A youth poet laureate and vice laureate will be chosen in January through a new Berkeley Library program. The city’s second ever adult laureate will be selected in December.
Friends of the Berkeley Public Library
Posted inArts
The Berkeley bookstore many residents wouldn’t know to look for
The Friends bookstore is stocked with donations from the community. Some are re-donated. Most are sold for under $3 to support the Berkeley Library. A few are exciting discoveries.
Posted inCity
Berkeley library director Jeff Scott was not a ‘good fit’
Berkeley’s Central Library on Kittredge Street: the weeding of its collection proved controversial and eventually contributed to the resignation of library director Jeff Scott on Aug. 31, 2015 . Photo: Kaia Diringer Berkeley’s Central Library on Kittredge Street: the weeding of its collection proved controversial and eventually contributed to the resignation of library director Jeff Scott on Aug. 31, 2015 . […]
Posted inEvents
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
Mollie Katzen in her garden in Berkeley: the cookbook author is donating 400 books to the Friends of the Public Library’s annual cookbook sale. Photo: courtesy Mollie Katzen Want to know what a world-famous chef peruses in the comfort of her own home? If so, rush down to the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library’s […]
Posted inEvents
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
AN ENDURING VOICE The singer Janis Ian definitely has staying power. She had her first hit in 1965 when she was 14 – “Society’s Child” (“I learned the truth at 17 / that love was meant for beauty queens), and this year won her third Emmy for Best Spoken Word Album. The London Times, in describing a recent […]
Posted inEvents
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
NOW IS THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT It seems appropriate that during after such a contested and divisive election The Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley is performing Richard III, the classic Shakespeare tale of “the lust for power gone berserk.” The king won’t let anyone stand in the way of his desire for the crown of England. […]
Posted inBerkeleyside
Were you a winner in our Caltopia raffle?
Baskets filled to the brim with gift certificates and pizza for a year from La Val’s Baskets filled to the brim with gift certificates and pizza for a year from La Val’s The two days of Caltopia were quite a whirl for students, faculty and staff, as well as for exhibitors like Berkeleyside. From the […]
Posted inBerkeleyside, Schools
Thousands of Cal students, staff flock to Caltopia
Students new and old come out in droves for the community-boosting swag-fest that is Caltopia. Find Berkeleyside at booth E104 UC Berkeley freshmen, some looking dazed, others excited, as well as more blasé seniors, turned out in their thousands on Sunday for Day One of Caltopia, the self-described “two greatest days on the planet”. The […]
Posted inEvents
UC Berkeley’s Caltopia: The ultimate Town & Gown affair
This weekend, when around 30,000 students and faculty stroll through Caltopia, browsing the booths of more than 100 exhibitors, Berkeley’s two driving forces, the city and its university, will be pitched in perfect harmony. And Berkeleyside will be there to sing along too. Caltopia was launched nine years ago as a way for Berkeley businesses […]
Posted inArts
Friends of Berkeley library resurrect beloved book sale
People rushing into Friends of the Library book sale, circa 1974 The last time the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library held a huge used book sale, hundreds of people lined up early in the morning to get first crack at rare and unusual books. That was back in 1999. In the ensuing 12 years, […]
Posted inCity
$1 million for branch libraries; lawsuit pending
Interior of the Claremont branch library Just months before renovations begin on two of Berkeley’s branch libraries, the Neighborhood Library Campaign announced that it has raised more than $1 million — almost a third of its $3.5 million goal — for the restoration work. The funds will be used to repair the oak furniture in […]
Posted inArts, Business
Least known, best used book store in town
Jim Rosenau writes: Parking garage or book store? Certainly our least visible used book store with the best deals is operated by the Friends of Berkeley Public Library. The volunteer-run store has a sweetheart lease from the city, which owns the parking garage just west of Telegraph between Channing and Durant. Enter from either street via […]
