If you were lucky enough to visit the Rockridge Library this morning, you likely saw lots of furry friends in the parking lot and even more happy young faces. Funded by the Friends of the Rockridge Library, the library organized a popular petting zoo where some of our littlest neighbors had an opportunity to get up close and personal to animals they never see on the streets of Oakland. Supplied by Barnyard Pals, there were bunnies, ducks, a mama goat, a baby goat, chickens, a

You might not pair wine and watercolors, but your library did, and the result was fantastic. Ally Hack, a Librarian at the Rockridge branch, dreamed up a new program for the library: what would happen if you paired wine tasting at a local establishment with learning to paint at the library? This Friends-sponsored event was an experiment in creativity and fun, and the smiles on attendees' faces made it all worthwhile. The program started off at the Barrel Room on College stree

Technology is nothing new to libraries, and increasingly bleeding edge technology is debuting at public libraries across the country. Just this week, Facebook's Oculus announced it will donate 100 sets of their virtual reality Rift headsets, touch controllers, and computers to libraries in California! In the Bay Area, this includes San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland, Sunnyvale, and Campbell. WOW! No news on which branches at the Oakland Public Library, but I'm crossing my fingers th

The Oakland Public Library twitter feed has been so much fun lately. Before game one in the champion series, a challenge from the Oakland Library to the Cleveland Public Library was made public on Twitter: And then the deluge. It appeared as if each branch of the Oakland Public Library joined in with photos oozing with Warrior Pride! Patrons, staff, kids, even Books the dog was showing its Dub Nation love. And then the staff at our library showed up! Go Warriors! Go Oakland P

Are you looking for something fun to prevent summer brain drain? The Rockridge Library is excited to host a series of science adventures for K-8 kiddos this summer. On Wednesday afternoons in June and July, students in the community are invited to come and play with Scientific Adventures for Girls (yes, boys are encouraged to come too)! In each session, science-loving teachers will lead groups through a design challenge. Event leaders aren’t saying what they’ll do exactly, bu