Community Connections: Mental Health Support

Are you in need of mental health support?  Mental health specialists from Alameda County ​Behavioral Health Care Services will be at the Main Library, providing outreach and support for unhoused individuals with a mental health need. ......More

Are you in need of mental health support?  Mental health specialists from Alameda County ​Behavioral Health Care Services will be at the Main Library, providing outreach and support for unhoused individuals with a mental health need. Get accessibility information.

Free College Course: Clemente

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For mo......More

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For more information: www.oaklandclemente.org

English Conversation Club

Practice speaking English with other learners and Library staff. New topics every week. All levels are welcome!   Get accessibility information.

Meet the Author - Alex Werth - On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland

Join authors Alex Werth and Rickey Vincent in conversation about Werth's new book On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland.  Chicago has house. Detroit has techno. But Oakland slaps. On Loop explores the role of Black dance music and sonic politics in recurring st......More

Join authors Alex Werth and Rickey Vincent in conversation about Werth's new book On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland.  Chicago has house. Detroit has techno. But Oakland slaps. On Loop explores the role of Black dance music and sonic politics in recurring struggles over race and space in Oakland, California. Insisting on the centrality of sound in everyday social movements—from the mobilization of funk music and boogaloo dance during Black Power to the policing of the Hyphy movement in the 2000s—Alex Werth argues that Black dance music is not merely a soundtrack to or record of urban resistance. Rather, its very sound waves have animated looping clashes over development, dispossession, and Black freedom. Through studies of downtown nightclubs, Lake Merritt, and the Eastmont Mall—geographies rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland’s culture and politics—Werth reveals how the liberatory sonic politics of funk, hip-hop, and hyphy rap have been met with a repetitive "war on nuisance." As both a means of empowerment and a magnet for policing, Black dance music has transformed not only Oakland's nightlife, but also its streets, parks, and neighborhoods. On Loop is a rousing encounter with the sound that moves urban life. Alex Werth is a geographer, movement researcher, and DJ. His first book, On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland (UC Press), explores the centrality of Black dance music and soundscapes in the everyday social movements that have made and remade this iconic and contested city. Werth researched On Loop while living, working, and making art in the East Bay from 2009 to 2022. He served as a member of the curatorial team at Oakland’s Matatu Festival of Stories, a fellow at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the co-curator and resident DJ of Oakland’s Good Culture. In 2018, he worked on Belonging in Oakland, the City of Oakland’s plan for cultural equity. He now lives in his hometown in Western Massachusetts, but continues to work in the Bay Area as a policy and research specialist for housing justice. Dr. Rickey Vincent is a scholar, educator, radio host and author. He obtained his Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley in 2008, and lectures on black music history, black power and social movements, the cultural politics of Hip Hop, and issues of African American culture and globalization. He is the author of Funk: The Music, the People and the Rhythm of The One (St. Martin’s Press 1996), a definitive study of the culture and politics of funk music; and Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers’ Band, and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music (Lawrence Hill Books 2013). Party Music tells the story of The Lumpen, the short lived R&B band comprised of rank-and-file members of the Black Panther Party in 1970. The interaction of soul music aesthetics and black power politics is central to Party Music, and is embedded in Dr. Vincent’s research and practice. He hosts The History of Funk on KPFA radio.

Trunk or Treat at the Lake

Sticker treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to READ! Librarians Anne and Pat will give away stickers and books at OPRYD's Lake Merritt Trunk or Treat 

30th Annual Día de los Muertos festival

The Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival is a free, outdoor festival that brings over 100,000 people to the vibrant, culturally-rich Fruitvale neighborhood to enjoy world-class live music, family-friendly games,......More

The Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival is a free, outdoor festival that brings over 100,000 people to the vibrant, culturally-rich Fruitvale neighborhood to enjoy world-class live music, family-friendly games, rides and activities, traditional Latin American artisans, and the stunning altar artistic installations created by community members paying homage to los Muertos.

Tenants Rights Clinic

Scroll down for English translation.  Problems with your landlord? OTU's Community Counselors will be at the Main Library to answer your tenants rights questions. This event is free and open to all Oakland tenants. Make an appointment by emailing ......More

Scroll down for English translation.  Problems with your landlord? OTU's Community Counselors will be at the Main Library to answer your tenants rights questions. This event is free and open to all Oakland tenants. Make an appointment by emailing [email protected] or calling (510) 704-5276. Walk-ins are also accepted as space allows. Please bring your lease or any related documentation. Please be advised that OTU Community Counselors are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice. Occurs every First Sunday. Call Oakland Tenants Union to confirm. Get accessibility information.

Let it Move You Zumba Jam!

Come to the library and have fun! Zumba Jam with instructor Tabitha Pulliam on the first, second and third Mondays of the month. Get accessibility information.

Free College Course: Clemente

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For mo......More

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For more information: www.oaklandclemente.org

Beyond D&D Roleplaying Game Night

You have been chosen to venture to the deepest dungeons and the furthest reaches of outer space with Oakland's newest adventuring guild. Players can expect short campaigns featuring interesting and innovative TTRPG systems led by an experienced and imaginative DM. This......More

You have been chosen to venture to the deepest dungeons and the furthest reaches of outer space with Oakland's newest adventuring guild. Players can expect short campaigns featuring interesting and innovative TTRPG systems led by an experienced and imaginative DM. This event is suitable for beginners and seasoned players alike who are interested in collaborative storytelling and problem solving. Drop in is okay but space is limited, please call or email for details. All materials provided, but please:  have a positive mental attitude be ready to meet new people come on time and be prepared to commit to the full session This session is intended for 18+. For teen roleplaying check out Teen Dungeons & Dragons Club Mask wearing is appreciated and will be available. 10/21-11/4 we're playing: Mothership You’ll excavate dangerous derelict spacecraft, explore strange unknown worlds, encounter hostile alien life and examine the horrors encroaching upon your every move. Mothership is a science fiction horror tabletop role-playing game with Old School Revival style rules published by Tuesday Knight Games in 2018.

Adult Arts & Crafts at Main Library

Join us every 1st and 3rd Wednesday as we try out a new arts & craft activity!  This program is for adults only. Supplies will be provided. No artistic experience necessary! October 1st: Guest Presenter Wobi Blobi October 15th......More

Join us every 1st and 3rd Wednesday as we try out a new arts & craft activity!  This program is for adults only. Supplies will be provided. No artistic experience necessary! October 1st: Guest Presenter Wobi Blobi October 15th: Mini Pinatas with Nabilla November 5th: Painting & Decorating Ceramic Bisque Skulls with Nabilla November 19th: Fairy House with Nabilla December 3rd: Shrinky Dinks with Jean December 17th: Snow Globes with Jean Please check back prior to the dates listed above, as these activities may change on short notice. Get accessibility information.

Community Connections: Mental Health Support

Are you in need of mental health support?  Mental health specialists from Alameda County ​Behavioral Health Care Services will be at the Main Library, providing outreach and support for unhoused individuals with a mental health need. ......More

Are you in need of mental health support?  Mental health specialists from Alameda County ​Behavioral Health Care Services will be at the Main Library, providing outreach and support for unhoused individuals with a mental health need. Get accessibility information.

Free College Course: Clemente

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For mo......More

interested in: Building college-level reading, writing and discussion skills? Learning through conversation in a small, supportive classroom? Earning up to 3 transferable college credits? Free childcare, free transportation assistance, and GED not needed. For more information: www.oaklandclemente.org

English Conversation Club

Practice speaking English with other learners and Library staff. New topics every week. All levels are welcome!   Get accessibility information.