Library News Archives
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April 29, 2009
Berkeley Public Library Participates in Brower Center Open House: May 10
All-Day Open House
Free and family-friendly - celebrate Mother's Day at the Brower Center!
Sunday, May 10, 2009 / 11 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
The Brower Center invites you to tour the Center, celebrate the planet, and explore some of the most important environmental and social issues of our time. With films, interactive events, and lectures.
Come by and say to hello to library staff at Berkeley Public Library's table at the Brower Center Opening. We'll have all kinds of library news for you!
Download invitation
Full Open House schedule available here:
http://www.browercenter.org/programs/openhouse
April 16, 2009
Berkeley Public Library Begins Upgrading of Self-check System
The Berkeley Public Library is currently engaged in the process of upgrading their self-check system for library materials and searching out new vendors in anticipation of the end of the contract with our current vendor 3M. Berkeley Public Library invites library users to send us input: ideas on what has worked and what has not worked in our current system; experiences with self-check systems at other libraries; and other feedback by May 15, 2009, so that the ideas can be considered before library staff prepares a status report on the self-check updating process to be presented to the Board of Library Trustees at the June 2009 meeting.
Download press release
April 7, 2009
Check out a Watts-up Electricity monitoring meter from Berkeley Public Library's Tool Lending Library
And take a look at this City of Berkeley contest while you're at it!
Berkeley, Get Off Your Gas!
(Natural Gas energy, that is.)
The City of Berkeley has produced a short video promoting the "Get Off Your Gas!" contest, featuring Benjamin Franklin, Berkeley's energy efficiency spokesperson.
View the video, and enter the contest here:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/PressReleaseMain.aspx?id=37014
April 2, 2009
National Library Week 2009, April 12-18, 2009
On March 18, 2009, the California State Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 27 -- Relative to National Library Week. The resolution recognizes the tremendous value of public libraries that serve as centers for education, information, knowledge, and entertainment by helping the general public, students, faculty, and researchers obtain the best, most accurate, and complete information.
California's public libraries change lives by serving users of all ages especially in these difficult economic times, and Berkeley Public Library is no exception:
- Almost 1.8 million items were borrowed from the Berkeley Public Library by just under 85,000 borrowers last year, an 8.4% jump and double the rate of increase over the previous year.
- The Library saw almost 1 million visits to its "electronic branch," BerkeleyPublicLibrary.org, with library card holders using full-text journals, online tutoring, and homework help, and more, all free.
- The Library held over 1,500 programs for people of all ages, with total attendance of 35,298. 1,137 of these events were for preschool or schoolage audiences.