Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 14, 2012

Costume Swap!

Trick or treating photo by Flickr user Steven Depolo

Trick or treating time is right around the corner, and Lauren, our Children’s Librarian, is planning a Halloween Costume Swap at the branch. Bring in your clean, gently worn costume(s) to swap for a new one! What a great way to get ready for Halloween while also saving money, cleaning out your closet, and reusing!

You can drop off costumes starting on Wed, Sept. 26th at the children’s desk at the Montclair branch during library hours.

Then on Saturday, September 29th, come back and choose a new (to you!) costume to wear this year. Ages 0-4 should come 10:30am–12:00pm on the 29th, ages 5+ from 2:00pm-3:30pm.

Questions? Contact the library at 510-482-7810.
Download a flyer about the swap here to promote it at your preschool, mom’s group, etc.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 14, 2012

Library Facts & Figures

Library stat from Long Beach Public Library via Flickr

Montclair Branch Manager Lynne Cutler shared some interesting stats about recent activity at the library, the busiest summer staff here have seen:

  • Over 766 kids participated in the Summer Reading Program through the Montclair branch.
  • On average, about 400 holds are placed for our branch every day
  • About 370 people enter the library each day on average.

These numbers make us one of the busiest branches in the Oakland Public Library system, despite the branch’s relatively small size. Hooray for our busy little branch and the hard-working staff that keeps it running!

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 11, 2012

Oakland sports

StAy tee shirt by Oaklandish

STAY tee shirt by Oaklandish


The City of Oakland has declared September 10–14 as “Oakland Loves Our Sports Teams” week. With all three professional franchises (A’s, Warriors and Raiders) perpetually threatening to leave town, now would be a great time to show your favorite team a little love if you’re a fan.

Wednesday, September 12 from noon–1pm the city is hosting a Home Team Rally and Noontime Concert at Oakland City Center (Broadway between 12th and 14th streets in downtown Oakland) to support our local teams as the Raiders kick off their season and the A’s hope for post-season play.

Only a few blocks away at the Main Library (125 14th Street), the Oakland History Room has a fascinating collection of A’s (and Oakland Oaks) and Raiders books and memorabilia (for in-library use only), including The Best Bay Area Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Fans by Cam Inman.

Or check out one of these books in the OPL system about the A’s:
Moneyball by Michael Lewis (available at Montclair)

Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball’s Super Showman by G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius (Montclair)

Coyote Moon by John A. Miller – A rare work of fiction featuring the A’s, this book ponders whether a rookie player for the Oakland Athletics could be the latest in a line of reincarnated spirits leading back to Sir Isaac Newton. Field of Dreams meets A Brief History of Time.

The History of the Oakland Athletics by Aaron Frisch (children’s; available at Montclair)

The Oakland A’s by Mark Stewart (children’s)

Raiders
Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders by Peter Richmond

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Oakland Raiders: Heart-pounding, Jaw-dropping, and Gut-wrenching Moments from Oakland Raiders History by Steven Travers

The Story of the Oakland Raiders by Scott Caffrey (children’s)

Warriors
Golden State Warriors by Rob Tricchinelli (YA)

The Golden State Warriors by Mark Stewart (children’s)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 10, 2012

This week at Montclair Library

Come on over to storytime this week to meet Montclair’s new Children’s Librarian, Lauren!

Thursday, September 13th, 2012
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am
Baby Bounce – 11:30am

Speaking of programing, beautiful new rolling shelves for juvenile and YA materials in the back room arrived in July. Because they can be moved aside to make room for a crowd, these shelves will allow the library to present more adult programming soon! What kinds of adult programming would you like to see at the library?

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 9, 2012

Celebrating grandparents

Reading with grandpa - image by Flickr user Phil Scoville

Today is Grandparents Day! In appreciation of all those special progenitors out there, here are some picture books at the Montclair Library featuring all kinds of grandparents, perfect for reading aloud with the grandchildren in your life:

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith – A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather, as expressed in his topiary garden.

Abuela by Arthur Dorros (and illustrated by local author and illustrator Elisa Kleven) – While riding on a bus with her grandmother, a little girl imagines that they are carried up into the sky and fly over the sights of New York City.

What! Cried Granny by Kate Lum – When her grandson arrives for his first sleepover, Granny’s resourceful efforts to provide him with a bed, pillow, and other necessities result in a sleepless (but humorous) night for both of them.

The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster (pictures by Chris Raschka) – Told from the perspective of a little girl whose grandparents babysit her, this story is full of love and imagination.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold – In this take on the classic song, after accidentally swallowing her grandson’s pet fly, Grandma tries to retrieve it by consuming progressively larger animals.

I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada – A young girl enjoys the similarities and the differences between her English-speaking and Spanish-speaking grandparents.

I Call My Grandma Nana by Ashley Wolff – Students respond, in rhyming text, to their teacher’s question about what each calls his or her grandmother, offering examples of things they like to do together.

I Call My Grandpa Papa by Ashley Wolff – The grandpa version of the book above.

Full, Full, Full of Love by Trish Cooke – For young Jay Jay, Sunday dinner at Gran’s house is full of hugs and kisses, tasty dishes, all kinds of fishes, happy faces, and love.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 6, 2012

To the moon

Image from You Will Go To the Moon by Mae and Ira Freeman

Illustration from “You Will Go To the Moon” by Mae and Ira Freeman and illustrated by Robert Patterson, published in 1959

The recent deaths of Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong have us thinking about astronauts and space travel.

When the children’s librarian in Troy, Michigan asked Neil Armstrong why libraries are important, he wrote back:

Through books you will meet poets and novelists whose creations will fire your imagination. You will meet the great thinkers who will share with you their philosophies, their concepts of the world, of humanity and of creation. You will learn about events that have shaped our history, of deeds both noble and ignoble. All of this knowledge is yours for the taking…Your library is a storehouse for mind and spirit. Use it well.

Here are some books from the Montclair collection to fuel your space dreams:

Children:

Adult:

For more astronaut books, check out this list on GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/astronauts

Posted by: montclairlibrary | September 5, 2012

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month

Nearly 2/3 of all Americans carry a library card - image by Long Beach Public Library

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you already have a library card. If not, now’s your chance: September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. Find out more about Oakland Public Library cards and download an application on the OPL website.

Already have your card and ready to celebrate? Check out the American Library Association’s list of 60 Ways to Use Your Library Card, send in a photo of yourself with your library card to enter the ALA’s “My Library Card is Valuable Because…” contest, or just head on down to the library and check out some books!

Posted by: montclairlibrary | August 28, 2012

This week (and next) at Montclair Library

Library buttons courtesy of libraryhistorybuff.org

School’s back in session and it’s a relatively quiet week at the library this week, but with lots going on next week we’re combining the listings for both weeks into one post.

Thursday, August 30, 2012
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am
Baby Bounce- 11:30am

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
LIBRARY CLOSED (Labor Day)

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
Button Making Bonanza – 3:00pm
Design and create buttons to pin on your school bag! For ages 3 and up.

Thursday, September 6th, 2012
Toddler Storytime – 10:15am
Baby Bounce – 11:30am

Saturday, September 8, 2012
LIBRARY CLOSED

Posted by: montclairlibrary | August 27, 2012

Introducing LinkPlus

We have a guest post today from Branch Manager Lynne Cutler, about the library’s exciting new LinkPlus offering:

LinkPlus (or Link+) is a network of 52 other public, academic, and special libraries in California and Nevada. OPL has paid an annual fee to join, so patrons with OPL library cards can now search the holdings for these libraries and request books from them for free. Oakland Public Library owns 600,000 items. With LinkPlus, there is an eighteen-fold increase in materials available to our patrons.

Only print items can be borrowed. Check-out time is three weeks with one renewal allowed, the same as for OPL materials, and books received at a branch will be held the usual ten days for pick up. The books are sent overnight by courier, but take 2 to 4 days to be processed and sent to branches.

LinkPlus screenshot - click for larger view LinkPlus only checks available items, so an item could become available the next week — just check again. You can even place multiple holds, if you need several copies for a book club.

To use LinkPlus, go ahead and search the library’s online Encore catalog like always, and look for the LinkPlus results under “Other Sources” in the left column, below the lists of locations, languages, etc.

Late fees are $1 a day for LinkPlus books, and replacement fees are $115 — so do keep good care of the borrowed items.

Unlike with InterLibrary Loan, you can borrow new items. (InterLibrary Loan requests can still be made, in person, for any materials not owned by OPL or the partner libraries and over a year old.)

Try these new features out — and feel free to ask the library staff at Montclair if you have any questions.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | August 19, 2012

Julia Child

Julia Child illustration by Jessie Hartland

Detail of illustration from Jessie Hartland’s book “Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child”

Julia Child would have been 100 years old last Wednesday, 8/15. Even if you’re not up to whipping up Beef Bourguignon in her honor (or, in my case, even pronouncing “Beef Bourguignon,” although Julia would have said “Be fearless“), how about reading a book about her very interesting life? (World travel! Spies! Television! Tarte Tatin!) Here are a few of the options in the Montclair collection:

For kids:

For adults:

Bon appetit!

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