Event Alert: Alameda Free Library

PRESS RELEASE

May 23, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Cosette Ratliff, Supervising Librarian, (510) 747-7716

Event Alert: Alameda Free Library

Event descriptions:

• Summer Reading Challenge for all ages begins June 1 and runs through July 31. Everyone can play, read and win. Enroll in our online tracker now, then you’ll be ready to go on the first day of the Challenge. For more information about the many events planned for everyone, please check the library’s online calendar (www.alamedaca.gov/library), or visit in-person at any library.
• Open Study Session for Teens: Bummed when you get to the library and all the study rooms are full? Need a study buddy for an upcoming AP test? The library’s study rooms fill up quickly during AP testing, finals, and the end of the semester so the Teen Advisory Board is hosting open study sessions during the busiest days. Meet up with other students studying for the same AP test, work on group projects, or complete other homework. The Teen Advisory Board invites teens to enjoy snacks and Wi-Fi at Exam Cram study sessions at the library. Bring study materials to the session. Students may also bring drinks and snacks, or enjoy light refreshments provided by the Teen Advisory Board.

• Book Club for Teens: Do you look forward to summer break because you finally have time to read? Join the Teen Book Club to fuel your reading. The Teen Book Club at the Alameda Free Library will be reading advance reader’s copies this summer. Book club members have the chance to read advance copies of books before they’re published. We’ll discuss favorite books, swap ARCs, and make bookish friends! All teens, ages 13 to 18, are invited to join the book group. Participants at the meeting will choose a free advance reading copy. The free copies are provided courtesy of the Friends of the Alameda Free Library. The Teen Advisory Board will meet directly after the Teen Book Club meeting and book club members are invited to join TAB.
• Attention Teens: The Library Needs Your Help: Do you wish the library would do more events and programs that you’re interested in? Have you been anxiously awaiting a new book and you want the library to buy it? Do you need an impressive membership to put on your applications and resumes? Join the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) to let the library know what you’re interested in. The Teen Advisory Board is your chance to make a difference in the library for yourself and other teens in Alameda. Members of the Teen Advisory Board will plan the Teen Summer Reading Program and choose teen events and prizes for participants of the program. Teen Advisory Board members will earn community service hours for every meeting and event that they participate in. Food will be provided.
• Library Run Club. Have you been wanting to try something new as part of your summer experience? Try running. We’ll meet at the Main Library and run a 3-mile course at a conversational pace. Bring water. Signed waivers required.
• Libraries Outside – Barbary Coast Trail Walk: Have you ever been walking around Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach or the Financial District in San Francisco and seen those big bronze medallions on the sidewalk? Those are directional signs for the Barbary Coast walking tour of the city. On June 10, 2017 we'll walk this 3.8 mile (one-way) tour of historic locations in San Francisco. Beginning at the old Mint at 88 5th Street, and walking to Aquatic Park, we'll pass sunken sailing ships, Gold Rush era buildings, the first Asian temple in the US and much more. When we get to Aquatic Park, you can take the cable car back over to the financial district, or walk back and include a stop at Grace Cathedral's labyrinth and the Cable Car museum. Library waivers are required. Please bring signed waiver with you. Waivers are available by contacting the Reference Desk at (510) 747-7713 or refdesk@alamedaca.gov. Wear comfortable shoes, bring what snacks you might need, and prepare for changeable weather.
• Alameda Free Library to View the Eclipse: Alameda Free Library has been chosen as one of 1,500 public libraries across the nation to participate as a center for eclipse education and viewing for the “Great American Eclipse” on August 21, 2017. The Library has been awarded 1,000 solar viewing glasses and other resources centered on eclipse education by the Space Science Institute (SSI), NASA@My Library and the Moore Foundation.
• On August 21, 2017, beginning around 9:00am our time, a spectacular total eclipse of the Sun will be visible across the width of the continental U.S. for the first time since 1918. Every state will have at least 60% of the Sun covered by the Moon, and lucky people on a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina will see the stunning beauty of totality. Coverage in the Alameda area is expected to be at about 76%. Alameda Free Library will provide programming leading up to the eclipse as well as viewing on the morning of the eclipse. If it is a cloudy/foggy morning, viewing will be held in the Stafford Community Rooms via live feed projected onto our large screen. Viewing glasses will be available for free to the public beginning on August 1. Community members are encouraged to pick up a pair and watch the eclipse from wherever they happen to be, and to join in the eclipse programming provided by the library. The community is reminded to never look at the sun with unprotected eyes as the sun’s rays (both visible and invisible) can cause serious damage to the sensitive eye tissue.

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