Posted by: montclairlibrary | November 3, 2013

Meet author Joyce Maynard

Author Joyce Maynard

Join us Tuesday, November 26th at 6:30pm for a special evening with bestselling author Joyce Maynard, a brand-new resident of Montclair, as she discusses her new novel, After Her, her long and varied writing career, and the art of good storytelling.

Maynard is the author of thirteen books, including To Die For (adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman, directed by Gus Van Sant) and Labor Day, an official selection of the Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals, soon to be released as a film starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin and directed by Jason Reitman. Her controversial memoir, At Home in the World, has been translated into sixteen languages and has just been re-released this fall.

Maynard describes her new novel, After Her, as “part love story, part thriller, part family drama,” loosely based on the Trailside Killings that took place in Marin County in the late 70’s and early 80’s. She was given a unique opportunity when two adult daughters of the homicide detective in charge of the real case agreed to allow her to tell a fictionalized version of their experience. They provided Maynard with details from their childhoods, and memories of their deeply flawed father and his search for the killer, in a book that has been called, by New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt, “a masterpiece.”

A longtime teacher of memoir and personal narrative, Maynard will also share her thoughts on the writing process and answer questions. Should the subject arise, she also promises to address (just in time for Thanksgiving) a particular obsession documented in the upcoming film adaptation of Labor Day: the art of making a good pie.

A Great Good Place for Books will have copies of her work available for sale and signing afterwards.

Also by Maynard at the Montclair Library:
Where Love Goes
The Good Daughters: A Novel

Posted by: montclairlibrary | November 2, 2013

Get your garden on

Garden Tools photo by Abby Lanes via Flickr

Come help the Montclair Branch turn the wild back yard into a garden paradise! (A low-water-use, bird-and-butterfly-friendly, native plants paradise!) They’re collecting donated native plants and need lots of extra hands to help create space, plant, and care for these new additions to our backyard. Choose between two dates or come for both! Saturdays, November 16 & 23, 10:00am-3:00pm.

To sign up now, go to http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp1513764.jsp and click “I want to Help!”

If you have any of the following items to donate or have questions, please call the Montclair Library at 510-482-7810:

  • Ceanothus (Wild Lilac)
  • Buddleja (Butterfly Bush)
  • Cotoneaster
  • Coleonoma (Breath of Heaven)
  • Dietes (Fortnight Lily)
  • Cotinus (Smoketree)
  • Canna
  • Chasmanthe floribunda (African flag)
  • Sisrinchium Bellum (Blue-eyed grass)
  • Verbena bonariensis (Purpletop vervain)
  • Arcostaophylus manzanita (Dr. Hurd)
  • Rosemary
  • Euphorbias
  • Olive or fig trees
  • Hardenbergia (leguminous vines)
  • Cercis Canadensis (Redbud tree)
  • Birdhouses
  • Benches
Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 28, 2013

This week at Montclair Library: October 28-November 3, 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am (ages 18 months-3 years)
Baby Bounce – 11:30am (birth-18 months)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 25, 2013

Celebrating Friends

Bicycle Horn photo by Rob Nguyen via Flickr

It’s National Friends of Libraries Week (October 20-26, 2013 – who knew?), so this seems like a good time to toot our own horn a bit. Here’s a partial list of things the Friends of Montclair Library have been able to fund at the Montclair branch during the past fiscal year (July 2012-April 2013):

  • Children’s summer program performances
  • Materials for children’s craft projects
  • Iron edging to protect front landscaping
  • Umbrella stands for library patrons to use
  • Chairs and a curtain for use at library programs
  • Storytime materials
  • National Poetry Month poetry program for adults
  • Branch history materials, like the vintage photo of the branch hanging over the entry
  • Teen summer volunteer appreciation rewards
  • Book bags patrons can check out

Overall, we donated almost $5000 to the branch during that period. We wouldn’t be able to provide this support to the library without your help – whenever you donate or purchase a book, or buy a tote bag, you’re helping support our amazing library. If you’d like to get even more involved, the Friends of Montclair Library are always looking for new members and volunteers. Whether you’re interested in a specific role – book sorting, fundraising, volunteer management, publicity, etc. – or would just like to help out with occasional sales and projects, please email fomlibrary@gmail.com for more information on getting involved.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 21, 2013

This week at Montclair Library: October 21-27, 2013

Thursday, October 24, 2013
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am (ages 18 months-3 years)
Baby Bounce – 11:30am (birth-18 months)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 18, 2013

Across the OPL

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 Cรฉsar E. Chรกvez 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!

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 17, 2013

Costume swap reminder

3-eyed alien costume - photo by Sergio Feria via Flickr

Don’t forget: The Kids’ Costume Swap happens this Saturday, October 19, from 1-4pm at the library. Come donate your gently-used costume and pick up something to wear for Halloween.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 14, 2013

This week at Montclair Library: October 14-20, 2013

Thursday, October 17, 2013
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am (ages 18 months-3 years)
Baby Bounce – 11:30am (birth-18 months)

Saturday, October 19, 2013
Kids’ Halloween Costume Swap – 1-4pm
Has your child outgrown his or her Halloween costume but it still looks like new? The Montclair Library is accepting gently used Halloween costumes from October 1st through October 26th! Bring in costumes anytime we are open! The Costume Swap will take place Saturday afternoon, October 19th from 1-4pm. (We are also accepting costumes from those who just want to donateโ€”and you donโ€™t need to donate to choose a costume!)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 13, 2013

Teen Read Week

Image courtesy of YALSA

October 13-19, 2013 is Teen Read Week, a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

OPL has a bunch of fun teen events planned at various branches (although not at Montclair) – see their website for a complete list.

In fact, OPL has a special section of their website just for teens: Visit http://oaklandlibrary.org/teens for a test prep help list, resources for staying healthy, jobs, scholarships, contests, events, reading recommendations and more.

For more inspiration, check out some teen book lists:

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 10, 2013

Nobel Prize for Literature

Alice Munro cover photo by le Liz via Flickr

The Swedish Academy announced today that Canadian author Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature. The New York Times described Munro’s work as exploring “the tangled relationships between men and women, small-town existence and the fallibility of memory.”

Munro worked as a library clerk while attending the University of Western Ontario, and some of her stories, like “Carried Away” and “Hard-Luck Stories,” feature librarians.

Want to see what all the fuss is about? Check out one of Munro’s books of stories from the Montclair Library:
Dear Life
Too Much Happiness
Runaway
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
The View from Castle Rock
The Love of a Good Woman

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