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Contact: Dayna Holz or Michele McKenzie Art & Music Department 510-981-6241

Slide lectures, film screenings, a filmmaker Q&A, and a mobile-building workshop, make up a week of activities celebrating mid-century modern architecture and design in California and the Bay Area.  Form + Function @ Library: A Celebration of California Mid-Century Modernism runs from Sunday, May 5^th to Sunday, May 12, at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. at Shattuck in downtown Berkeley, and includes:   Sunday, May 5, at 1:30 p.m.: Eames: The Architect and The Painter with Jason Cohn Documentary filmmaker Jason Cohn discusses his film, Eames: The Architect and The Painter (co-produced by Bill Jersey and Jason Cohn, 2011, 84 min.). Following the screening of the film, Mr. Cohn will be available for a Q&A session with the audience.   Monday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m.: Architecture at Mid-Century in East Bay Land: Standards and Surprises From the Post-War Repertoire with Pierluigi Serraino Pierluigi Serraino, architect and author of such books as NorCalMod (Chronicle Books, 2006) and the forthcoming Donald Olsen: Architect of Habitable Abstractions, will give an illustrated lecture on mid-century modern architecture in the East Bay.   Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Films of Charles and Ray Eames Drop-in to see one or more of the short films from the series The Films of Charles and Ray Eames.  These groundbreaking shorts showcase the breadth and depth of interests explored on film by the Eames’ between 1950 and 1982.   Saturday, May 11, at 3:00 p.m.:  Thoroughly Modern Mid-Century Mobiles A mobile-building workshop for kids ages 6 and up. Participants will learn about Alexander Calder’s mobiles and how to make simple, mid-century-inspired designs to hang at home.   Sunday, May 12, 2p.m.: Berkeley: A Modern Mecca with David Weinstein David Weinstein, historian, preservationist, features editor for CA Modern magazine, and author of such works as It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World (Gibbs Smith, 2008), will conduct an informal pictorial tour of the greatest modern homes in and around Berkeley.   Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.  For more information, call 510-981-6241 or connect  www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org and berkeleypubliclibrary.libguides.com/formfunction. Berkeley’s Central Library is open Monday 12 noon until 8 p.m., Tuesday 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. till 5 p.m. For more info please call 510-981-6100 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org. Wheelchair accessible. To request a sign language interpreter or other accommodations for this event, please call (510) 981-6195 (voice) or (510) 548-1240 (TTY); at least three working days will help ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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Contact: Donna Corbeil
Director of Library Services
510-981-6195

The Berkeley Public Library will celebrate the reopening of the newly constructed and expanded South Branch Library on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Located at 1901 Russell Street at MLK Jr Way, the new branch library replaces the previous facility. The new library is designed by the architectural design firm of Field Paoli Architects, San Francisco; the General Contractor is Gonsalves & Stronck Construction Company of San Carlos; and the public art installations are by Gina Dominguez (Snapshot Mosaics), well-respected Oakland mosaics artist. The grand reopening celebration will begin at 12:30 P.M.

Library services will begin immediately following the ceremonial program and the branch will remain open until 5 p.m.  A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned with local and state officials, music and refreshments will be provided. Everyone is invited. To facilitate the move back into the new space, the Tool Lending Library, temporarily located at 2525 8^th Street, at Dwight Way will CLOSE at 5:30 P.M., Saturday, April 20. The library will suspend Branch Van services to South Berkeley at 1730 Oregon Street effective the end of the day, Saturday April 27, 2013.  Library Branch Van services to West Berkeley will continue while the West Branch Library is under construction. Library patrons are asked to please return checked out tools to the Tool Lending library prior to the closing date. All other Library materials may be returned to any of the other three open library locations.

The New South Branch / Tool Lending Library is a warm and welcoming building with improved lighting, ventilation, and thermal comfort. It creates a civic presence for pedestrians and passers-by; inside it offers visitors a spacious and organized layout. The Library is pleased to offer services to the community in the new branch with distinct spaces throughout the building for adults, teens, and children’s services and a true separation of quiet and louder areas. Features of the design include increased square footage, an increase in size from 5,400 SF to 8,700 SF, a flexibly planned program space which will be available throughout the day for multiple purposes and a small group study room. The new space incorporates a variety of seating, including lounge chairs, space for laptop users and increased public computer access.

The much loved, unique Tool Lending Library returns to a larger space with adequate storage for their large collection of tools and designated staff space for maintenance and repair of the collection. In keeping with Berkeley’s commitment to a green future, the new library design will reduce energy and water consumption. The design team is working to attain LEED Gold Certification, adding photovoltaics to off-set dependence on the energy grid and taking advantage of natural lighting and ventilation opportunities throughout. One such feature is a central, day-lit browsing area with popular materials, CDs and DVDs, holds, and self-check stations.

The new Library will serve the community well into the future! The branch construction was funded by Measure FF, the branch Library improvement program, a $26 million bond measure passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2008. Project costs for the South Branch totaled $6.5 million. A separate fundraising campaign by the Berkeley Public Library Foundation is underway to provide new furnishings, fixtures and equipment – expenses not covered by the bond. For more information on how to support the campaign, please contact Kirsten Cowan at kcowan@bplf.org or (510) 981-6115. For more information about the South / TLL Branch Library’s opening celebration, please call (510) 981-6195 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Tom Dufour (510-981-6134)

For entrepreneurs looking to understand the legal aspects of hiring employees, Berkeley Public Library presents a seminar on April 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm in the 3^rd floor Community Meeting Room of the Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge Street.  This seminar is designed to assist business owners in better understanding the challenges faced in employment law. For many companies, people costs are often the largest single cost and the most difficult to manage.  This is especially true of service businesses, which continue to be 85% of all new businesses. Our seminar will cover topics including: (1) how to hire and fire employees (2) understanding California wage requirements (3) working with independent contractors (4) employee benefits (5) and other employee related topics. This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org).  For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6148, or visit www.acsbdc.org. The Central Library is open Monday, noon-8 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.  For questions and accessibility information, call 510-981-6195, TTY 510-548-1240, http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Debbie Carton 510-981-6139

The Berkeley Public Library welcomes back Aurora Theatre Company for “Max Frisch and Remembering to Be A Citizen”, on Monday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck, in the 3rd floor Community Meeting Room. Join Michael Mansfield (Education Director, Aurora Theatre Company and Faculty Lecturer, UC Berkeley, Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies) for an interactive discussion celebrating Swiss playwright Max Frisch and his 1958 classic The Arsonists. Timeless topics of politics, silence, evil, class warfare, and the inability to act invite us to adjust our moral compass and conscience, whether it's 1948 during the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, 1953 in a radio-play called Mr. Biedermann and the Arsonists, 1958 in a play called The Arsonists, or 2013 as we reflect on our world and our lives today. An evening to celebrate words, this free program is presented in conjunction with Aurora Theatre Company's freshly mounted production of Bay Area Writer-Director Mark Jackson's The Arsonists in a rousing translation by Alistair Beaton. For more information about The Arsonists at Aurora Theatre Company, visit the website: www.auroratheatre.org. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For more information, call 510-981-6139 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Patricia Hoshi (Ph: 510-981-6189)

Looking for a job? Or perhaps have a job and are not too sure that it is a job you want to stay with? Come for free job counseling provided by North Cities One Stop’s counselors. This free drop-in program takes place at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck), March 27, from 2 – 3:30 p.m., in the third floor Electronic Classroom. The Drop-in Career Counseling offers free assistance with job search strategies, social networking tips, creating or improving a resume, interviewing, or salary negotiation. The career counseling program takes place every 4^th Wednesday of the month, from 2 – 3:30 p.m., in the Berkeley Public Library’s third floor Electronic Classroom. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6148. For accessibility information, call (510) 981-6195 TTY (510) 548-1240, http://berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Debbie Carton (Ph: 510-981-6139)

Berkeley Public Library is proud to welcome back Chanticleer’s Louis A. Botto Youth Choir.  Singers aged 14-20 will present a free concert on Saturday, April 20 at 2:00 P.M. at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck), on the fifth floor in the Art & Music department. The Grammy-winning San Francisco-based group Chanticleer provides high-level, small ensemble training for the Bay Area’s top young singers and offers community service through free performances. The youth outreach choir is named for Chanticleer’s founder, Louis A. Botto.  In "Ren and Blue: a program of Renaissance and Jazz", you’ll hear a juxtaposition of early Renaissance masters (Leonel Power, Johannes Ockeghem, John Dowland, and Thomas Morley) with some Jazz hits (When I Fall in Love, Blue Skies, Frankie and Johnny, and Chili con Carne). This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.  For further information, call 510-981-6139.  For accessibility information, call 510-981-6107 TTY, 510-548-1240, http://berkeleypubliclibrary.org

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Contact: Debbie Carton 510-981-6139

The Berkeley Public Library welcomes the San Francisco-based Cypress String Quartet for a lecture/demonstration of their “Call and Response” program on Thursday, April 11 at 12:15 pm. "Call & Response" presents music as a dynamic and ongoing process of inspiration by bringing together masterworks from the past and a new work written by a living composer specifically for this project. In addition to playing, the Cypress String Quartet will discuss the relationship between music and poetry, and the creation of Call & Response 2013. Come hear portions of Dvorak's The Cypresses, Schubert's 13th "Rosamunde" Quartet, and music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon. Higdon's new piece, which will be performed on April 19th, is based on the poetry of former American Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin and carries the title, "In the Shadow of Sirius." The Cypress String Quartet will present the pieces in their entirety in a concert on April 19th, 2013 at 8 p.m. in Herbst Theatre. Known for its elegant performances, the Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) has been praised by Gramophone for “artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion”. Read more about them and the upcoming concert at www.cypressquartet.com. The program takes place at the Central Berkeley Public Library, 5th Floor, 2090 Kittredge Street, which is wheelchair accessible. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For more information, call 510-981-6139 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.  

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Contact: Debbie Carton 510-981-6139

Celebrate National Dance Month at the Berkeley Public Library with a free dance performance by Cunamacue on Saturday, April 6, at 3 pm. The program takes place at the Central Berkeley Public Library, 5th Floor, 2090 Kittredge Street, which is wheelchair accessible. Local dance troupe Cunamacue combines Afro-Peruvian movement vocabulary, dances of the African diaspora and modern dance aesthetics. Their work communicates themes universal to the human experience. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For more information, call 510-981-6139 or visit www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.  

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