News
With thanks to our supporters and music lovers, our first Live @ the Library concert was a remarkable success. The sold-out concert featured the outstanding jazz singer Jackie Ryan accompanied by the incredible jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman performing music about Love. The audience was captivated by the artistry of the pair
Community Events
On February 15th, the Friends of the Alameda Free Library hosted a webinar featuring the author Mary-Alice Daniel, who discussed her first book of prose, A Coastline is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents. Click on the video below to watch this wonderful talk!
Welcome, Serena! The FAL Board welcomes Serena Hom to the Board of Directors. Serena is a native of Alameda who grew up using Alameda Free Library. She and her family settled here and she became an active volunteer with the Friends last year. Serena became an integral part of Books
I have a 40 year professional career as a librarian and I am appalled at the constraints placed on school librarians. Librarians face intense pressure from school boards and communities seeking to ban books exploring racial and LGBTQ themes. A few of the restrictions on librarians with masters degrees include
Community Events
On January 25th, the Friends were joined by Daniel A. Olivas author of eleven books and editor of two anthologies. How to Date a Flying Mexican is a collection of stories derived from Chicano and Mexican culture but ranging through fascinating literary worlds including fairy tales, fables, and dystopian futures.
Art Docent
On January 18th, the Friends were joined by art docent Avril Angevine for a presentation on California Pop artists who followed styles that originated in Europe or New York, but they put their own stamp on them—sometimes a bit more irreverent, sometimes more down to earth, but always full
Friends
Welcome, Renesha and Katherine! The FAL Board welcomes Renesha Robinson-Palmer to the Board of Directors. Renesha has been working on Friends @ Home events and will also be managing the Friends website. We also welcome Katherine Adcox to the Board of Directors. Katherine has been working on Friends @ Home events this
FAL Happenings
Books For Friends Open Thursday - Saturday 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Books for Friends (BFF) continues to grow its customer base as more and more people discover this gem in the Main Library across from Dewey's Cafe. We want to expand hours of operation in
Community Events
On December 5th, the Friends of the Alameda Free Library hosted a webinar featuring multiple award winning author Lori Rader-Day, who discussed her Agatha-winning Death At Greenway, a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate to care for evacuated children.
Happy New Year! In 2023 we will continue the reintroduction of FAL's traditional programs, as well as the introduction of several new ones. We held our traditional Used Book Sale in October (our first since the start of the pandemic!) with support from over 100 volunteers. We are
On November 16th, the Friends of the Alameda Free Library hosted a webinar featuring Anthony Sattin, author of several acclaimed books of history, including The Gates of Africa, Lifting the Veil, and most recently, The Young T.E. Lawrence. For this webinar, Mr. Sattin focused on his book Nomads: The
The Big Sale at the O'Club in October was a huge success, with a steady stream of shoppers all weekend long. It was a pleasure to be back in person, to meet everyone who came to shop, and to see all our volunteers back together. We'd