Library Happenings
Special Exhibits: Braceros
Aug 26 - Oct 15
Ernest Lowe Photography
@ West Branch in the Teen Room
* special reception on Sept 18 @12noon
Henry P. Anderson Papers + Rick Tejada-Flores Photography Collection
@ the Central Library on the 5th floor
From the 1940s to the 1960s, temporary Mexican workers in the United States were called Braceros, the Spanish word for "one who works with his arms".
Braceros is a 2-part exhibit (at West Branch & at the Central Library) that honors the labor, culture, and enduring legacy of California farmworkers and reflects on the broader context of civil rights and labor justice movements.
Special thanks to Ernest Lowe, Dori Rodriguez Anderson, Paul Richards, the San Francisco State University Labor Archives and Research Center, and the UC Merced Library Archives for generously providing image rights.
Braceros on Film: Screening & Discussion
West
Sat, Sept 27
2 pm
In concert with the exhibit, West will be showing the 2010 documentary film Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program, directed by Gilbert González, Professor Emeritus of Chicano/Latino Studies, UC Irvine.
September Event Highlights
Berkeley Walks 10th Anniversary Celebration + North Berkeley History Hunt
North
Sat, Sept 6
2 pm
Author & Illustrator Visit:
Story Time + Crafts
Aditi Raychoudhury, co-author and illustrator of Mimi, the Little Umbrella
North
Mon, Sept 15
11 am
Local Author Visit: Yvonne Martinez in conversation with Berkeleyside's Joanne Furio
North
Wed, Sept 17
6 pm
Libraries Rock: In the Stax Live Music Series
Free concert featuring the all-Teen School of Rock House Band
Central - Teen Room
Thurs, Sept 25
3 pm
Berkeley Old-Time Music Convention: Stringband Contest, Jams, Panels & More
Central
Sat, Sept 20
10 am - 5 pm
- Family Concert with WB Reid & Bonnie Zahnow @ 10:15 am
- Panel Discussion "Black Old-Time Musicians: Perspective" with Jake Blount (moderator), Angela Wellman, Darcy Ford-James, and Patrice Strahan @ 10:30 am
- String Band Contest from 12noon - 4pm with Manning Music Fiddlers (students at Manning Music, some as young as 4!) will open the contes
- Old-Time Tune Jam with Darcy Ford-James, Patrice Strahan & Hannah Mayree @ 2 pm
The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention is a five-day music festival featuring performances by local and national acts, a rollicking square dance, an open cabaret, and the illustrious stringband contest in venues throughout Berkeley.
More September Events
Non-Violent Communication with Kayla Hurd:
Reparative Justice for Survivors of State Violence
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Tues, Sept 2
6 pm
Live Jazz Music featuring Michael Marcus & the World Street
in collaboration with the Jazz Foundation of America
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Thurs, Sept 4
6 pm
Reading Buddies: Kindergarten-3rd Grade
North
Thurs, Sept 4
4:30 pm
Reading Buddies builds confidence in young readers and makes reading fun! Kids will be paired with a teen mentor to read together and play word games.
Reading Buddies is a collaboration with teen volunteers from the Youth Literacy Project.
Read to a Dog: Ages 5-12
Claremont
Thursdays, Sept 18, 25 + Oct 2 & 9 @ 3:30 pm
* Sign up by calling 510.981.6280.
Fire Truck Visit
Tool Lending Library @ Tarea Hall Pittman South
Sat, Sept 6
11 am
Petting Zoo
North
Sat, Sept 13
10 am
The Story Time Band - all over Berkeley!
The Freight
Thurs, Sept 4
10 am
Francis Albrier Community Center
Thurs, Sept 11
10 am
Willard Park Clubhouse
Thurs, Sept 18
10 am
Popping the Science Bubble... is Back!
North or Virtual
Tues, Sept 16
5:30 pm
Learn about cutting-edge research happening at UC Berkeley, directly from the scientists themselves. This month's topics:
The Eye Under Pressure: Glaucoma and Neuroinflammation
Matangi Kumar, Vision Science
Magnetogenetics: Controlling Cell Activity with Magnetic Fields
Tiffany Tran, Neuroscience
Live Latin American Music: Wasska Project
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Thurs, Sept 18
6 pm
80's Week
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Sept 22-26
- Monday: Make 80's themed library cards, sunglasses, keychains, buttons and more!
- Wednesday: 80's (double feature) Movie Night: Valley Girl & Krush Goove
- Friday: 80s Trivia and DANCE PARTY!
Freshhh Tea Karoke: Enjoy the freshness (All Ages)
West
Thurs, Sept 25
5 pm
End summer with a mic drop! Join us for a night of bold ballads, tasty beverages, and big energy at West.
Whether you’re belting out Beyoncé, crooning classic rock, or channeling a surf tune from a 90s movie, we’ve got the stage, the bevvies, and the swagger.
Stuffie Sleepover
What happens at the library when it’s closed?
We invite your stuffed animal friends to join us overnight on the 4th Floor (Children's floor) of the Central Library.
Please drop off your stuffed animals on Thursday, September 25, or Friday, September 26.
You can pick them up on Saturday, September 27 and learn all about their nocturnal adventures!
Puzzle Swap
Claremont
Sat, Sept 27
10:30 am
Yoga with Roopa
Standing & chair Yoga with Meditation
Central
Sat, Sept 27
3 pm
Safety First! Events
Fire Weather Planning
with the City of Berkeley's Office of Emergency Services
North
Thurs, Sept 4
5 pm
Claremont
Mon, Sept 15
12noon
Infant & Child CPR
Claremont
Sat, Sept 6
10 am
Learn to Use a Fire Extinguisher
with the Berkeley Fire Department
Central
Sat, Sept 13
10 am
North
Sat, Sept 20
2 pm
Bike Commuting Basics
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Sat, Sept 13
3 pm
Home Hardening for Wildfires
Tarea Hall Pittman South
Sat, Sept 20
2 pm
There are many more library programs happening in September:
History Room... Did you know?
Like a phoenix rising from the proverbial ashes, what is popularly known today as Normandy Village began its existence almost as the cinders from the great fire of 1923 began to cool. That conflagration roared through the area just north of the UC Berkeley campus in September 1923, reducing many buildings in the neighborhood – over 600 homes - to little more than smoldering rubble.
Enter Jack Thornberg - still in his mid-20s at this point. His idea was to create a series of charming communities or villages (hence the name) that by all outward appearances might otherwise be found in an historic French-Norman forest.
Close to downtown and the UC Berkeley campus, these villages were to be made up of quaint apartment buildings designed to appear like antique homes, with irregular thatch-like roofs, rough wavy bricks, exposed stonework and topped off by decorative elements like frescos and hand-carved gargoyles. All elements inside and out appear as if they were handcrafted on-site; nothing about these buildings suggest machine-made materials. The apartments were initially supposed to surround equally fanciful shops, giving the true feel of a self-contained village, but Berkeley’s relatively new zoning laws did not permit such mixing of residential and commercial buildings.
A century later the village still stands on Spruce Street, near Hearst Ave.
The Berkeley History Room at Central is open Wednesdays from 10am-1pm, and by appointment: libraryhistoryroom@berkeleyca.gov.
Your history awaits!
Friends of the Library's BIG Book Sale
The Friends of the Berkeley Public Library's BIG BOOK SALE will be September 19 & 20 10 AM - 4 PM Berkeley Main 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck).
There will be HUNDREDS of books, CDs, and DVDs... most for JUST 50 CENTS each!
City of Berkeley's Trashure Hunt
All Libraries are closed on Monday, September 1.
eBooks, eAudiobooks, newspapers, music, movies & more available 24/7 at berkeleypubliclibrary.org.