Alameda Free Library Event Alert - June 2023

Published on May 22, 2023

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Adult and Teen Events: 

• Lawyers in the Library: The Lawyers in the Library program provides free 15-minute consultations by phone with a volunteer attorney who will provide guidance on legal matters. Examples of areas covered include landlord/tenant disputes, probate matters, employment problems and other general consumer issues. Please see the online calendar for registration form and instructions.

• 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!
  
  

• Teen Advisory Board: 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.

• Teen Book Club: Teen book club members choose what we read from a variety of titles and genres each month and every book club member receives a free copy of the book to keep. The title we will be discussing in June is The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora. 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. Masks are strongly encouraged. 
  
  

• 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!

• 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! We will be playing a stand-alone adventure in 5th edition. 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.

• Alameda Great Books Discussion Group: Join us for the 2022-2023 discussion series. Alameda Great Books is free and open to the public. June selection is A Shorter Summa by Thomas Aquinas.

• Game Break: Don’t forget to take a break…A GAME BREAK! Try out our new games and/or watch others play. No registration needed, masks strongly encouraged. Teens only!

• 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 read recently that they enjoyed. This is a fun and informal way to get some recommendations and give some too. The June theme is Vacations. Please email the facilitator, Lynda, at llyndaw@gmail.com for more information.

• Mystery Book Club: Join the Alameda Free Library’s Mystery Book Clubfor 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 June mystery is Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner. Copies are available in our Alameda Free Library collection and through our LINK+ library partners. A limited number of free copies provided by the Friends of the Alameda Free Library will also be available soon at the Main Library. 
  
  
• Pride Movie Night –  Celebrate Pride month with the snappy and heartfelt film Bros (2022, R). Bobby, a neurotic podcast host, is on a rom-com journey navigating Tinder dates, opening a LGBTQ+ museum, and possibly, probably, stumbling towards love. Light snacks provided.

Event Descriptions – Ongoing Children’s/Family Events: 

Bay Farm Island 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. Every Tuesday at 7pm, all ages.
  
  
• 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 Thursday at 10:30am, ages 3-5.

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.
  
  
• 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 just read. Every Wednesday at 3:30pm, grades K-3rd.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.

West End Branch:

• Mil y un Cuentos: Una presentación de 30 minutos creado para familias con niños de cualquier edad. Los participantes aprenderán cuentos, canciones y rimas en español e inglés. La hora del cuento bilingüe se llevará a cabo lunes por la noche a las 7:00 pm. A 30 minute Bilingual Storytime intended for families with children of all ages held Monday evenings at 7:00 pm. Every Monday at 7pm, all ages.
  
  
• 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: 

• Brian Scott Magic:  We're kicking off our Summer Reading Challenge with a visit from Brian Scott Magic! Great for families, this interactive magic show, filled with Comedy and Magic, has been delighting audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for decades. All are welcome; children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

• Family Movie Matinee: Disney and Pixar’s “Turning Red” introduces Mei Lee, a 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. As if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda! Growing up sure is a beast. Featuring the voice talents of Rosalie Chuang and Sandra Oh as mother and daughter. Wondering what you can expect from a sensory-friendly movie event? Our goal is to create an inclusive environment that makes it easier for anyone with sensory sensitivities to enjoy their movie watching experience. Please visit our website calendar for more details.
  
  
• Bingo Schmingo: Join us for some musical fun! Bingo Schmingo Music is a lively presentation full of interactive songs, stories, and dances, suitable for the entire family. All are welcome; children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
  
  
• Drumm: Participants of all ages will explore, play, and discover how rhythm connects us with each other and the world around us. All are welcome; children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Event Descriptions – Special Adult/Teen Events: 

• Urban Cycling with Bonnie Wehmann:  Learn the basic rules of the road, how to equip your bicycle, fit your helmet, avoid bike theft, and prevent common crashes. One hour, indoor workshops for adults and teens. Please see the Alameda Free Library website calendar event listing for dates and times. No bike required.
  
  
• Study Hall @ AFL: Looking for a place to study? Need to catch up on assignments? Join us at the library! We'll provide snacks, coloring pages to de-stress, and plenty of open seating. Teens only please (ages 13-18)!
  
  
• Staying Safe Online 2023: Join us in the Main Library Computer Lab to learn about ways to stay safe online. This event will introduce and cover the basics of creating safe passwords, managing them on your personal devices, and knowing whether to trust things that may pop up while surfing the internet. We’ll also cover various ways to save your passwords across your personal devices, such as introducing various password managers such as 1Password and BitWarden. Space is limited and registration is required.
  
  
• Audubon Virtual Speaker Series: Join in Zoom for a presentation on Pushing Back Plants - The Invasive Spartina Project. San Francisco Bay is more than just the geographic feature that defines our region, it is a major global biodiversity hotspot. The largest estuary on the west coast of North America, it is a critical stopover along the Pacific Flyway migration route for millions of shorebirds and waterfowl. Atlantic cordgrass planted to stabilize dredge spoils in the 1970s has since hybridized with Pacific cordgrass to create a highly fertile hybrid swarm that crowds out native marsh vegetation and colonizes mudflats to the detriment of foraging shorebirds. Since 2005, the Coastal Conservancy’s Invasive Spartina Project has used airboats, genetic testing, sophisticated GIS, and a lot of hard, muddy work to push back the invasive plants that threaten habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, and the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. Learn about how hometown heroes are doing their part to address the global biodiversity crisis. The zoom link is available on the Alameda Free Library calendar webpage, or on the website of the Golden Gate Audubon Society.
  
  
• All Your Favorite Music is (Probably) Black: Join us for a humorous, highly immersive, and historically accurate talk that uncovers the African-American roots of popular music genres that appear to be free of African-Americans. Utilizing a rich audiovisual presentation, Mark Montgomery French reveals the sonic secrets behind African-Americans’ cultural invisibility within the musical categories they helped define.
  
  
• Grain to Glass: Come learn about the collaboration between farmer, maltster, and brewer in a "behind-the-scenes tour" with the co-founder of local malthouse Admiral Maltings, Dave McLean. Discover all you never knew you never knew about malt: What is it? Where does it come from? And how do decisions at each step along the way shape the liquid in your glass?