Alameda Free Library's July 2024 Newsletter
Adventure Begins at Your Library!
 
Important notices: 
*All library locations will be closed on Thursday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day.*
*Computer Lab hours at the Main Library are temporarily limited. Please make a reservation here for a 30 minute one-on-one tech help session.*
Summer Reading continues through July 31st!
For more details, please visit www.alamedafree.org/SRP2024
 
Featured Resource 
Enjoy complimentary unlimited access to the world’s finest journalism on NYTimes.com. Just follow the link and click "REDEEM". 
 
No credit card is required to redeem your code.
To activate your access, you’ll need to log in or register first.
Not applicable for existing digital or home delivery subscribers.
 
July Programs
For Adults
  • Make It. Tuesday, July 2nd & 16th, 4:30PM | Main Library. Bring your own project and materials. Limited instruction available. All fiber crafts welcome.
  • AFL Blood Drive. Tuesday, July 9th, 12PM | Main Library. To sign up please visit redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code ALAMEDALIBRARY 
    To save time while saving a life please fill out a Rapidpass.
  • Mobile Bike Repair. Saturday, July 13th, 12PM | Main Library. The BikeMobile can fix flat tires, adjust brakes and gears, and even replace broken or worn out parts like chains, seats, and tires. Bike or no bike, everyone is welcome to attend to learn about maintenance, safety, and more.
  • Alameda Writers' Group. Saturday, July 13th, 1PM | Main Library. We provide 5 short prompts for your choosing for warm-up or inspiration. Join us in person or on Zoom.
  • Plant Swap. Tuesday, July 23rd, 6PM | Main Library. Bring your cuttings or plants that need a new home to swap with other gardeners.
  • Birds of the Bay Area. Thursday, July 25th, 3PM | West End Branch. Join naturalists from East Bay Regional Parks to discuss the various birds of the Bay Area and beyond!
Book Clubs
  • A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book. Bay Farm Branch. Third Wednesday of the month at 1:00. This month's theme: Sense of Place.
  • Main Library Mystery Book Club. Fourth Monday of the month at 6:00pm. Copies are available in the Alameda Free Library collection and through LINK+. This month's pick: Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li.
  • Bay Farm Mystery Book Club. Fourth Tuesday of the month at 5:30PM. Copies are available in the Alameda Free Library collection and through LINK+. This month's pick: Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li.
  • A Novel Idea. Main Library. Last Tuesday of the month at 5:30PM. Copies are available in the Alameda Free Library collection and through LINK+. This month's pick: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson.
 
For Teens
  • Dungeons & Dragons. Monday, July 1st & 8th, 6PM | Main Library. Looking to get into Dungeons & Dragons? No experience needed. Character sheets, dice, and rules explanations provided. 
  • Teen Book Club. Wednesday, July 3rd, 4PM | Main Library. Teens choose what we read each month. Free copies of the book while supplies last. Next up: Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. 
  • Color Me Mine. Wednesday, July 17th, 2PM | Main Library. Unleash your creativity as you paint and personalize your own pottery.
  • Swiftie Friendship Bracelets. Saturday, July 20th, 1PM | Main Library. Tween and Teen Swifties (ages 8-18), join us to make friendship bracelets and have the best day chatting all things Taylor. 
                                                                  
For Children
  • Build with LEGO. Every Thursday, 3:30PM | Bay Farm Branch. We will provide the LEGO building blocks. Use your imagination and creativity!
  • Coding with Lego Summer Series. Every Monday & Thursday through July 25th, 3PM | Main Library. LEGO Education SPIKE™ combines the well known playful blocks with easy-to-use hardware and an intuitive coding software to create hands-on purposeful play. Sign up is required.
  • Junior Librarian July. Every Wednesday in July, 2:30PM | Bay Farm. During this four week series, we will focus on a different aspect of libraries each session. Sign up for just one topic that interests you or sign up for them all. 4th-6th grades. Sign up is required.
  • Museum of Children's Art Series. Multiple dates through July 29th. Teaching artists from Oakland's Museum of Children's Art will be conducting sessions at all three Alameda Free Library locations. See website for more details and to register.
  • Flashlight Fridays. Every Friday through July 19th, 2PM | Main Library. Camp out and read with us! We have tents, pillows, a "campfire" and, of course, flashlights! Open to independent readers ages 5-12. Each session is 30 minutes long and registration is required.
  • Tracy the Animal Show Guy. Saturday, July 6th. Get up close and personal with rabbits, chickens, and even a huge boa constrictor! Ages 3+ and their caregivers.
    • 11:30AM | Bay Farm Branch
    • 2PM | Main Library
  • Coding with Lego (Family Edition). Saturday, July 13th, 1PM | West End Branch. This activity is designed for families to participate together. Children ages 6+ and their favorite adult(s) are welcome. Sign up is required.
  • Family Movie Matinee. Sunday, July 14th, 2PM | Main Library. Join us for a sensory-friendly, family focused movie matinee! July selection: Wish.
  • Fratello Marionettes. Saturday, July 20th, 2:30PM | West End Branch. 
    Fratello Marionettes present Aladdin! All ages.
  • Tween Crafternoon. Thuesday, July 25th, 3:30PM | Main Library. A free, drop-in program where kids in 4th through 6th grades can unwind, unplug, create, craft and socialize.
  • Play Doh Playtime. Saturday, July 27th, 10AM | West End Branch. Join us for Play-Doh Playtime, where kids can squish, sculpt, and be as creative as they like! Ages 2+ and their caregivers.
Storytime Schedule
  • Bay Farm Island Branch:
    • Family Storytime: Every Tuesday at 7:00PM, all ages 
    • Preschool Storytime: Every Monday at 10:30AM, ages 3-5
    • Toddler Storytime: Every Thursday at 10:30AM, ages 1-3
    • Music & Movement Summer Series: Tuesdays at 10:30AM
      (through July 30th), all ages
    • Crab Cover Storytime: Tuesday, July 16th, 1PM, ages 5 and up
  • Main Library, Children's Programming Room:
    • Preschool Storytime: Every Tuesday at 10:30AM, ages 3-5
    • School-Age Storytime: Every Wednesday at 3:30PM, ages 5-8
    • Mother Goose on the Loose: Every Thursday at 10:30am, ages 0-2
    • Toddler Storytime: Every Friday at 10:30AM, ages 1-3
    • Toddler Storytime: Every Saturday at 10:30AM, ages 1-3
  • West End Branch:
    • Family Pajama Storytime: Every Monday at 7:00PM, all ages
    • Toddler Storytime: Every Tuesday at 10:30AM, ages 1-3
  • Teddy Bear Picnic:
    • Wednesday, July 3rd, 10:30AM @ Leydecker Park
    • Wednesday, July 10th, 10:30AM @ Longfellow Park
    • Wednesday, July 17th, 10:30AM @ Lincoln Park
    • Wednesday, July 24th, 10:30AM @ Jean Sweeney Open Space
    • Wednesday, July 31st, 10:30AM @ Krusi Park
 
                                                                 
Staff Picks
Lauren is reading...
 
The Bullet Swallower
by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
In 1964, when Jaime Sonoro, Mexico's most renowned actor and singer, discovers a book telling of the horrific crimes committed by his ancestors, he must pay for their crimes unless he can uncover the truth about his grandfather, the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.
Beth is reading...
 
Enter Ghost
by Isabella Hammad
A stage actress returns to Palestine to visit her older sister and becomes unwittingly involved with a local group who wants to put on a production of Hamlet in the West Bank using all Palestinian actors.
Natalie is reading...

Thirst
by Marina Yuszczuk
A vampire who has seen the rise and fall of civilizations and a young woman struggling to cope with her mother’s terminal illness become unlikely companions in the city of Buenos Aires.
Nico is reading...
 
It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror
by Joe Vallese
Twenty-five narrative essays by contemporary LGBTQ writers reflecting on queerness in horror film, from Hitchcock to HALLOWEEN.
Vicky is reading...
 
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
by Curtis Chin

The cofounder of the Asian American Writers' Workshop tells his story of growing up as a gay Chinese kid in 1980s Detroit and how he found refuge in a welcoming Chinese restaurant.
Jena is reading...
 
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson
During Kentucky's Great Depression, Pack Horse Library Project member Cussy Mary Carter, a young outcast, delivers books to the hillfolk of Troublesome Creek, hoping to spread learning in these desperate times, but not everyone is keen on her or the Library Project. 
Isak is reading...

No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies
by Julian Aguon
A collection of soulful ruminations about love, loss, struggle, resilience and power. Part memoir, part manifesto, the book is both a coming-of-age story and a call for justice -- for everyone but, in particular for indigenous peoples -- his own and others.
Looking for more recommendations?
Check out these book lists created by AFL librarians!
ALAMEDA FREE LIBRARYMAIN |1550 OAK ST.WEST END | 788 SANTA CLARA AVE.BAY FARM | 3221 MECARTNEY RD.
510-747-7777https://www.alamedafree.org/