Vol 1 no 1
September 2017
 NEWS - THE FUTURE OF OUR LIBRARY
The Oakland Unified School District has renewed the lease at our current temporary site at 80 Echo Street.

The lease is for 5 years with an annual rent of $2,500. Extending it will give us some security while we continue our struggle to find a permanent home for our library.

For forty years our library was on 41 st street near Piedmont Ave in a charming building owned by Citibank and rented to the library for $1 a month. In 2009 the building was purchased by Goohhue Investments, and the rent increased beyond our budget. As a short term solution the library moved to the current portable building on the grounds of the Piedmont Avenue Elementary School. It’s a cozy space but has little room for our collection or programs! 

  • There are a number of options for funding the library, including:Passing a city-wide library construction bond that includes our library;
  • Creating and passing a special tax district (Mello-Roos) that would tax our neighborhood
  • Negotiate with a builder of new construction in our neighborhood to include a library in their project.

All of these options, and many we haven’t even thought of, take years of work by dedicated volunteers working with the City and the Hood. And we’re looking for those volunteers. Whatever skills you happen to have, we need your help. Please contact us at www.fopabl.org

A major task is to encourage people to use the library. Order books and DVDs online at https://catalog.oaklandlibrary.org and pick them up at the library. Enjoy our ongoing and special programs, listed below.
Our New Librarian
 
The Friends are pleased to welcome our new Branch Manager, Pat Toney. Pat describes herself as a Valley Girl who loves the musical group Oromatli.
Her experience of “hanging out” at the beautiful Pasadena Public Library while growing up inspired her to pursue a career as a librarian. She became a Children’s Librarian with the Oakland Public Library, a perfect fit that combines her love of children & her love of books.

As Branch Manager at Piedmont Avenue, Pat appreciates the sense of community and is committed to our neighborhood’s struggle for a permanent facility. The first thing she wants to do is to make our library visible, with banners on the building and on Piedmont Avenue as well. Pat would like our neighborhood to use the library as a resource and wants everyone to know that the librarians are here to help. Just ask.

Oh, and owls are a favorite of Pat’s. It may not be a mere coincidence that she ended up at a library with an owl as its mascot. We know she gives a hoot!
 What's Happening at the Library? 
Ongoing:

Wednesdays: 10:15am -- Toddler Storytime
Wednesdays: 11:00am -- Pre-School Storytime
Fridays: 3:30pm -- Lego Mania
Saturdays: 10:30am -- Baby Cafe
Saturdays: 2:30pm -- eBook Help
 
9/23, Saturday, 1pm-2pm: Berkeley Rep Theater Docent Talk -- Continuing our series of presentations by docents from Berkeley Rep this talk will describe Berkeley Rep's productions -- Ain't too Proud

10/3, Tuesday, 6pm-7:30pm: Homemade Salsa Tasting Challenge -- Celebrate Latino Heritage Month. You bring the salsa, we'll provide chips & beverages, let your taste buds be the judge.

10/12, Thursday, 3:30pm - 5pm: Washi Tape Notebooks -- Celebrate Teen Read Week and unleash your stories! We will decorate notebooks with Washi tapes.

10/19, Thursday, 10:30am - 11:30am: Author Laurin Mayeno presents One of a Kind Like Me/Unico como yo. The bilingual picture books tells a story from the life of a proud, gender nonconforming child. Laura will read the book and lead a discussion about gender diversity in kids.
All events take place at the Piedmont Avenue Branch
80 Echo Avenue, Oakland Ca 94611