulent state of affairs. Most notably, Baldwin used his fame as a celebrated writer to speak out about racism and its corrosive effect on both its victims and perpetrators. It was during these years that he wrote one of his most famous works, "

Click here to read more

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Emily Weak

We Love Nerds

Have you always wanted to spend an evening in a bar with library staff, enjoying lectures by local experts?

Join us for Nerd Nite East Bay 57: Animal Maps, Industrial Zone Art, Nature Myths.

We’re happy to provide reading lists based on the topics of the night’s lectures. Here’s a taste of this month:

To accompany Oliver Uberti’s talk entitled, "Where the Wild Things Go, Using Modern Technology to Map Nature’s Elusive Animals", we suggest you read his book, Where the Animals Go.

Liam O’Donoghue and Joey Enos’ will discuss "Art of the Emeryville Mud Flats". If you'd like to learn more, we suggest

Click here to read more

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Emily Weak

What to do with those eclipse glasses?

Bring your eclipse glasses to the library and we'll send them to Astronomers Without Borders for use by school children in other countries

Click here to read more

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Kathleen DiGiovanni

Experience the Eclipse!

Experience the eclipse at Oakland Public Library! We will be hosting an eclipse viewing party August 21st at 9:30. Please join us! We have several new books on solar eclipse science, lore, and history to get you excited about this rare astronomical event.

 

Where will you be on August 21st?  Watching the eclipse of course!   

Oakland Public Library will be hosting a Viewing Party!! Please join us!

Certain states will experience a total eclipse this summer; those of us in California can expect to see a partial eclipse. A limited number of safe viewing glasses will be available. Come watch the partial eclipse with us! 

  • When: August 21, 2017 at 9:30am
  • Where: Main Library,  West Auditorium - Off of Madison St.

                    125 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612 / Phone# 510-238-3134

For those who can't join us on August 21st, NASA will be

Click here to read more

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Kathleen DiGiovanni

Tune in to This!

The Oakland Radio Communication Association (ORCA) Field Day 2017 is happening this weekend.

Every year since 1933, on the fourth weekend of June, amateur radio operators in the United States and Canada gather for their annual Field Day. Amateur radio operators -- ham radio enthusiasts -- aren't just hobbyists. Their equipment and skills make up an important part of disaster planning in many communities, including ours. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) holds its annual field day to promote interest in amateur radio and, more importantly, to practice operating over a full 24 hours as its members would do during a real disaster. 

The AALR site lists 1607 Field Day events this weekend, including a bunch of them in the Bay Area. Oakland's event, put on by the Oakland Radio Communication Association will be at Sequoia Arena, 10013 Skyline Blvd, across from Chabot Space and

Click here to read more