Friends of Montclair Library

I met this week with other Friends groups from around the Oakland Public Library system, and it reminded me that, although the Montclair branch is a great resource in its own right, as library patrons we also get to reap the benefits of being part of the larger OPL system. That means we have access to programs and materials at any of the 16 branches plus the Main Library.

For example, did you know that OPL includes a Tool Lending Library, where you can borrow from a collection of over 3,500 tools; the African-American Museum and Library with materials about the history of African Americans in the Bay Area and California; the Asian branch, with books in 8 languages; the César E. Chávez branch, with a large collection of Spanish-language materials and a Seed Lending Library; and the Oakland History Room, where you can find photos and documents from our city’s past?

Being a library card holder also gets you access to special services and online programs the Oakland Library participates in, like being able to borrow books from other library systems through Link+, getting free passes to local museums and institutions through Discover & Go, checking out e-books and audio books through e-Port, reading online magazines with Zinio, downloading music from Freegal, and more.

Over the rest of October, we’ll be looking in depth at these and some of the other system-wide benefits of being an OPL card-holder. Stay tuned!