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Contact: Shani Leonards,
510-981-6285

Join us on Thursday, June 13^th at 6:30 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library for a cultural evening featuring award-winning  jazz singer and songwriter Melanie O'Reilly. Melanie will team up with top Bay Area jazz pianist Frank Martin to perform music inspired by the writings of James Joyce , Sean O Riordain, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill  & other Irish greats, interwoven with literature & poetry readings. One of Ireland's foremost jazz singers, Melanie performs her own unique style of Celtic Jazz, which has been described as "A gorgeous sound…Celtic Cadence with a jazz sensibility.” Her music has been featured in Frontline and PBS documentaries. She is also host of Award winning radio show "Jazz on the Bay" for the Irish National Broadcasting station, RTE. Frank Martin works as an arranger, conductor and keyboardist and has performed and recorded with a variety of jazz and popular stars including Sting, Stevie Wonder, Bobbi McFerrin and James Taylor. Wheelchair accessible. To request a sign language interpreter, real-time captioning, materials in large print or Braille, or other accommodations for these events, please call 510 981-6195 (voice) or 510 548-1240 (TTY) At least three working days notice will ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs. Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org) The Claremont Library, 2940 Benvenue Avenue, Berkeley CA 94705, is open Monday and Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 12p.m.-8 p.m.., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., For questions and accessibility information, call 510-981-6195, TDD 510-548-1240, http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Tom Dufour (510-981-6134)

For anyone planning to retire, Berkeley Public Library presents a workshop with local wealth adviser George Noceti of Morgan Stanley, on June 24, 2013 at 6:00 pm in the 3^rd floor Community Meeting Room of the Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge Street. If you are concerned about health care expenses in retirement, now is the time to start planning. Starting with an overview of Medicare and ending with a discussion of long-term care, this workshop will open your eyes to the way health care works in retirement and what decisions you need to make now to prepare. This workshop is geared to everyone, especially those over 60, even if you are already on Medicare. This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6148. 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: Isobel Schneider (Tel: 510-981-6150)

AL YOUNG, California Poet Laureate Emeritus, along with four other poets will present POETRY PAST AND PRESENT at the Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, Sunday, June 23, 2013, 2:00pm. They will be reading original work and the work of celebrated poets of the past. There will also be an open mic session giving attendees an opportunity to read their original poems coupled with poems by their favorite poets. POETRY PAST AND PRESENT will also feature poets Rafael Jesús González , Avotcja Jiltonilro, Kirk Lumpkin, and Ava Bird. The poets will read their original work as well as work by poets from across the centuries including Federico García Lorca, Gwendolyn Brooks, Denise Levertov, Rainier Maria Rilke, Nicolás Guillén, e.e. cummings, Jayne Cortez, Henry David Thoreau, Kabir, Robert Graves, Robinson Jeffers, Pat Parker, Hafiz, Diane di Prima, and Rumi. Audience members are invited to sign up for an open mic reading when they arrive at the event. Each person will be allowed up to 5 minutes to read one original poem and one poem written by a poet whose work they admire. Readers are reminded that this is a family event. Al Young was California’s Poet Laureate in 2005. He was recently honored in Berkeley by the declaration of Al Young Day, February 5, 2013. His most recent book is Coastal Nights and Inland Afternoons: Poems 2001-2006. His poetry and prose have been translated into many languages. Rafael Jesús González is Professor Emeritus and founder of Laney College’s, Department of  Mexican and Latin-American Studies. His most recent book of poetry is La musa lunática/The Lunatic Muse. Avotcja Jiltonilro is a poet and also leads the award winning band, Modupue. She is a D.J. at KPFA and KPOO radio stations. Her most recent book of poetry is With Every Step I Take. Kirk Lumpkin is a poet, performer, lyricist, environmentalist, and cultural worker. Ava Bird is a poet and prose writer who in addition to her books has published articles, poetry, recipes, reviews and photographs in a wide variety of journals and publications. The program will take place at the Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge St., Berkeley, on Sunday, June 23, 2013, 2:00pm, in the 3^rd floor, Community Meeting Room. 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: Tom Dufour (510-981-6134)

For anyone planning to retire, Berkeley Public Library presents a workshop with local wealth advisor George Noceti of Morgan Stanley, on May 28, 2013 at 6:00 pm in the 3^rd floor Community Meeting Room of the Central Branch, 2090 Kittredge Street. After being told for years that Social Security is "going broke," baby boomers are realizing that it will soon be their turn to collect. But the decisions they make now can have a tremendous impact on the total amount of benefits they stand to receive over their lifetime. Questions boomers are asking include: Will Social Security be there for me? How much can I expect to receive? When should I apply for Social Security? How can I maximize my benefits? Will Social Security be enough to live on in retirement? This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6148. 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:   Patricia Hoshi
(Ph:  510-981-6189)

Looking for a job? Or perhaps have a job and are not quite sure that it is a job you want to stay with? Or your job is leaving the country? Or would like to expand your job search beyond Craigslist? Come for free job counseling provided by North Cities One Stop’s counselors. This free drop-in program takes place at Berkeley’s Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck), May 22, 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 510-981-6139

Berkeley Public Library welcomes our town’s new theater company.  Indra’s Net Theater focuses on plays about science and its philosophical and ethical implications.  Their first production is Michael Frayn’s Tony award-winning Copenhagen. On Tuesday, May 14, director Bruce Coughran will join us to discuss the play and the production, in a free program at 6:30 p.m. in the 3^rd floor Community Meeting Room. Members from the Berkeley Public Library’s Playreaders group will read several scenes aloud. In 1941, Danish physicist Niels Bohr and his German protégé Werner Heisenberg met in occupied Denmark.  Heisenberg was working on his country’s project to explore nuclear fission.  Through this tense meeting of old friends, the play explores the vagaries of human communication.  What can be known?  And what will always be uncertain? COPENHAGEN is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Indra's Net Theater is a fiscally sponsored project of fractured atlas.  For more information about Copenhagen and Indra’s Net Theater, visit www.indrasnettheater.com. 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: Jef Findley
(Ph: 510-981-6142)

Berkeley Public Library presents local historian Chuck Wollenberg on Berkeley’s response to World War II, in a series of three lectures on Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck), in the 3^rd floor Community Meeting Room. June 1^st will be Ruth Kingman, the Fair Play Committee and the Japanese-American Internment. Ruth Kingman was a pioneering Berkeley political activist and one of the few people who took effective action against the “relocation” of Japanese-Americans.  June 22 will be Codornices Village and the African American Migration to Berkeley. Codornices Village, which is now UC Village Married Student Housing, began in World War II to house shipyard workers in Richmond.  The final lecture on June 29^th will be Lawrence & Oppenheimer: the Atomic Bomb and the Beginnings of Big Science. UC Professors Lawrence and Oppenheimer were the driving forces behind the Manhattan Project which produced the world’s first atomic bomb.  Chuck Wollenberg is a celebrated Berkeley historian and teacher at Berkeley City College. This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org). For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6142. For accessibility information, call 510-981-6195, TTY (510) 528-1240, http://berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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CONTACT:  Isobel Schneider 
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6150
ischneider@ci.berkeley.ca.us

Frances Lefkowitz
workshop leader
707-338-2345
Frances@FrancesLefkowitz.net

A Free Memoir-Writing Workshop led by Frances Lefkowitz, San Francisco author, will be held at the Berkeley Public Library. The class will be held on Tuesday evenings, 6:00pm to 7:30pm, from May 21 to June 25, 2013. The class is limited to 25 students. Advanced registration is required. Please call 510-981-6196, to sign up. In this six-session, hands-on workshop for people of all ages and backgrounds, students write personal essays, or true stories, about the events, people, and places in their lives. The process of writing and reflection brings added layers of reflection and context which turn the telling into literature; they also help the writers see with fresh understanding the stories they've heard or told their whole lives. “Everybody has at least one story worth putting into words and onto paper,” says Instructor Frances Lefkowitz, the author of To Have Not, a memoir about growing up poor in San Francisco in the 1970s and an examination of what poverty does to the soul. To Have Not was named one of five “Best Memoirs of 2010” by SheKnows.com. Her articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in commercial magazines (Whole Living, Body+Soul, Utne Reader...) and literary journals (Tin House, The Sun, Glimmer Train Stories...) and have earned two special mentions for the Pushcart Prize and one for Best American Essays, among other honors. She is the book reviewer for Good Housekeeping and teaches writing workshops throughout the Bay Area. The class will be held at the Central Branch of the Berkeley Public Library located at 2090 Kittredge St, Berkeley in the 4th floor Story Room. For more program information call 510-981-6148 or connect to www.berkeleypubliclibrary.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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