Alameda Free Library Event Alert - February 2026

Published on January 27, 2026

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Adult and Teen Events: 

Alameda Coin Club: Please join the Alameda Coin Club for presentations, discussions, and valuation of rare coins.

Make It – Keep Calm and Carry Yarn: Please join us for a fiber arts craft circle. All kinds of fiber artists are welcome. Please bring your own materials and expertise. Limited instruction available. It will be an afternoon of community building and crafting.

Teen Advisory Group: Are you a teen in 7th–12th grade looking to share your ideas, help with library projects, and earn volunteer hours? Join our Teen Advisory Group (TAG)! Registration is required.

Grown Folks Storytime: Try a different pace of life with our new weekly storytime for adults! Bring your lunch to the Children's Programming Room of the Main Library on Wednesday afternoons for a half-hour of short stories, picture books, and other tales curated by our expert librarians.

Teen Book Club: Teen book club members choose what we read from a variety of titles and genres each month. Additionally, while supplies last, book club members receive a free copy of the book to keep. The February book is Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan. All teens, ages 13 to 18, are invited to join the book group. The registration link is on the calendar. We will be meeting in person in the Stafford Room at the Main Library.

Alameda Readers Group: Please join us for a discussion of articles and short fiction from the New Yorker magazine. Please register ahead of time.   February's selections are: "Safety” by Joan Silber (12/8 issue); "Understanding the Science" by Camille Bordas (12/15); “Risk, Discipline” by Andrew Martin (12/22); "The Welfare State" by Nell Zink (12/29).

Drop-in Chess: All levels welcome.  Boards are provided.  No instruction available.  All teens over 18 and adults are welcome.

Tech Petting Zoo: Meet Our 3D Printer: Learn the basics of 3D printing in this hands-on workshop. Ages 7 and up. Limit 10 learners. Registration is required. Submit your questions for the presenter ahead of time along with your registration.  No question is too large or too small!

Allons-y! French Conversation Circle: Join us on the second Friday of every month to practice your French conversation skills. This is a monthly series designed to increase your confidence in speaking French conversationally in your communities. All levels and dialects are welcome.

Learn Sewing at the Library: Come learn the basics of sewing from local makers Gaby and Cynthia. Make a new sewing project every session! We will provide materials, instruction sheets, and know-how to get you started. No registration required. We will meet on the second Saturday of the month unless otherwise noted. This month's projects are coin purse, pincushion, tote bag.

Alameda Writers’ Group: Come prepared for a short intro, including: your name, bvwhy you write, what you write (genre(s)), what you're working on now or most recently. And then let's get to it!

Five short prompts will be provided for those of you that like warming up or prefer to start with some inspiration for writing short stories and such. Join in person or via Zoom.

BFI Tech Tuesdays: Join us on the third Tuesday of the month at the Bay Farm Island Library at 1pm for small-group instruction on computers, tablets, smartphones and more! Registration required – register online or call the Bay Farm Island Library for registration assistance.

A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book Club: Wondering what to read next? Instead of a monthly book everyone reads, A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book Club will discuss what everyone is currently reading or has recently read that they enjoyed.  The February theme is Romance.Please email the facilitator, Lynda, at llyndaw@gmail.com for more information.

 A Novel Idea:  A Novel Idea is a book club for adults featuring novels from diverse genres and authors.  The February selection is Colored Television by Danzy Senna .

Mystery Book Clubs: Join the Alameda Free Library’s Bay Farm Island Mystery Book Club for fun and engaging literary discussions! The February selection is God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

The Reset – Career Workshops: New job, new you. Your next chapter starts right here in Alameda. Join us on fourth Saturdays for personalized career advice - from resumes to interviews, networking to job boards, we’ve got what you need to get hired. Please bring any materials you'd like reviewed as well as an Internet-enabled device if you have one. Let us support you in taking that first step toward your future. You bring the hustle, we’ll bring the tools. Because every great journey starts with a roadmap—come get yours. Any and all career stages welcome.

Event Descriptions – Special Adult/Teen Events:

Online Author Talks - Register and add questions for the author, then tune in live or watch the event recording:

Vanessa Riley: Join us for a chat with Vanessa Riley about her newest book, Fire Sword and Sea, based on the folk story of the female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye.

Dr. Lindsey Stewart: Feminist philosopher Dr. Lindsey Stewart’s book, The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic, tells the stories of Negro Mammies of slavery; the Voodoo Queens and Blues Women of Reconstruction; and the Granny Midwives and textile weavers of the Jim Crow era. These women, in secrecy and subterfuge, courageously and devotedly continued their practices and worship for centuries and passed down their traditions.

Connecting to the Love Within Through Meditation: Join us online as long time meditator Bruce Faithwick offers this engaging workshop on how to use the practice of meditation to incorporate more love and peace in your life which in turn will have a profound transformation on your overall well-being. Please register to receive the Zoom link.

Workshop - 3D Modeling Basics: As a companion to our Tech Petting Zoo series, patrons ages 7 and up are encouraged to share and advance their learning of 3D modeling techniques in community. We will begin by progressing through the basic lessons available through Tinkercad, the free app for 3D design, electronics, and coding. A range of backgrounds, skills, and experience levels is desired for this community of practice-style workshop. If you are 7+ and wondering if this workshop is for you - it probably is! Registration is required, and bringing your own device is preferred.

Crafting for Adults: Friendship Bracelets: Celebrate Friendlove this February by making friendship bracelets for your close people. Drop-in, all materials provided with limited instruction. No registration required, but we can only seat 10 participants at a given time.

Black History Month – Black Banjo Reclamation Project: In honor of Black History Month, join us for an afternoon of Black music history and performance from Hannah Mayree of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, with special guests! The Black Banjo Reclamation Project (BBRP) is a group of musicians and performers employing a multitude of tactics to advance African American and Black life through the pursuance of the traditional folk musical practices relating to the banjo. BBRP is a cultural institution focused on reinstating and reconnecting Black people with African-based, diasporic cultural traditions of the banjo in local communities and around the world. Our healing comes from creating spaces for Black artists to thrive as we pursue the banjo— a historically Black and African communication and spiritual technology.

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Weekly Children's Events: 

Mother Goose on the Loose - This fast-paced lap-sit program for little ones and their caregivers includes songs, nursery rhymes, knee-bounces, and movement to help develop important pre-literacy skills. This class is appropriate for infants through 2 years old. This program starts promptly at 10:30am. Latecomers may not be admitted.

Baby and Me: This lap-sit program for little ones and their caregivers includes songs, nursery rhymes, knee-bounces, and movement to help develop important pre-literacy skills. This class is appropriate for infants through 2 years old.

Toddler - A 20-30 minute program that uses stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement to help young children ages 1-3 years old develop word and sound recognition, gain background knowledge of how the world works, and encourages families to build social connections with other parents and children.

Toddler Plus - Toddler Plus Storytime is a 20-30 minute program using stories, songs, fingerplays, and movement to help young children ages 2-3 years old develop word and sound recognition, gain background knowledge of how the world works, and encourage families to build social connections with other parents and children. Toddler Plus Storytime is a bit longer and more complex than what is typically presented during Toddler Storytime and is perfect for children about to enter preschool.

NEW! STEAM Wednesdays – Each week we will be leading a different STEAM focused program for ages 8 and up focusing on topics like Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Registration is required.

Family Storytime - Geared for a mix of ages, we invite families to participate as we read stories, sing songs, do fingerplays and more.

New Book Storytime:  A 20-30 minute storytime for children in Kindergarten through third grade featuring picture books new to our collection.  

Build with LEGO - We will provide the LEGO building blocks.  Use your imagination and creativity to create with them!  

Event Descriptions – Special Children’s and Family Events: 

Youth Art Club:  4th though 8th graders, meet at the Bay Farm Island Library on the second Thursday every month to create works of art! Celebrate love and friendship in February by learning a few basic sewing skills to create and decorate fabric Valentines. Spots are limited and registration is required. Register on our website or call us at 510-747-7787.

Lunar New Year:

Petit Picassos Art Class: Chúc Mừng Năm Mới and Gung Hay Fat Choy! Prepare to ring in the Lunar New Year with Petit Picassos Art Camp! We will celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year with festive stories, a special “Year of the Horse” art project, and a wishing wall to write down our hopes and wishes for the new year! Space is limited and registration is required. Call (510) 747-7787 to register. Open to families (ages 5+).

Blessings in Bloom – Lantern Calligraphy & Plum Blossom Art: Ring in the Lunar New Year with a Chinese calligraphy workshop for ages 8 and up. Participants will learn to write the character for "Fortune" and decorate their own lanterns to take home while learning about the significance of the lantern in Chinese culture and celebrations. Registration is required and space is limited. Registration will open January 26th, 2026.

Mandarin Bilingual Storytime:  Vita of Kids Go Mandarin will help us ring in the Lunar New Year and present a fun and engaging music program which will include movement and songs in both Mandarin and English. Join us for this joyous event.

Family Movie Matinee: Enjoy Smurfs (rated PG)! During movie showings we aim to create a sensory-friendly environment by keeping half the room lights on, lowering the volume, turning on movie captions, offering fidget toys to use during the movie, and leaving open seating with wobble cushions so kids have room to move around. Audience participants are welcome to bring in food, blankets, and pillows! We provide light refreshments and snacks during the movie screening.

Black History Month:

Meet JaNay Brown-Wood – Join us for a reading of the author’s newest book, This Hair Belongs, a joyful ode to Black hari that will empower readers to celebrate the historical, cultural, and emotional significance of their natural hair.

MOCHA at the Library: The Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) will be at the West End Library celebrating Black History Month. A local artist will be presenting a workshop featuring the work of Vanessa Brantley-Newton, well-known children's author and illustrator. Each participant will create a piece of art in the bright and colorful style of this African American artist. This event is for children age 5 and up. Space is limited and registration is required. Registration will open February 1st.

Collage Workshop: Celebrate Black History Month with a collage workshop inspired by the work of Rosie Lee Tompkins.  This is an intergenerational program (ages six to ninety-nine) led by local author and illustrator Constance Moore! Registration is required and space is limited. Call 510-747-7787 to sign up.

Drop-in Chess Club for Kids: Join us for drop-in Chess Club for Kids (8+) No instruction provided. Just bring yourself; boards and pieces will be available.