Alameda Free Library Event Alert September 2024

Published on September 05, 2024

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Adult and Teen Events: 

• 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 title we will discuss in September is Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto. All teens, ages 13 to 18, are invited to join the book group. Registration link is on the calendar. We will be meeting in person in the Stafford Room at the Main Library.

• Dungeons & Dragons: Want to try Dungeons & Dragons but can’t find a group? Looking for a new party? Come to our Dungeons & Dragons Teen Meetup! No previous experience required. Character sheets will be provided as well as rules explanations and dice. Registration is encouraged; please see the online calendar for the registration link.

• Teen Advisory Board (TAB): Do you wish the library would do more events and programs that you’re interested in? Have you been anxiously awaiting a new book and you want the library to buy it? Do you need an impressive membership to put on your applications and resumes? Join the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) to let the library know what you’re interested in. The Teen Advisory Board is your chance to make a difference in the library for yourself and other teens in Alameda. Members of the Teen Advisory Board will help plan teen programs and choose teen events. Teen Advisory Board members will earn community service hours for every meeting and event that they participate in.

• Make It: Calling all knitters, crochetiers, embroidery enthusiasts, and fiber ateliers! Please join us in the Family Study Room at Main for a fiber arts craft circle. Please bring your own project, materials, and expertise. Limited instruction available!

• Alameda Free Library Blood Drive: Please give blood if you can! To sign up please visit redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code ALAMEDALIBRARY. To save time while saving a life please fill out a Rapidpass. Learn more at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass

• Alameda Great Books Discussion Group: Join us for a discussion of Rothschild’s Fiddle by Anton Chekhov. 

• Alameda Library Writers’ Group: This group is open to all adult writers looking for an opportunity to connect and share with other writers. At the meeting you are welcome to share your writing and everyone will be given a writing prompt. Whatever your genre, you are welcome to join the group! Join in person or via Zoom.

• 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 September theme is New England. Please email the facilitator, Lynda, at llyndaw@gmail.com for more information.

• Mystery Book Club: Join the Alameda Free Library’s Mystery Book Club for a fun and engaging literary discussion!  We are offering this popular book club in two different locations, the Main Library and the Bay Farm Island Library. The September mystery is Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett.

• A Novel Idea: A Novel Idea is a book club for adults featuring novels from diverse genres and authors. Join us for a lively discussion and deepen your engagement with your reading! The September book is Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.

• Movie Night: Please join us for a screening of Licorice Pizza (2021; rated R). In the early 1970s, teen actor Gary Valentine navigates the successes and pitfalls of burgeoning fame while traversing the tricky terrain of first love with the charming Alana as the noteworthy Licorice Pizza record store chain begins to take root in California's San Fernando Valley. Snacks will be provided.

Event Descriptions – Special Adult/Teen Events: 

• Renters Rights Presented by HERA: Join us for a discussion with Housing and Economic Rights Advocates covering the basics of renters’ rights, including topics such as: habitability problems; rent increases; reasonable accommodation of disabilities.

• Human Library: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be neurodivergent? Are you curious about the lived experience of people from different cultures? Do you have questions for people who live with stigma and prejudice but don’t know who to ask? Come to the Human LibraryⓇ and borrow one or more of our human books for open and vulnerable dialog about what it’s like to be them. Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registration is appreciated.

• Teen Zine Workshop: Teens, Create your own zine! Come explore an art form and express your unique style. Materials provided for collaging, drawing, and more!

• Climate Solutions - What Alameda Youth are Doing: Hosted by Youthpower Climate Action, join Alameda young people for an hour-long panel about a few ways YOU can fight climate change. Listen to the youth as they present and reflect on their projects, and afterward, explore how you can get involved or start a project of your own. This program is for anyone ages 12-112. Families welcome!

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Children’s/Family Events: 

• Bay Farm Island Branch:
  • Preschool Storytime: A 30-45 minute program geared toward children ages 3-5 years old. Creating a language-rich environment through books, music, and movement, this program also offers children an avenue toward Kindergarten readiness by asking them to take turns, share, and follow simple directions. Mondays at 10:30am, ages 3-5.
  • Build with LEGO: We will provide the LEGO building blocks.  Use your imagination and creativity to create with them! New time! Every Thursday at 2:30 pm.
  • Toddler Storytime: 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. Thursdays at 10:30 AM.
  • Family Storytime: Put on your pajamas and join us at the Bay Farm Island Library for family storytime! Geared for a mix of ages, we invite families to participate as we read stories, sing songs, do fingerplays and more. Every Tuesday at 7pm, all ages.
• Main Library, Children's Programming Room:
  • Preschool Storytime: A 30-45 minute program geared toward children ages 3-5 years old. Creating a language-rich environment through books, music, and movement, this program also offers children an avenue toward Kindergarten readiness by asking them to take turns, share, and follow simple directions. Every Tuesday at 10:30am, ages 3-5.
  • Toddler Storytime: 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. Every Friday & Saturday at 10:30am, ages 1-3.
  • 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. Every Thursday at 10:30am, ages 0-2.
  • School-Age Storytime: A 45 minute program for children in Kindergarten through third grade. Through the use of books and conversation, children are encouraged to engage with the stories, learning context from pictures and memory, and building comprehension by asking questions about the book they just read. Every Wednesday at 3:30pm, grades K-3rd.
• West End Branch:
  • Family Storytime: Put on your pajamas and join us at the Bay Farm Island Library for family storytime! Geared for a mix of ages, we invite families to participate as we read stories, sing songs, do fingerplays and more.
  • Toddler Storytime: 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. Every Tuesday at 10:30am, ages 1-3.

Event Descriptions - Special Children’s/Family Events:

• Family Movie Matinee - The Super Mario Brothers Movie (2023): What to expect during the Family Movie Matinee program? 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.

• Robert Liu-Trujillo Author Event: Author-illustrator Robert Liu-Trujillo's warm and vibrant watercolor illustrations are a celebration of mixed families and the many individuals who help make a neighborhood feel like a community. Come hear about his fascinating journey to becoming a children’s book artist, and listen to him read Fresh Juice!

• Play-Doh Playtime: Join us at the West End Library for Play-Doh Playtime, where kids can squish, sculpt, and be as creative as they like! Recommended for children ages 2+ and their caregivers.

• Tween Crafternoon: Kids ages 9 to 11, get crafty at the Main Library on the fourth Thursday of every month! Tween Crafternoon is a free, drop-in program where kids in 4th through 6th grades can unwind, unplug, create, craft and socialize. Join us as we demonstrate and provide supplies for a different STREAM centered activity each time we meet, or bring your own project to work on in a shared space. Like to journal? Find inspiration from our community craft cart. No registration required.

• Todd Parr Day: All kids are special, all families are special, and everyone deserves to be celebrated for being who they are! Join us to celebrate the unique & wonderful things that make it so great to be who YOU are. Families are welcome and no registration is required.