Vol 10 # 2 November 15, 2025

Friends of PAL

Next Meeting is Tuesday, November 18, 6:30 - 7:30 pm

 at the library, 80 Echo Ave.

There will be no meeting in December, but there will be a Party

The Friends of the Piedmont Ave Library (PAL) invite you to an Open House at the Library, Wednesday, December 3, 6 - 7 pm. Meet our wonderful staff, your neighbors and Friends. While sampling cookies and treats, find our how you can enjoy and support our neighborhood library.

Sunday December 7, 4 - 6:30 pm Holiday Tree Lighting, Musical performances and visit from Santa at Key Route Plaza, 41st St & Piedmont Ave.

In January our meeting Tuesday, January 27, 6 - 7 pm will include Coffee With A Cop, an informal meeting with our Area Captain, Aaron Smith.

Banning Books – What It Means; What You Can Do

Book banning is an act of censorship by which a book is restricted from libraries and/or schools. Seventy percent of the book bans in the United States have originated from fewer than 20 people whose political agenda impacts us all.

Books are often banned for themes people have deemed “inappropriate” for certain age levels or for the general public. The word “inappropriate” in the discussion of book banning can have many meanings. For some it involves sexual content, but others may argue that books including or discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) topics, race, political history, and more subjects are “inappropriate” for children and the public.

In libraries the books are pulled from the shelves and circulation, not allowed to be checked out. Schools not only lose the book in their library but in their classrooms and curriculum as well.

Reading has been shown to have a positive impact on people of all ages, but especially children. Books grow imagination and critical thinking in ways that can't always be taught in a classroom. People who ban books are taking away these resources that have been proven to be beneficial to mental health and growth.

And Tango Makes Three is based on the true story of two male penguins who formed a pair bond in New York's Central Park Zoo. The children's book has faced bans in various locations due to its LGBTQ+ themes.

Children are not the only ones being affected. All adults, but specifically educators, are as well. Because books are restricted, the subjects educators are able to teach in the classroom are limited, causing difficulties in creating the curriculum and narrowing the perspectives their students learn. Educators care deeply about their students and all children, and seeing kids being impacted by these bans places another level of strain on them. When their students don’t do well or aren’t as engaged in the material, it can hurt the educators as well as the kids.

The benefits that kids derive come not only from seeing different perspectives in the media but also from seeing characters that reflect themselves being positively portrayed, which is especially meaningful for those that belong to groups that are not often visible in mainstream media. The voices of the authors are silenced by book bans.

The majority of banned material focuses on minority populations. Banning books and materials means that people are unable to hear from these various communities, unable to learn about them, and even sometimes unable to learn about themselves as part of that minority.

Book banning often starts as a community issue, so it’s up to the community to prevent it. Library supporters and members of the community need to join together and work for the right to read. They can go to their neighbors, local libraries and bookstores, and school board meetings to gain support and create welcoming reading environments. People can circulate petitions showing widespread support for this issue or organize protests and events against book banning. Those who are unable to participate in such ways can write letters to local officials stating the impacts of book bans and their own desire for open access to library materials. While it is crucial for there to be many contributors overall, individuals can have a great impact as well. Simply standing up at a school board meeting and sharing your ideas and thoughts can be effective. Those who can, need to take a stand for the freedom to read for those who can’t.

~~ Rose Mandros Bell

About the author:

Rose Mandros Bell is a senior at Oakland Technical High School. She is currently studying the impacts and solutions of book banning for her yearlong senior project and research paper. She loves animals, books, nature, and art. If you find her outside of her school studies, she’s most likely surrounded by one or more of these things. 

It rained at the Halloween Parade on Piedmont Ave. but still Nathan led a fun Storytime

Ongoing -



Toddler Storytime, every Tuesday,

10:15 - 10:30 am

Songs and stories for ages 18 months to 3 years. Stay and Play after Storytime with fun toys through 11:15 am.

Knitting & Crochet Circle, every 2nd & 4th Monday, 11 am – 1 pm

Join us for an early afternoon of knitting and good company. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, everyone is welcome!

Teen Pop Up Crafts, Tuesday, every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Teens, come to hang out and get creative with the library staff. Supplies provided. Just bring yourself and creativity. 

Plot Twists & Page Turners: A Piedmont Branch Book Club, every 2nd Tuesday, 6 – 7:15 pm

Come together with your fellow book lovers and discover your next literary adventure at our monthly Book Club. Join to share your current reads or just hang out and chat about books.

MOCHA At The Library!, Saturday 12/20, 11 am – 12:30 pm

Join us for monthly art workshops for children and families led by teachers from the Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA). For ages 5-15 and caregivers.

More Events -

Teens Tidy Up! Saturday 11/22, 11 am – 1 pm

Hey teens! We’re getting a group together to tidy up outside the library. We will be raking leaves, picking up trash, and making the place look great for fall. It’s chill, it won’t take long, and we’ll have free donuts to keep you going. Bring a friend, earn volunteer hours, and help make a difference right here in your community.

Gardening Workshop: Seed Starting, Saturday 11/22, 2 – 3 pm

A UC Master Gardener Instructor, will cover essential timing and techniques for spring vegetable seed starting, including which seeds thrive in our climate, direct seeding tips, and how to protect seedlings through the winter.

Cozy Winter Mug Swap, Saturday 12/6, 11 am – 1 pm

Sip into something new this year! 

Join us for a cozy winter mug swap! Bring your clean mugs to the library and swap them for something new. It’s a delightful way to share the season's warmth and discover unique mugs to add to your collection. Enjoy some warm tea or coffee as you mingle.

Winter Lights For The Solstice, Wednesday 12/24, 11 am – 12 pm

The Winter Solstice is the perfect time of year to celebrate light. Join us in making a paper lantern to share a little light with others.

The Avid Reader by Louis Segal

I’ve been an avid reader since I could read. In high school I used to cut school to read in the Berkeley Public Library.  I’m writing this column to share some of the books I love. I hope, perhaps, you might grow to love a few of them. 

Heretics by Leonardo Padura (2013), translated by Anne Kushner in 2017

Padura is a Cuban writer who has written the finest novel, so far, in the 21^st century. A frustrated journalist, Padura turned to write many books where the hero -or at times the anti-hero- was a private detective, an ex-policeman, who works on cases of murder, theft, and corruption in Havana. These novels were wildly popular in Cuba although the idea of a private eye was imaginative because there was no social space [as far as I know] for private detectives.

Heretics was published in 2013, where the Cuban Revolution had fallen from its lofty heights. The first part, the Book of Daniel, is about a young Jewish man who was sent by his parents to an uncle in Havana. A few years later his parents try to escape the holocaust on the transatlantic liner St Louis. After the voyage across the Atlantic the St. Louis’ first stop was Cuba and the passengers were not allowed to disembark. His parents have a small Rembrandt and offer it as a bribe but it is stolen by someone before the ship sails to a northern port. The boy, once pious, disavows a god who would send the ship from Cuba to Mexico to New York and then back to Hamburg. Many of the passengers perished in the Reich’s death camps. Embittered he goes into another exile in Miami.

The second part, the Book of Elias, takes place in 17^th century Amsterdam. It takes place in Rembrandt's workshop. Padura evokes his art and life and workshop. A young man, Elias, is a custodian there and performs menial tasks. Rembrandt notes the artistic bent of the young man and after a few years encourages him to paint. And Elias does paint what his religion proscribed. He chooses to paint the human body. This is Elias’ heresy and violates the law proscribing graven images. By a twist of fate, it would appear that one of Elias’ paintings was the painting mistaken for a Rembrandt that was stolen in Havana.

The final part is the Book of Judith and it is in Havana, in the shambles of the Cuban Revolution, where young Cuban emos, nihilists, living in sullen resistance to Cuba's revolutionary history. They disdain its rhetoric, it’s hagiographic history and dialectical materialism. Judith, an orphaned child of the Revolution, too, has her heresy. These three stories are marvelously intertwined, great hopes followed by great disillusions, except for Judith, who loses something more precious than hope.

I love this book. I think Heretics portrays the human condition -desire, transgression, and disillusion- across time and faith. It is an historical mystery.

https://mrspeabodyinvestigates.com/2017/04/15/heretics-exclusive-interview-with-top-cuban-crime-writer-leonardo-padura/



By Louis Segal. Louis was born in Oakland, raised his family in Oakland, dropped out of school in 1968, worked many jobs over the decades, dropped back into school in the 80s, got a Ph.D. in history, taught as an adjunct professor from 1993 to 2015. Retired but not withdrawn. 

Our library is open 6 days a week

Sunday Closed

Monday: 10 am - 5:30 pm

Tuesday: 10 am - 8 pm

Wednesday: 10 am - 8 pm

 Thursday: 10 am - 5:30 pm

Friday: 12 pm - 5:30 pm

Saturday: 10 am - 5:30 pm

Friends of the Piedmont Avenue Library Board of Directors 2024

President: Ronile Lahti; Secretary: Arleen Feng; Treasurer: Joanna Smith

The Friends of the Piedmont Avenue Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our tax ID is 84-4203055.

All contributions are tax deductible.

Donate to Friends of PAL