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Contact: Debbie Carton
Art & Music Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6236

Celebrate Peace Day with Origami Cranes at the Berkeley Public Library

Berkeley, July 25, 2016— On Hiroshima Peace Day, people all over the world stop to remember the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki- and do what they can to see that it never happens again. Since 1995, the Berkeley Public Library has remembered the bombing with a reading of Eleanor Coerr’s Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. This year’s celebration is Tuesday, August 9, from 4:00-6:30pm in the fourth floor Children’s Room at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck). For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6236

Coerr’s critically acclaimed children’s book tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Hiroshima resident who was two years old when the bomb fell. Sadako died ten years later from leukemia caused by the radiation from the bomb. Before she died, she tried to fold 1000 paper cranes, as legend has it that doing so will make your wish come true. Sadako folded 644 cranes before her death. Today, people around the world, fold cranes and send them to the statue of Sadako Sasaki which stands in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park.

Members of Berkeley Public Library’s Playreaders will read the story aloud, accompanied by original music composed for the occasion by celebrated koto players Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong. After the performance, audience members are invited to join in folding paper cranes. There will be plenty of help for those who have never folded a crane before. Those who know how to fold cranes and can show others are especially welcome to come. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6236. This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library www.berkeleylibraryfriends.org.

The Central Library is located at 2090 Kittredge St. and is open: Monday, noon – 8:00 pm, Tuesday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, and Sunday 1:00-5:00pm.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, 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. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Debbie Carton
Art & Music Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6236

Feminist Shakespeare at Berkeley Public Library

Berkeley, July 12, 2016 – Four hundred years after his death, the Bard still draws our attention. Get a sneak peek at an innovative new Shakespeare production from Those Women Productions, a local theater company, when Berkeley Public Library presents selected scenes from the new drama, Margaret of Anjou co-authored by William Shakespeare and Lauren Jansen-Parkes. This free performance is Saturday, August 13, from 2:00 – 3:00pm in the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck) in the third floor Community Meeting Room. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6241.

A high-stakes drama of betrayal, intrigue and medieval power politics eerily relevant to present American politics, Margaret of Anjou combines Shakespeare’s work with new text for a compelling portrait of a little-known but powerful monarch. After performing scenes, the actors join director Libby Vega and producer Carol Lashof to discuss Shakespeare and feminism, feminist storytelling, and re-interpreting Shakespeare. Let’s talk about it!

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

The Central Library is located at 2090 Kittredge St. and is open: Monday, noon – 8:00 pm, Tuesday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, and Sunday 1:00-5:00pm.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, 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. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Jack Baur
Supervising Librarian, North Branch
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6050
jbaur@ci.berkeley.cs.us
 

Author and blogger Tom Dalzell Celebrates

Quirky Berkeley Book Release Party and Photography Exhibit

at Berkeley Public Library North Branch

Berkeley, CA. July 8, 2016 – The Berkeley Public Library North Branch is excited to celebrate with the community and Tom Dalzell, blogger at Quirky Berkeley: The Quirky Material Culture of Berkeley. Tom Dalzell’s new book, Quirky Berkeley, a photographic celebration of Berkeley and its whimsical, eccentric, and quirky culture. This book will be published by Heyday in August, 2016.

To celebrate the book’s release, the Berkeley Public Library North Branch has teamed up with Heyday for a book release party and photo show. The photo show will start at the North Branch on Monday, July 18th and will feature photos from the book. The party is Monday August 1, 2016, from 7:00 – 9:00pm at the North Branch. The author and many of the artists profiled in the book will be on hand to talk about their work. Copies of the book will be available to purchase from Heyday at the event, and there will time for signing books. Refreshments will also be served. For more information call 510-981-6250.

There is a wealth of unusual art in Berkeley neighborhoods: murals painted on walls, a front yard decorated with an alien lifeform sculpture next to a spaceship, or unusual tiles that look like they were inspired by children’s drawings. Seeing such fun oddities inspired the beginning the Quirky Berkeley website where Tom shares photos, interviews with the artists, and the history of the art. Tom Dalzell says, “I started walking every block of every street in Berkeley in late 2012, in search of quirky material culture. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and then turned into something oh so much more – a love letter in photographs and words to Berkeley and all that makes us different and special, our freedom and creativity and verve.” The new book based on that blog, Quirky Berkeley, celebrates art, sculpture, and other curious things you will find in Berkeley and surrounding areas.

Malcolm Margolin, local Berkeley publisher of Heyday Books, raves, “Looking at this art and what it says about my community fills me with pride: pride for the artists, for the community that I have long loved and been part of, for the untamed artistic spirit that is humanity’s saving grace, and for Tom Dalzell and his pilgrimage into the heart of creativity."

This program is made possible by a generous gift from the Pace Trust, in support of the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. The North Branch Library is located at 1170 The Alameda, Berkeley CA 94707, and is open: Monday, 10:00am-6:00pm, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00am-8:00pm, Thursday 12noon -8:00pm, and Friday and Saturday, 10:00am-6:00pm.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, 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. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Debbie Carton
Art & Music Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6236
 

Reader’s Theater of Carson McCullers at Berkeley Public Library

Berkeley, July 8, 2016 –Why should story times only be for children? Berkeley Public Library offers Adult Story Time, an ongoing series of short stories for a more sophisticated audience. In our newest production, Carson McCullers’ short story A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud comes to life as Reader’s Theater on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 4:00 pm at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck) in the Fourth floor Story Room. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6241.

An earnest young boy and a tired traveler engage in a poignant dialogue about the science of love. Every word of the text is performed in this production, intended for ages 10 and up. Stay after the show and discuss the story, genre and author.         

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

The Central Library is located at 2090 Kittredge Street and is open: Monday, noon – 8:00 pm, Tuesday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, and Sunday 1:00-5:00 pm.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, 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. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Contact: Debbie Carton
Art & Music Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6236

Playing Shakespeare screens at Berkeley Public Library

Berkeley, CA. July 7, 2016 –Get an insider’s view on interpreting Shakespeare in the BBC series, Playing Shakespeare. John Barton of the Royal Shakespeare Company demonstrates how the Company makes Shakespeare's classic plays accessible to modern audiences without compromising the text's integrity.

Berkeley Public Library will show three representative episodes from the series on three consecutive Wednesdays in August: August 3, 10 and 17, from 12 noon – 1:00pm in the 3rd floor Community Meeting Room in the Central Library located at 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck). For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6241.

Playing Shakespeare: an actor’s guide is also available as a book or DVD from the Library.

• August 3: Language and character, with Sinead Cusack, Lisa Harrow, Ben Kingsley, Michael Pennington, Roger Rees, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet and Michael Williams.
• August 10: Exploring a character, with Patrick Stewart and David Suchet interpreting Shylock (The Merchant of Venice) in very different ways.
• August 17: Rehearsing the text, with Judi Dench as Viola in a scene from Twelfth Night.

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

The Central Library is located at 2090 Kittredge St. and is open: Monday, noon – 8:00pm, Tuesday, 10:00am – 8:00pm, Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 6:00 pm, and Sunday 1:00-5:00pm.

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, 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. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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Rachel MacNeilly
Collection Services Manager
Berkeley Public Library
 

Berkeley Public Library Partners with Hoopla Digital to Give
Patrons Online and Mobile Access to Free Movies, Music, eBooks
and More

Library card-holders can instantly explore, borrow and enjoy dynamic content on their smartphones, tablets and computers

Berkeley CA July 7, 2016 – Berkeley Public Library announced public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums, eBooks, audiobooks and Comics, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital.

Berkeley Public Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or IOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles – from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers – available to borrow 24/7, for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers.

“We strive to be an integral resource for our community,” Rachel MacNeilly, Collection Services Manager said at Berkeley Public Library. “This is done through strategic partnerships like our new relationship with hoopla digital, which enables our community members to instantly stream thousands of new titles to their devices. The easy-to-use interface and elimination of late fees enables us to satisfy all of our patron’s needs in a modern way.”

“With hoopla digital, it is our mission to empower the evolution of public libraries while helping them to meet the needs of the mobile generation. We’ve worked for years to create a best-in-breed service that is fun, fast and reliable. And we continue to secure content deals to expand our offering of popular and niche movies, TV shows, music, eBooks, audiobooks and Comics,” said Jeff Jankowski founder and owner of hoopla digital.

About hoopla digital
hoopla digital is a category-creating service that partners with public libraries across North America to provide online and mobile access to thousands of Movies, TV Shows, Music, eBooks, Audiobooks and Comics. With hoopla digital, patrons can borrow, instantly stream and download free dynamic content with a valid library card. All content is accessible via hoopla digital’s mobile app and online at www.hoopladigital.com. hoopla digital is a service of Midwest Tape – a trusted partner to public libraries for over 25 years.

About the Berkeley Public Library
Founded in 1893, the Library has grown from a reading room with 264 books, into a five-story Central Library and four recently renovated neighborhood branches and a Tool Lending Library. For more information, visit  www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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