On the topic of school, did you know a library card could be your student's ticket to success? The library is the first place to look for extra reading and research materials to help students make the grade, and our professional librarians are a super resource for finding what you need in no time and getting started on those big assignments.

Oakland Public Library also offers a free homework help program called PASS!-Partners for Achieving School Success in selected libraries. Call 510-238-3848, or see our Web site, for more information about this great resource.

Most of us are not students anymore, but in the spirit of lifelong learning and thinking, the Oakland Public Library and the Oakland Museum of California invite everyone to come to the second in our series of community Conversations of Conscience programs at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19.

We'll be hosting a timely discussion with socially conscious sportswriter Dave Zirin and other invited guests on the topic of Zirin's new book, "What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States" (Haymarket Books, 2005).

Among those guests will be Golden State Warriors basketball player Adonal Foyle. Besides his skills on the court, Foyle is known as a community activist who founded Democracy Matters to give college students a voice in the political process. Join us for a fascinating evening at Oakland Museum's James Moore Theatre, at Oak and 10th streets near the Lake Merritt BART station. An added bonus for attendees is that they will receive a $1 discount coupon to the museum's much-anticipated fall exhibit, Baseball As America, opening Sept. 17.

The library also invites you to celebrate Latino Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15) at special events like our Mexican Independence Day Celebration, set for 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, at Martin Luther King Jr. branch at 6833 International Blvd.

Enjoy refreshments and festive music in the Mariachi tradition by the spectacular, internationally renowned-singer Juanita Ulloa.

September ushers in a whole new season, and did you know autumn is actually the best time to plant in California? Learn why and how from Linda Clemens of Broadway Terrace Nursery who will offer a fall gardening workshop on topics like bulbs and perennials at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Dimond branch library, 3565 Fruitvale Ave.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, join Jesy Goldhammer of Down to Earth Landscape for a talk on Ornamental Organic Gardening Basics at Temescal branch, 5205 Telegraph Ave. She'll cover soil amending, compost building, pest control, organic lawn care, and garden design principles.

If the fastest thing growing around your house is a teenager, why not fertilize their future with a new library activity?

Rockridge branch has started up a new Bookwormz Teen Book Club, led by a teen, which has its very first meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27.

These are just a few events we hope will entice you "back-to-the-library" this month. For a full list of our September programs, including a Hip-Hop Fruit-tasting, a Pullman Porter multi-media event, a demonstration of Breema and other techniques that promise to help you enjoy life and have more fun, please see the Library's Web site at www.oaklandlibrary.org or pick up a September calendar at any of our branches. All of these library events are free and open to the public.