North Berkeley sees rash of armed robberies There have been more than a dozen armed robberies, including in broad daylight in Ohlone Park (above), in the city since November 11.
Tibetan Buddhism flourishes in downtown Berkeley Harold Way, a small street in the heart of downtown Berkeley, has become a new center for Tibetan Buddhism.
$1 million for branch libraries; lawsuit pending The Neighborhood Library Campaign has raised almost a third of its $3.5 million goal, but not everyone is happy with the planned renovations.
How brainy is Berkeley? It’s safe to report we crush both Boulder and Ann Arbor, but just how smart a city is Berkeley?
Judge hears Mitch Kapor Berkeley home case Almost a year after the Lotus founder got the go-ahead to build a new home in Berkeley, the residents who oppose the project got their day in court.
Tag Archives: Berkeley Public Library
How to keep toddlers (and you) happy over the holidays
By Belinda Lyons-Newman
This time of year presents the opportunity and challenge of finding fun creative things to do with little ones who may be home from preschool or other childcare during the holidays. What better place to be for the holidays than right here in our wonderful city? If you are looking for some fun Berkeley activities with your toddler between now and the end of the year read on for my top picks:
Berkeley reaches partial settlement with library critics
Berkeley and a group called Concerned Library Users have reached a partial settlement of a lawsuit that threatened to delay the reconstruction of the city’s branch libraries.
The City Council voted Monday evening to accept a legal settlement that requires it to repeal an ordinance passed in July. That measure permitted the city’s branch libraries to obtain a use permit, rather than a variance, when remodeling or reconstructing one of the four branch libraries.
Concerned Library Users had argued … Continue reading »
Best of Berkeleyside: This week’s most popular posts
$1 million for branch libraries; lawsuit pending
Just months before renovations begin on two of Berkeley’s branch libraries, the Neighborhood Library Campaign announced that it has raised more than $1 million – almost a third of its $3.5 million goal — for the restoration work.
The funds will be used to repair the oak furniture in the Claremont and North branch libraries, buy new desks, chairs and tables, change out fluorescent lights, and acquire other equipment for the North and West branches, according to Linda Schacht Gage, the chair of the Neighborhood Library capital campaign.
“It shows that the community is behind us,” said Gage.
The $1 million came from a group of about 100 people, and the campaign will now branch out more broadly to ask for support. The Friends of the Berkeley Public Library donated $150,000 and the filmmaker Saul Zaentz contributed $25,000, she said. Then, in late November, one donor gave $200,000 and another contributed $250,000, putting the fund over the $1 million mark. Both will remain anonymous for a while, said Gage.
But the good fundraising news is shadowed slightly by recent challenges to the city’s plans to renovate its four branch libraries by 2013. A group calling itself Concerned Library Users filed a lawsuit against Berkeley in September (you can download a PDF of the nine-page filing), contending that funds from Measure FF cannot be used to tear down and rebuild the South and West branches, which the city wants to do. … Continue reading »
A mobile of banned books at Berkeley Public Library
This week is Banned Book Week and the Berkeley Public Library has erected a mobile of books that have been banned in various countries. It’s on display in the atrium of the Central Library through Oct. 31.
It’s the fourth year that the library has displayed banned books in this way. We spot The Da Vinci Code up there — the bestselling Dan Brown book was banned in Lebanon after complaints it was offensive to Christianity.
The … Continue reading »
The Berkeley public library: a few facts
First library in Berkeley opened in 1893 with 264 books
Rose Shattuck donated site of her old rose garden for library in 1905
John Galen Howard designed the original building built at Kittredge and Shattuck
Andrew Carnegie donated $40,000 to build the structure
In 1934, James Plachek designed building that is now called Central
Placheck also designed North and Claremont branches
Library now has more than 500,000 items
From July 1 2009 … Continue reading »
New designs on Berkeley libraries
The Berkeley Public Library is redesigning three of its outposts — the South Branch library on Russell and MLK Way, the Claremont library on Benvenue at Ashby and the North Branch on The Alameda (above) — and is holding meetings where the public can see the designs the assigned architectural teams have come up with.
On Wednesday February 10 at 6:30 pm Field Paoli will present the latest design for South Branch, and Gould Evans/Baum Thornley will present … Continue reading »
The Berkeley Wire: 1.11.10
Photo by Epanastasi/Berkeleyside Flickr pool]
Arthur Rosenfeld turns off the (energy efficient) lights [LA Times]
Jana Bouc sketches Berkeley’s Public Library [Jana's Journal]
God agrees with you in Berkeley: a visit to our city [Philip Greenspun]
Daren Fields named interim director of city health department [Daily Planet]
Library’s new Encore
The Berkeley Public Library has just launched a new search interface it calls Encore. That sounds trivial, I know, but it’s really a powerful research tool that greatly expands the utility of the library’s databases.
At first, Encore seems as if it just presents library catalog searches with improved graphics (it shows book covers, for example). Look a little closer, however, and there are some useful additions. You can refine your search with tags, there are … Continue reading »
Walk on the wild side
Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground is about as New York as anything can be. But tonight at the Berkeley Central Library you can imagine yourself in a different downtown.
At 6:30 this evening, Richie Unterberger will be presenting rare film of the Velvet Underground and talking about his book, White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day By Day.
