Oakland Public Library

The Rockridge District's annual Halloween parade is today, October 25! 🎃 While you're out strolling from 11am-2pm, make sure you stop by the Rockridge Branch for storytime, arts & crafts with MOCHA, performances, & of course trick-or-treating. 🍫 Take plenty of family photos and tag @oaklibrary 📸

This librarian-curated reading guide consists of 44 books from OPL’s Filipino American collections covering children’s fairy tales and folklore, young adult graphic novels, adult mystery novels, memoirs, and more. Browse books 📚➡️ https://bit.ly/4yFDHD4 #BookSky #FilipinoAmericanHeritageMonth

Celebrate #DíaDeLosMuertos at your library! We have sugar skull decorating activities for children at several locations through the end of October. 💀 🌼 You can also contact your local branch to see if there is a community ofenda that you can contribute to. Event details ➡️ https://bit.ly/4shMXvq

Scary stories that take place during #Halloween time! 👻🪦😱 Start reading 📚 ➡️ 🔗 https://bit.ly/48cjvxG #SpookySeason #YANovels #BookRecs #BookSky #ScaryStories

Fruitvale Branch will be closed on 10/21 and 10/22 due to maintenance.

Where would we be without our Friends! October 18-24, 2026 is #NationalFriendsOfLibrariesWeek and we want to highlight just a few of the many, many ways that our Friends support OPL and its patrons across the city. ❤️ Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4ifEqEY #IHellaLoveLibraries #Oaklibrary

The Elmhurst Branch is closed today, Monday, October 19, 2026 due to a power outage. Elmhurst Branch will re-open tomorrow.

The Fruitvale Branch is closed today Monday, October 19, 2026 due to maintenance.

In 1969, The #BlackPantherParty started the Free Breakfast for School Children Program in Oakland. As one of it's survival programs, the goal was to feed children, improve nutrition, and demonstrate mutual aid in underserved communities. Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/3UqVQ9E #OaklandHistory

Founded in 2020, the Trash Falcons Trash Museum of Trash features amazing and questionably historic items found on weekly Trash Falcons missions — preserving, documenting and sharing the hidden stories in Oakland’s found trash. Check out the curatorial talk and exhibit: https://bit.ly/3Wuomrs

❤️‍🩹🩺 Next week, October 20 starting at 10am! Get free primary and urgent care, dental services, vaccinations, and blood pressure check from Alameda Health System's mobile medical clinic. No health insurance or ID required. More info: https://bit.ly/4oCrU5j #MedicalServices #PublicHealth

Learn how your kidneys are doing and what you can do to improve kidney health with Berkeley Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program at the library. More info: https://bit.ly/4yhdwSX #KidneyHealth #MedicalScreening

#SpookySeason is here 🎃 We're hosting cozy #Halloween storytimes, candle making, crafts, and magic shows all this month! The annual trick-or-treating parade will be at the Main Library on Halloween day! Details ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dBrW94 #Oaklibrary #HauntedHouse #TheTown #trickortreating

Artist, designer Lea Redmond will discuss her latest book, "This is For You: Gift-Giving as a Way of Life." Copies of the book will be available for purchase by Tally Ho! Books. Register ➡️ https://bit.ly/4e4HzWM #MeetTheAuthor #BookDiscussion

The Final week of #HispanicHeritageMonth festivities! 🪅 Make Piñatas, a sugar skull piggy bank, or do some linocut printmaking with Eterno Amor! Event details and more ➡️ https://oaklandlibrary.org/hhm/ #Oaklibrary #HHM2026 #OaklandPublicLibrary #BayAreaEvents #TheTown

Indigenous chef and author, Crystal Wahpepah, founder of Wahpepah's Kitchen in Fruitvale, notes in her cookbook, A Feather and a Fork, that 60% of the world's seed stock are controlled by 4 companies. Listen to the full author talk: https://bit.ly/4s0qZNF #IndigenousPeoplesDay

What banned book changed your life? #BannedBooksWeek

#BannedBooksWeek displays at the coolest library you know 😎 #LetBooksBe #UniteAgainstBookBans #Oaklibrary #PublicLibraries

Limited quantity ‼️ We're releasing a small batch of our 2024 limited-edition #BlackPanther library cards for the Black Panther's 60th anniversary! Pick them up at either the Main Library, West Oakland Branch, or African American Museum and Library at Oakland while supplies last.

Elmhurst Branch is closed today 10/9/26 due to a power outage.

The iconic #BlackPantherParty was founded 60 years ago in Oakland, CA. The Oakland History Center and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland will be hosting exhibits and special programs to honor their history and impact. As always, free and open to the public. ➡️ https://bit.ly/4jeFlaW

Learn about the censorship of periodicals in the U.S from the Magazines and Newspapers department! Visit this display on the 2nd floor of the Main Library or read the blog 🗞️ ➡️ https://bit.ly/4tvNfyY #BannedBooksWeek #UniteAgainstBookBans #FreePeopleReadFreely #Oaklibrary #MagazinesAndNewspapers

Censorship is so 1984. Read for your rights! Check out these middle grade and young adult books about fighting censorship, finding yourself on the page, and taking a stand for the right to read. Start reading 📚➡️ https://bit.ly/4hO7S4F #UniteAgainstBookBans #BannedBooksWeek #LetBooksBe #BookRecs

Thanks in part to a $3,500 gift from the Friends of the Oakland Tool Lending Library (aka The Tooligans), the Oakland Tool Lending Library now boasts two large shade canopies offering patrons and staff relief from the afternoon sun and expected El Nino downpours. Read more: https://bit.ly/3UgeFMC

This year’s #BannedBooksWeek coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, ALA has released a list of the 150 most challenged books documented from 1990, when ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom began tracking book challenges, through 2025. ala150.org/150books

It's finally here! Are you ready to join us in kicking off #BannedBooksWeek?! This year's event is too big for just one piece of art, so we have THREE! #LetBooksBe bannedbooksweek.org

Election day is Tuesday, November 3 and Oakland residents have 17 ballot measures to vote on. Are you ready? Get a neutral pros/cons presentation covering the CA propositions and local ballot measures. 🗳️ Registration required to receive the Zoom meeting link. ➡️ https://bit.ly/47Gr6o4

You are invited to dance and sing with Cascada de Flores on a musical journey sharing Días de Muertos traditions from Mexico and Central America, as well as our imaginations. Details ➡️ https://bit.ly/4xWyJ4p

Every year the American Library Association (ALA) publishes a list of the top most challenged books to keep the public informed about censorship in libraries and schools. Read these books for yourself as well as the authors' statements on censorship.📚 ➡️ https://bit.ly/3QQob6Z #BannedBooksWeek

DIY bookmarks at the library! You bring the vision, and we’ll provide the supplies 😄 fine arts clippings, macabre designs, nature and interior scenes, and more! 🎨 ✂️ 🖍️ Details: https://bit.ly/4hvJHZT #ArtsAndCrafts #LibraryPrograms

Week 4 of #HispanicHeritageMonth includes talavera tile painting, cooking workshops with Chef Marlene, repujados art workshop, and more! Event details and more ➡️ https://oaklandlibrary.org/hhm/

What banned book changed your life?

Hemorrhage (loss of blood) is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In this course, offered by Highland Hospital Trauma Services / Alameda Health System, you will learn how to make a difference when a bleeding emergency occurs. #FirstAid Register: https://bit.ly/4ysiKMA

October 4-10, 2026 is #BannedBooksWeek, a national celebration of the freedom to read! 📖 ✨ Join our programming ➡️ https://bit.ly/4yswdUB #LetBooksBe #BannedBooks #UniteAgainstBookBans

You did it! 🏆🥳 🎉 We can't thank you enough! 🤩 On September 1, 2026, we asked you to help us reach a goal of 2,500 library card sign-ups by the end of the month. Get a recap of the month: https://bit.ly/4htlfsb #LibraryCardCardSignUpMonth

Oakland's annual Black Cowboy Parade is this Saturday, October 3, 2026! Don't let them catch you out here all hat & no cattle! Read up on your Black cowboy history, biographies, romances or even listen to some country music to get you ready for the show. 🤠 🐎 Start reading📚 ➡️ https://bit.ly/4y1MbUP

How many library cards are on your @libbyapp.com account and is Oakland Public Library one of them? 👀 #LibraryCardSignUpMonth #Oaklibrary #Hoopla #Libraries

Welcome to ominous October at the Oakland Public Library! Spooky season enthusiasts can look forward to #Halloween magic shows and calavera decorating. There will also be book cover bedazzling for #BannedBooksWeek and special exhibits for the Black Panthers' 60th anniversary. https://bit.ly/4dOoU1h

Calling all Oakland history buffs 📢 Your favorite free local history program is finally here! The Oakland History Center's 2026 Fall History Series will take you on a spooky haunted history bike ride, reveal the creativity of diorama hobbyists, and more! Find events ➡️ https://bit.ly/4hsDtso

Week 3 of #HispanicHeritageMonth includes bilingual (Spanish/English) storytimes, arts & crafts for kids and teens, cooking workshops and more! Events and details ➡️ https://bit.ly/4AzkYex

Get absorbed in curious worlds, captivating characters, and compelling prose! Pick up these essential fiction reads for #HispanicHeritageMonth at your local library branch. Place a hold 📚➡️ https://bit.ly/4hRdlJ1 #Booksky #BookRecs

Decorate press-on nails at the Martin Luther King Branch! Paint and use stickers to make your very own set of nails to take home. Materials provided! This is a program for teens (ages 12-18). First come first serve, maximum 8 participants. https://bit.ly/4yippsT

End-of-life planning is an act of deep care for yourself and your loved ones. Join death doula Rachael Hawk and experts from Pathways Hospice for an open, compassionate panel discussion and Q&A. Details: https://bit.ly/4Ama2AS

Only 270 more signs-ups to go! Do you think we'll meet our goal before the end of the month?? 🫣 Sign up now ➡️ https://bit.ly/3TbJbqs #LibaryCardSignUpMonth

Week 2 of #HispanicHeritageMonth includes a tortilla making workshop, two different print making workshops, a craft session about the history and cultural significance of corn, and more! Check it out ➡️ https://bit.ly/4xRhP8d

Come talk books with us! 🤓📖 We have general interest as well as special topic book clubs taking place all across Oakland. Find your new favorite book club and what we're reading this month ➡️ oaklandlibrary.org/bookclub #BookClubs #BookSky