June 2016

Berkeley Public Library Hosts Special Digital Storytelling Workshop

June 30, 2016

Contact: Sarah Dentan
Acting Library Director
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6195

 

Berkeley Public Library Hosts

Special Digital Storytelling Workshop

 

The Berkeley Public Library invites you to come share your story, and learn the basics of Digital Storytelling, at a special two-day workshop: Friday July 22 & Saturday, July 23, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the StoryCenter located at 1250 Addison St #104, Berkeley, CA 94702.

The workshop is part of California Listens, a summer long program at select public libraries throughout the state. California Listens is sponsored by the California State Library. The workshops will be led by Berkeley’s StoryCenter, the inventors of the Digital Storytelling method now used by schools and community organizations around the world.

In the workshop you will make your own short video on a computer. You will learn:

  1. How to Make a Great Video Story
  2. How to Write a Narration Script and Record It
  3. How to Prepare a Visual Treatment for your Story
  4. The Basics of Video Editing in WeVideo

The stories will become part of a state archive of stories about what it means to be Californian. Powerful and fun regardless of your creative experience or technical level! The workshop is free, but requires you to apply prior to attending. Contact Tom Dufour (tod1@cityofberkeley.info or 510-981-6134) or James Moore (jcmoore@cityofberkeley.info or 510-981-6260) to apply. Seats are limited, so contact us today!

The Agenda

The following is what will take place over the two days. It is intensive, but it is also quite fun and powerful.

 

Day 1

9 am Introductions

9:15am - Overview to Digital Storytelling/Seven Steps

10 am - Story Circle –Group concept and script feedback

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:30 pm - Script and Image Work – Possible Voiceover recording

4:30 pm - Check-ins

5:00 pm - Workshop End

 

Day 2

9 am - Record Voiceovers- Gather Images

11 am - WeVideo Video Editing Tutorial

12 pm - Lunch

12:45 pm - Editing of Rough Edit

4:00 pm - Group Story Sharing of audio, partial drafts, or rough drafts

4:45 pm - Farewell and Follow-up

5:00 pm - Workshop Ends

 

In these workshops, we inevitably have material we will still need to “clean-up” after the workshop. We will communicate with you about our intentions in post producing the movie files. We expect this could take 1-5 hours of your time after the workshop. You will receive your own copy of the movie to use however you want.

The purpose of this project is to create an archive of these stories for the State Library and your local library. You understand that by participating in this project you are granting license to the State Library, the Berkeley Public Library, and StoryCenter, to manage and exhibit the story, and that all images, texts, moving images, sound or music used in your projects belongs to you, or you have appropriate license to use that material. You will be required to sign a release stating this as part of your participation.

To apply, contact:

Tom Dufour (tod1@cityofberkeley.info or 510-981-6134)

James Moore (jcmoore@cityofberkeley.info or 510-981-6260)

California Listens, Summer 2016 is sponsored by California State Library, in conjunction with Califa Group, StoryCenter, and the Berkeley Public Library.

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An Evening With Mary Roach to Discuss Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

June 14, 2016

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

 


The Berkeley Public Library and Bones & Books Presents An Evening With Mary Roach!
Acclaimed Science Writer to Visit North Berkeley to Discuss
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War



Berkeley, June 15, 2016 – The Berkeley Public Library is thrilled to welcome author Mary Roach to Berkeley to talk about her new book Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War. This book discussion will be Saturday, June 25 at 7:00pm at the Northbrae Community Church, located at 941 The Alameda, Berkeley CA 94707. This special presentation is the latest in an ongoing “Bones and Books” series of literary events with a scientific bent, a collaboration between Bone Room store employees and the Berkeley Public Library. The book was just published by W.W. Norton Co., and was recently featured on NPR’s Fresh Air program. Books are available for purchasing and signing by Mary Roach after the talk.  For more information please call 510-981-6050.


Grunt examines the myriad means the military science has devised to keep human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war. Mary Roach is not interested in how militaries harm their enemies, but rather how they attempt to keep their own people alive in some of the harshest and most hazardous conditions imaginable. Roach’s questioning touches everything from uniform design to weaponized smells to the dangers of getting diarrhea in the field to amputee actors (who star in films to inure troops to the shocks of serious battle injuries) to the medicinal properties of maggots. Through it all, Roach stands in awe not just of the minds pushing military science forward, but also of the troops – the grunts – who selflessly subject themselves to innumerable dangers and discomforts in the name of national security.


This is a free event, but RSVPs are required! Reserve tickets through Eventbrite.com. Children under 18 should be supervised by an adult. People who are sensitive to military stories or graphic topics are advised to bring a companion. The front row of seats will be reserved for veterans, as well as their families, with military ID, uniform, or other valid documentation.


Roach is the author of several other books of popular non-fiction and “curious” science. Her first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, explored what happens when people “donate their bodies to science” after they die, from being practice for cosmetic surgeons to serving as crash-test dummies. Stiff was a New York Times Best Seller, and one of Entertainment Weekly’s Best Books of 2003. From there, Roach went on to explore the afterlife in Spook, sex in Bonk, space travel in Packing for Mars, and the alimentary canal in Gulp. Throughout all of her books Roach has charmed readers with her enthusiasm for her subjects, her investigative rigor, and her quirky sense of humor. Roach will read from Grunt and take questions from the audience. Following the reading attendees will have an opportunity to buy a copy of Grunt and have it signed.


This free event is made possible by a generous gift from the Pace Trust, in support of the Berkeley Public Library North Branch.


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.


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Tim Fuller, Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist at Central Library

June 10, 2016

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

 

Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert at Berkeley Public Library

Berkeley, June 9, 2016 – Berkeley Public Library welcomes Tim Fuller in a concert of Hawaiian Slack Key guitar music on Saturday, June 25 at 2:00 pm at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck) on the 5th Floor, Art & Music department.

The Hawaiian Slack Key tradition features a steel or nylon string guitar with unique tunings played in a finger-picked style. These ingenious tunings create a rich, soulful sound. Tim Fuller (, Black Tea Slack Key) puts a Northern California spin on the unique and lovely musical sound of Hawaii. Don't miss this chance to experience one of the world's great acoustic guitar traditions. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6241.

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

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.

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Author and Activist Virgie Tovar's “Fat Positive Summer Festival

June 10, 2016

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

Virgie Tovar available for interviews
at virgie@virgietovar.com.

 


Author and Activist Virgie Tovar and the Berkeley Public Library
Present the “Fat Positive Summer Festival”


Berkeley, CA. June 10, 2016 – Are you ready for summer? Don’t think you have the right shape for a bikini? Worry no more! The Berkeley Public Library presents the Fat Positive Summer Festival, a series of events developed with author and activist Virgie Tovar. Tovar is one of the nation’s leading experts on fat discrimination and body image, the editor of the anthology, Hot and Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love, and Fashion, the founder of Babecamp – an online course designed to help women “break-up with diet culture” and love their own bodies, and writes the columns Take the Cake for Ravishly.com and Ask Virgie for WearYourVoiceMag.com.


The Fat Positive Summer Festival consists of three events at three different Berkeley Public Library locations. Running from June 22 to July 2, the Festival includes a lecture by Tovar, a screening of short films, and readings and conversation with several writers and body positive activists. Tovar worked closely with the Berkeley Public Library staff to present the Berkeley community with a wide range of media examining society’s pernicious biases about weight, and to include diverse international voices. For more information about this program series, please call 510-981-6250.


According to Tovar, “each of the events in the festival pushes against the current cultural paradigm that seeks to pathologize and marginalize fat people.” The series – like a lot of Tovar’s work – was motivated and inspired by her experiences accepting her own body.


“This festival is about reclaiming summer as a season for all bodies. Summer used to be the most terrifying time of year for me because it was bikini season - a yearly reminder that I had failed yet again to achieve a ‘beach body.’ I opted out of a lot of things I loved because I truly believed that those things were out of my reach, and that life had to wait until I was thin. One summer I met a group of fat activists who totally changed my life. They showed me that I didn't have to keep putting my life on hold, that I could live life on my terms at my current size. In all my years of dieting I'd never felt more free than being a 250 pound woman wearing bikinis, summer dresses, and hot pink lipstick. I want to pay it forward, and give people the gift those activists gave me - the fearless reclamation of our bodies. I encourage everyone to wear short shorts and crop tops to the festival!” she adds.


The language in the title Fat Positive Summer Festival is very intentional – an invitation and a mission statement. According to Tovar,


“Fat positive is a phrase that celebrates big bodies and sees fatness as part of the beauty of body diversity. Fat positivity is a bold political gesture that recognizes that the fear of weight gain and negative attitudes toward fat people are forms of bigotry that harm all people, regardless of size. Finally, to be fat positive is to activate the right that every person has to a life free from bigotry, shame and discrimination no matter their weight.”

The Fat Positive Summer Festival features:

Lose Hate Not Weight: A Critical Examination of Diet Culture @Claremont
Wednesday June 22 6:30pm-7:30pm. Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave.
In this 60 minute lecture Virgie Tovar – author, expert and lecturer – offers a primer on the history and sociopolitical realities of our cultural obsession with weight loss. The story of modern day “Diet Culture” didn’t begin with juicing or cleanses, but rather almost 200 years ago with the inventor of the graham cracker.


Fat Positive Shorts@ Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch
Thursday June 30th. 7:00pm-8:30pm. Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch, 1901 Russell St.
A selection of short films designed to challenge our understanding of fatness:

  • Aquaporko! - Aquaporko! is the story of Melbourne’s fat synchronized swim team. We follow fat activist and filmmaker Kelli Jean Drinkwater as she meets the team and uncovers a world of sisterhood, queer community and radical body politics. (22 minutes.)
  • Fatty Cakes & the Puff Pastries music video – This Fresno-based all-girl band follows the tradition of riot grrrl, performing unapologetic songs about pizza, patriarchy and hating their jobs at the mall. (2 minutes.)
  • Heft - In this short comedy filmed in Oakland, a fat, queer, Black woman draws a bevy of suitors and scoundrels. Screened at the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project Festival in 2014. (10 minutes.)
  • Life Long Weight Gaining - A video of an installation by Vienna-based fat performance artist Veronika Merklein. (8 minutes.)
  • The Fat Body (In)visible - Body acceptance activists Keena and Jessica’s stories detail the intricacies of identity and the intersections of race and gender with fatness; the women themselves find new and inventive ways to be proudly visible subjects through the strategic use of fashion and social media. (24 minutes.)


Freedom from Fat Shame! A Reading + Discussion @North
Saturday July 2nd. 7:00pm-9:00pm North Branch, 1170 The Alameda.
Virgie Tovar assembled a group of incisive writers and activists for an evening of body liberation with readings and personal stories. Let their words smash your feelings of fat-shame and help you foster acceptance in yourself and celebrate diversity your community! Speakers are: Casey Gilly, Jezebel Delilah X, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Irene McCalphin, and Dr. Kjerstin Gruys, author of Mirror, Mirror off the Wall.


This free event series is made possible by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library, and by a generous gift from the Pace Trust in support of the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. Ravishly.com, WearYourVoiceMag.com, and Halmoni Vintage Clothing are media partners for this event series.


The Claremont Branch is located at 2940 Benvenue Ave, Berkeley CA 94705. The Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch is located at 1901 Russell St, Berkeley CA 94703. The North Branch Library is located at 1170 The Alameda, Berkeley CA 94707. Library branches are all 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. For more information about this program series, please call 510-981-6250.


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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Joyce E. Young, Local Poet Read at Berkeley Public Library

June 10, 2016

Contact: Glenn Ingersoll
Library Specialist II
Claremont Branch, Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6082



Joyce E. Young, Local Poet Read at Berkeley Public Library
The Clearly Meant Series Presents Third Reading and Interview at the Claremont Branch


Berkeley, CA, June 10, 2016— Come to the Claremont Branch on Saturday, June 25 from 2:00 – 3:00pm to hear local poet Joyce E. Young read her poetry, followed by an interview and discussion as part of the Library’s Clearly Meant Poetry series. A free eight-page chapbook of Joyce Young’s poems can be picked up at any branch of the Berkeley Public Library.


Joyce’s poems have appeared most recently in riverbabble and The New Poets of the American West. She received a California Arts Council Artist in Communities grant, and was a writer-in-residence at the Oakland Museum of California and Oakland Public Library through Writers on Site, a program of Poets & Writers, Inc. Her poetry collection, How it Happens, is forthcoming in the Fall from Pandemonium Press. She is currently working on a novel, Parallel Journey. She also works as a writing consultant at John F. Kennedy University. For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6280.


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


The Claremont Branch is located at 2940 Benvenue Ave, Berkeley CA 94705, and is open: Monday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm; Tuesday and Wednesday, 10:00 am-8:00 pm; Thursday 12 noon -8:00 pm; and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm. For more information about this program call 510-981-6280.


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 w

ill help ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.


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