Berkeley Public Library Response to COVID-19 Coronavirus
City Health Officer's Shelter in Place Order
 Berkeley Public Library patrons,
 
As you most likely have heard already, this afternoon the Health Officer of the City of Berkeley joined the Public Health Officers of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties to announce a legal order directing residents to shelter at home.

This unprecedented action legally limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential needs for three weeks beginning March 17.
 For further information, please review the FAQs posted on the City of Berkeley's website. 

 
It is imperative we all abide by the orders of the Public Health Officer and the Library must take additional actions beyond postponing programming and the closing of our facilities.

1. In-person outreach efforts will cease. Every month Library staff visit dozens of classrooms and hold programs at community events. These will be canceled until further notice. 
 
2. All book drops will be closed. Please retain Library materials until the Library reopens. Most items currently checked out will be automatically renewed and the Library ceased issuing fines for the majority of materials in 2018. If a fine on a Library material does accrue, it will be waived.
 
3. Public service phone lines will not be answered and responses to email queries may be slower than usual. We apologize for the inconvenience as we hoped to continue to offer prompt customer service throughout the crisis. However, as City employees, all Library staff are designated as emergency service workers and must be available for assignments from the City Manager.
 
Throughout this crisis, the Library’s mission remains the same: to provide equitable access to reading, learning, and community engagement. Please do explore our vast collection of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, music, movies, virtual classes and more found online. Your Berkeley Public Library card gives you 24/7 access to these resources on your personal devices including smart phones, tablets, computers and smart TVs.

We look forward to being able to connect with you when conditions allow it! Until then, we encourage you to find ways to compassionately and kindly support one another as we collectively work to protect each other’s safety and health.

On behalf of the Berkeley Public Library,
 
Elliot Warren
Acting Director of Library Services
 
Library Access from Home
With digital services from Berkeley Public Library, card holders have 24/7 free access to books, audiobooks, magazines, movies, classes and more. 

Find out more about our numerous resources from the Downloads & Streaming page. 
Some of our most popular services include the following:
 
Ebooks & Audiobooks

Overdrive, Enki and Hoopla for downloadable ebooks and audiobooks.

 
Movies

Kanopy and Hoopla for independent movies and documentaries.
Newspapers

With free access to the NY Times online and the San Francisco Chronicle digital edition, you can stay up to date on the latest news. 
Magazines & Comics

RBDigital offers full-color digital popular magazines for adults and Flipster offers magazines for kids.
 
Hoopla for a collection of comics. 
Online Learning

Through Gale Presents: Udemy, you can learn and improve skills across business, tech, design, and personal interests with access to 3500+ on-demand video courses taught by world-class instructors.

You can learn to speak more than 70 world languages and dialects with Mango Languages.
Music
 
Streaming music is available from Hoopla as well as from Naxos, which includes classical, jazz and world music, and Alexander Street, which features contemporary world music, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and more.
Explore all online resources, including research databases, here: https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/explore/elibrary
 
Reliable Information and Updates
During times of crisis, it can be daunting to find reliable sources of information. 

For trustworthy information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the latest from the City of Berkeley please refer to: 

 
www.cityofberkeley.info/coronavirus 


 
To receive communications from the City of Berkeley as they are released, subscribe here:

www.cityofberkeley.info/subscribe
  
 
 
In addition to the City of Berkeley website, the following resources contain reliable information on COVID-19 coronavirus:
 
California Department of Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization
 

 
Berkeley Public Library
2090 Kittredge St.
Berkeley, California 94704
510.981.6100
www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/