Vol 9 # 3 December 15, 2024

Branch Status Update

As reported in the November HOOT, the Oakland Unified School District's termination of the Joint Occupancy and Lease Agreement regarding the former CDC property at 86 Echo Avenue also left Oakland without an active lease on the portable building housing our existing library branch at 80 Echo. 

Our immediate priority is to see that the lease for 80 Echo will be renewed - we understand that Oakland's Library Director is working with OUSD to make sure that happens.

We do not know whether OUSD has alternate plans for the 86 Echo site or if the City's proposal for a branch library, developed through this year's Feasibility Study, might ever become viable again in the future. The Friends will continue communicating with the library administration for updates and discussing how we might overcome the financing roadblocks.



By Arleen Feng, Secretary, Friends of PAL

From Sabah Abdulla, Branch Manager & Nathan Page, Children's Librarian

Events at the library

Children –



Toddler Storytime every Tuesday at 10:15 am   Stay and Play after Storytime

Songs, active rhymes, and stories especially for ages 18 months to 3 years. Stay and Play with fun age-appropriate toys through 11:15 am

Children's Author Book Reading & Craft,

Saturday January 11, 11 am – 12 pm Join children’s author, Sara T. Behrman, as she reads from her new book, The Sea Hides A Seahorse.

Adults -

Knitting & Crochet Circle with Susan Segal! every second and fourth Monday,

11 am – 1 pm. Join us for a delightful early afternoon of yarn, needles, and good company at our Adult Knitting & Crochet Circle!

Mark Making and Meditation, Wednesday, January 8, 6 - 7 pm

You'll be creating patterns, lines, textures and shapes - and how you can use it in your art and crafts as well as how it can help you relax and loosen up your creativity. We’ll experiment with various tools and found objects and different media, including pens and paint.

This class is suitable for people of all skill levels, ages 13 - adult. All materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your favorite pen, that sketchbook you want to break in or a found object you think would make interesting marks! .

Kokedama Workshop: Crafting Japanese Moss Balls, January 11, 2 – 4 pm

Join us for a fascinating exploration of Kokedama, a traditional Japanese gardening art form that has been practiced for centuries. The term "Koke" translates to "moss," and "dama" means "ball," perfectly describing the technique of encasing a soil ball in moss to nourish plant life. This compact style not only allows for stunning displays in shallow bowls but also offers a unique way to bring nature into your space.

In this hands-on workshop, experts from Crimson will guide you through the essentials of crafting your very own Kokedama. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced plant enthusiast, this workshop is perfect for anyone looking to explore their creativity and connect with nature. Materials and supplies limit participation in this program and will be on a first come, first served basis. 

Planning your Vegetable Garden, Saturday, January 25, 2 – 3 pm

Are you new to gardening or excited to grow your own vegetables? UC Master Gardeners will guide you through the essentials, from soil preparation to pest management. Learn how to select the right crops, create a personalized garden plan, nurture your seedlings, perfect watering techniques, and manage common garden pests. Start your vegetable gardening journey with confidence and expertise. 

Making Gingerbread Houses

Volunteers cleaned up the library grounds

After school crafts - available every day

Good Books Make Good Gifts

Nathan Page, our Children's Librarian, compiled a list of books for holiday gifts!

Here are some of his recommendations.

Friends of PAL

During a recent Executive Board meeting, the Friends of PAL Directors voted to grant $1500 to the branch for fiscal year 2025 programing expenses. This amount

will supplement funding the branch is already scheduled to receive from OPL.

Programing and what types of programs you would like to see take place in 2025 – both OPL and Friends sponsored – will be the focus of our January 28 general meeting (6:30 pm at the library). We need your ideas and suggestions. Please note: the December general meeting has been cancelled.

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The Friends are looking to expand our board. Come join us! Contact Ronile Lahti,

President, at contact@friendsofpal.org.

You can help support our wonderful library - donate on our web site friendsofpal.org or send a check to the Friends of PAL, 80 Eco Ave, Oakland, Ca 94611.The Friends of the Piedmont Avenue Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All contributions are tax deductible.

The Message [2024] by Ta-Nehisi Coates

When I first read an essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic I was impressed with his provocative and powerful prose, but I had never been impressed with the centrist politics of the magazine and in particular the political orientation of its editorial board. Coates, like many of The Atlantic’s writers, seemed too precious and gloomy. Fast forward to November 2024 when my eldest daughter wrote me and said I should read The Message. I did and I am deeply moved by the book and the dynamics of his book tour.

The book is broken into four discrete sections. The first is a moving letter to his Howard University journalist students on the importance of writing in general and journalism in particular. By turn his writing is learned, passionate, and advocative. He mixes Shakespeare and Rakim and Frederick Douglass, rhymes, and exposition. “I think,” he tells his students, “that this tradition of writing, of drawing out a common humanity, is indispensable to our future, if only because what must be cultivated and cared must first be seen.”  

He then enters into three journalistic essays. The first is an account of his return to Mother Africa, to Dakar, Senegal. He writes of the journey home and then complicates that journey. He writes of the centuries long demonization of the African peoples in the Americas, the struggle for discovering the past before the slave trade, and then he questions -complicates is the term academics use - the utopic African origin histories. He digs deep into those who demonized Africa and Africans and those who praised and found solace in ancient African Civilizations. In this his erudition and compassion shine. The second essay relates his travels to Chapin, South Carolina where his books, through byzantine state law, had been taken from schools and libraries. He confronts those who would criminalize his words and links that to those who would kill a better future. Finally, most audaciously, he travels to Palestine and Israel and compares vividly the segregation and apartheid in Israel with the history of Blacks in the United States. He is bold in his analyses and this third essay has led to great and ongoing controversy in American letters.

Public intellectuals have always played an important role in our nation. To name a few:  Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, Emerson and Thoreau, Frederick Douglas, Vernon Louis Parrington, Charles and Mary Beard, W.E.B DuBois, William Appleman Williams, Harold Cruse, Angela Davis, Mike Davis, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Greg Grandin. Despite flaws they have contributed historical interpretations and influenced people outside the halls of the Academe. They have changed the conversation. Ta-Nehisi Coates deserves mention in this pantheon of public intellectuals.

For more of his spirited defense to those who attacked his third essay, see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgWt-QcPYMo

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/11/28/ta_nehisi_coates_the_message_pt2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0-y0X51Xtw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg77CiqQSYk

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ta+nehisi+coates+trevor+noah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GCxUNGQEqs

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. 

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