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History Talk: Dr. Stephen Barton on Berkeley Mayor J. Stitt Wilson – Social Crusader and Socialist

Contact: Jef Findley
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6148

Berkeley, December 20, 2013—J. Stitt Wilson (1868 – 1942) made national news when he was elected Mayor of Berkeley in April 1911 becoming the first Socialist Mayor in America. Learn more about this fascinating figure from Stephen Barton, Ph. D., on Saturday,  January 11, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the 3rd Floor Community Meeting Room at the Berkeley Public Library at 2090 Kittredge Street.

A former minister who preached the Social Gospel, his two years as Mayor were only a small part in a life dedicated to creating a cooperative society in which “every person in the world can attain to the highest development of his being”. From 1902 to 1942, Wilson and his family were an integral part of the early 20th century “Berkeley bohemia”, a creative mix of intellectuals, artists, writers, spiritual seekers and activists who supported left-wing politics, women’s rights, conservation and alternative medicine.

Stephen Barton, Ph.D. is the author of articles on the history of progressive urban movements, including the tenant movement in New York City, the neighborhood movement in San Francisco and movements for rent control and affordable housing in Berkeley. He has also written numerous articles on issues of social and economic justice and affordable housing. He is at work on a biography of Berkeley Mayor J. Stitt Wilson and wrote a forthcoming article on Wilson’s socialist feminism.  For more information about this event call 510-982-6148

The free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. www.berkeleylibraryfriends.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 more info please call 510-981-6195 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 five working days will help ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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Six-Week Memoir-Writing Workshop Led By Author and Teacher, Frances Lefkowitz, at Berkeley Public Library

CONTACT: Isobel Schneider
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6150
ischneider@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Frances Lefkowitz, workshop leader
Frances@FrancesLefkowitz.net

Berkeley, January 2, 2014—The New Year is a great time to keep that resolution to write that memoir. The Memoir-Writing Workshop will be held on six Tuesday evenings from 6:00 pm to 7:30 p.m. starting on February 4th and continuing through March 11, 2014, in the third-floor Community Meeting Room of the Central Library located at 2014 Kittredge Street. This workshop is limited to 25 students.Advanced registration is required and will begin January 13, 2014. Please call 510-981-6196 to register.

In this six-session, hands-on workshop for people of all ages and backgrounds, Frances Lefkowitz offers simple writing exercises and techniques, as well as examples of published memoirs inspiring students to write personal essays or true stories about the events, people, and places in their lives. The process of writing brings added layers of reflection and context which turn the telling into literature; it also helps writers see with fresh understanding the stories they’ve heard or told their whole lives. At the conclusion of the workshop an anthology of student work will be produced.

“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 likeWhole Living, Body+Soul, Utne Reader and literary journals such as Tin House, The Sun and Glimmer Train Stories. The stories 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. For more program information call 510-981-6148 or connect to www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org

This free workshop is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org

The Central Library is open Monday, noon-8 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. till 5 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. For questions, please call 510-981-6195(voice) or 510-548-1240 (TTY) or visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.  Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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 five working days will help ensure availability.

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Learn about the Affordable Health Care Act on January 10, 2014 at the Berkeley Public Library

Contact: Shani Leonards
Supervising Librarian
Claremont Branch Library
510-981-6280

Berkeley, December 9 2013—Have questions about the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act? We have answers. Join us on Friday, January 10, at 2:00 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library for help understanding how this new law impacts you. Get information on the new health insurance marketplace,Covered California, like who can enroll, which plans are in your area, and what penalties or deadlines might affect you. There will be time for participants to ask questions of a Covered California Certified Educator.

The Claremont Library, located at 2940 Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley is open Monday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00p.m., Thursday 12 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For questions and accessibility information, call 510-981-6195, TDD 510-548-1240,http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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 five working days’ notice will ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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Claremont Book Group Discusses The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer

Contact: Shani Leonards
Supervising Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
Claremont Branch
510-981-6280

Berkeley, December 16, 2013—The next Claremont Branch Book Club meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014 at the Claremont Branch located at 2940 Benvenue Avenue. The club will talk about The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Bay Area author Andrew Sean Greer. Please join us for a discussion of this beautiful, lyrical novel which the New York Times named as one of the 100 Best Books of 2013 lists.

Greta Wells undergoes radical psychiatric treatment in 1985 New York in an attempt to ease feelings of loss and debilitating depression caused by the departure of her lover and the death of her twin brother, Felix. The treatment has an unexpected side effect and Greta finds herself transported from 1985 New York to the lives she might have had if she’d been born in a different part of the 20th century. “The premise of this novel isn’t that a woman travels through time: it’s that ‘the impossible happens once to each of us’…What this wonderful novel teaches us is how magic works.” — John Irving. For information about this event please call 510-981-6280.

This event is free and sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org)

The Claremont Branch is open: Monday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00p.m., 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.

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 five working days’ notice will ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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Berkeley Public Library Presents Author Jan Elise Sells discussing Lost and Found: Healing Troubled Teens in Troubled Time

Shani Leonards
Supervising Librarian
Claremont Branch
510-981-6280

Berkeley, December 9, 2013—Bullying, drug experimentation, sexual identity, abuse, suicidal thoughts. Middle and High School years can be a troubling time for teens and their parents to navigate. Come to the Claremont Branch Library at 2940 Benvenue Avenue on Wednesday, January 8th at 6:30 p.m. for an evening of compelling true tales. Drawn from two decades working with kids in crisis at King Middle School in Berkeley, Jan Elise Sells, author of Lost and Found: Healing Troubled Teens in Troubled Times will discuss her book and her experiences. She will also share poetry written by youth. Jan will take questions from the audience about helping youth in crisis.

Ms. Sells holds Masters Degrees in Education and Counseling/Psychology and is a licensed Marriage/Family Therapist. She taught in Albany and Berkeley schools before Prop 13 created a need for volunteers at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley and made a career there. During her 20 years at King, Jan developed a grant-funded counseling program that became known throughout Berkeley and which is still in place despite her retirement in 2006. Her book, Lost and Found, has been described by reviewers as “a book of power and hope” and her work as “an example to follow for other institutions across the country.  For more information about this program call 510-981-6280.

The Claremont Branch at 2940 Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley is open Monday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00p.m., Thursday 12 p.m. to 8p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. For questions and accessibility information, call 510-981-6195, http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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 five working days’ notice will ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

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Learn about the Affordable Health Care Act at the Berkeley Public Library

Contact: Shani Leonards
Supervising Librarian
Claremont Branch Library
510-981-6280

Berkeley, December 9 2013—Have questions about the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act? We have answers. Join us on Friday, December 13th at 2:00 p.m. at the Claremont Branch Library for help understanding how this new law impacts you and about the health insurance marketplace, Covered California. You’ll receive information on who can enroll, plans in your area, penalties and deadlines and there will be time for participants to ask questions of a Covered California Certified Educator. For more information about this program call 510-981-6280.

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 five working days notice will ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs.

This program is ponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org)

The Claremont Library, 2940 Benvenue Avenue, Berkeley CA 94705 is open Monday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00p.m., 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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Listening Parties at Berkeley Public Library Continue Dec. 10 with KPFA DJ Rickey Vincent

Art & Music Department
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6241

 

Berkeley, December 3, 2013 – Join the Art and Music Department of the Berkeley Public Library for thesecond in a series of listening parties, Mining the Library: Local DJs Dig the Music Collection, on Tuesday, December 10, at 6:30 p.m., with Rickey Vincent – author, educator, and host of KPFA’s The History of Funk program. The listening parties bring together Berkeley Public Library’s music collection and disc jockeys from Bay Area public and community radio stations. Each DJ will dig through BPL’s vast collection of vinyl records and compact discs to uncover musical gems that will expand your appreciation of a range of genres.

Rickey brings The Funk along with his knowledge and charm to the library for an evening of deep grooves and funky good times on December 10th in the Central Library’s 3rd floor Community Meeting Room. Along with teaching classes about the history of music at UC Berkeley and City College of San Francisco, Rickey literally wrote the book on Funk with 1996’s Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One. He has just published a new book about the house band for the Black Panther Party called Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers’ Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music which is receiving critical acclaim. Learn more about Rickey Vincent: http://www.rickeyvincent.com/ and don’t miss out on this opportunity to get down at the library!

Stay Tuned!

On January 12th, the series concludes when KALX’s very own Rubberband Girl (a.k.a. Erin Prunchak), brings “Music for a Bachelorette’s Pad,” setting the mood with a mix of Lounge, Psychedelic, and Space-Age Pop music. Rubberband Girl has developed a local following during her seven years on KALX. Her current show can be heard on Friday mornings, where she makes connections between a wide variety of eras and styles, and loves surprising listeners with the best songs they’ve never heard.  More about Rubberband Girl:https://www.facebook.com/lachicaelastica

This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library (www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org).

For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6241.

The Central Library is open Monday, noon-8 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. till 5 p.m. Wheelchair accessible. For questions, please call 510-981-6195 (voice) or 510-548-1240 (TTY) or visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs. 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.

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