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Jane Chisaki has retired as Library Director. She has been a dear friend to us at FAL, and we are sad to see her go. The majority of Jane's long career took place here in Alameda. After receiving her master’s degree, Jane’s focus was children’s
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Our Mini Used Book Sale in May was a wonderful success, delighting buyers and reducing our inventory by half. Many Book Sale shoppers found great bargains right across the hall at BFF, too! Thanks to Cindy Silva and Billy Reinschmiedt for coordinating the sale, Susan Schonberg for scheduling volunteers, and
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Alameda Free Library Director Jane Chisaki will be retiring at the end of June. Jane began her professional career at the San Francisco Public Library. In 1984, she accepted a job as a children’s librarian at the Alameda Free Library. Through successive positions, she was appointed library director in
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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
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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
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
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With more than 14,000 books sold, our first Big Used Book Sale in almost three years was an overwhelming success! We raised close to $20,000, an impressive amount for a two-and-a-half-day event. The sale would not have been possible without the outstanding support of the Coast Guard, the
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Join us as we restart pre-pandemic events: Buying books at the Big Used Book Sale, purchasing coffee and snacks at Dewey’s Friends Cafe in the Main Library, or attending a jazz concert. We are currently hard at work planning the Big Used Book Sale at the O’Club on
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FAL’s dedicated volunteers are hard at work preparing for the October used book sale at the O’Club. Processing book donations is a large part of our work as they flow from car to sorting room to boxes to the warehouse where there are now more than 1,200
There was a terrific piece on CBS Sunday Morning – the 21st Century Public Library – about the exciting changes in public libraries throughout the country. One person referred to the library as the community living room and another said its purpose was the engagement of the public. The mayor of Austin,
The Books for Friends grand opening and our third Pop-Up Used Book Sale were very successful this past weekend! We sold record amounts of books, introduced the community to our outstanding new used bookstore in the Alameda Free Library, and offered great reading material for all ages at bargain prices.
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In the May newsletter I reported on attempts to ban or censor books in public and school libraries – a total of 729 books were banned in 2021. Most of these efforts are focused on books read by teens, so I was delighted to read about a teen-led initiative at the