Many ways to give

As we approach the holiday season, many of us are thankful for what we have and want to give to those in need. The Albany Library/Community Center lobby now has three donation bins:
One Warm Coat
Alameda County Food Bank
Toys for Tots
Jess from the City’s Community Center staff has arranged for these to be in the lobby through December. [...]

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Commemoration of Ocean View becoming Albany with a Celebration and a Time Capsule

 “Shall we, or shall we not, change the name of our fair town”, is the question that was asked in Ocean View in late October 1909.  The citizens voted on October 30th of that year to change the name to Albany to avoid confusion with another California town which had earlier chosen the name of [...]

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What if all of Albany read the same book?

Everyone is again invited to participate in the fourth annual Albany Reads program. This year, the book chosen by a committee represented by the Albany Library, Albany Unified School District, Albany YMCA and the City of Albany, is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
Join other readers in a book [...]

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Richard Russo is retiring!

Reference Librarian Richard Russo is retiring after 32 years of incredible service to the Albany community. Richard was recently honored with a Proclamation by the Mayor of Albany at a City Council meeting. Richard is still working on the reference desk through August 6. Stop in and say goodbye!
 
CITY OF ALBANY PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Richard Russo has served [...]

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Everyone’s getting creative at the library!

Teenagers will be creating collages this Saturday in a free workshop presented by artist Sharyl Gates. 
Children, teens and families are signing up to perform in the library’s first-ever talent show, to take place July 28.
Poetry writing workshops take place throughout the year on the second Wednesday evening of the month.
Come join the fun and get [...]

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The Tower

At the top of this blog is a picture of the Albany Library/Community Center. The picture shows how the building looked before water damage necessitated the enclosing of the tower in white plastic.
The current plan, according to City Planning Manager, Jeff Bond, is to fix the tower by replacing the vertical windows with decorative tile. The top [...]

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The Library and the State Budget

One of the ways that the State Legislature can solve part of their budget shortfall is to enact Proposition 1A (passed in 2004) that allows the State to borrow 8% of the local government property tax with the requirement that it be paid back within three years, with interest. For the Alameda County Library, the [...]

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Paws to Read

Volunteers from a local organization, Therapy Pets, are offering a program called “Paws to Read.” It should actually be called “Read to Paws” because it involves children reading to dogs. Apparently children who are less confident in their reading ability develop their skills and self-esteem reading to trained therapy dogs. One mother said that her daughter was ok with reading [...]

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Centennial Quilt on Display

The Albany Centennial Quilt, created by the East Bay Heritage Quilters and donated to the Albany Historical Society as part of the city’s centennial celebration, is currently on display in the Albany Community Center (across the lobby from the Albany Library).
The quilt features several photographic images from the Library’s historical collection, as well [...]

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Book Kits for Book Groups

The Alameda County Library now has over 30 book kits that can be requested for book groups. Each book kit consists of 10 copies of a book and a study guide. Some of the titles included: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
To find the list of titles, search [...]

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