Better still, have you stepped inside to check out a book from the well-stocked shelves that have books in five different languages?

Giavanna Capone, the librarian, can help you find what you want or order it from the Main Library.

Perhaps instead of using the Bookmobile, you like to visit the branch libraries. That's possible much more often now as all branch libraries are open six days a week for the first time since Proposition 13.

The branches are open every day, except Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Main Library is open every day, including Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. (Call 238-3134 for hours on other days.)

"We're fulfilling our Measure Q campaign promises," library Director Carmen Martinez says. "We're buying new books. People want to read the newest ones. Every branch library has a computer for patrons to use."

Why are all these improvements happening? Because of Measure Q, the library ballot measure that got an overwhelming 80 percent approval from voters last March.

Martinez gave me a tour of the Bookmobile and the Main Library recently to show off how a parcel tax can make a noticeable difference in a battered budget. Since the parcel tax pays only for operations, some major work under way draws from other funding sources.

The Children's Room has been relocated in the West Auditorium until Thanksgiving, when the renovation of its regular space is completed.

Private sources contributed $350,000 in a fund-raising drive to upgrade the Children's Room through Friends of the Oakland Public Library. A major donor was George Zimmer, president of Men's Wearhouse, who also gave the room a mural in honor of his mother.

This evening at 6 p.m. at the Oakland City Council's Life Enrichment Committee meeting, Martinez will present

the library's master plan which details the unmet and growing needs of the community.

The master plan responds to recent fiscal crises and the community's outcry in support of the library from which Save Oakland Libraries was born. The result was passage of the library's parcel tax.

"This is our vision of what should happen in the Oakland libraries," says Martinez.

"The voices of residents were loud and clear: The library plays a unique role in meeting their needs in the area of education, enrichment and technology," says Martinez.

Most frequently mentioned by patrons is the need for more space to accommodate more people and a need for more computers. Some 25 percent of Oakland's population has no other access to computers.

The master plan calls for three types of libraries for Oakland neighborhoods. Some areas -- such as the Laurel and San Antonio districts -- don't have good access to any facility so additional neighborhood libraries are needed. Community libraries can offer a full array of library services including more computer labs and meeting space. The third need is for an expanded Main Library.

The draft master plan indicates that library officials would like to relocate the tiny Piedmont Avenue branch.

The Main Library should provide more books, computer facilities and more space for extensive collections and fragile historic materials as are found in the treasured Oakland History Room under the stewardship of librarian Steve Lavoie.

To meet the needs of the Main, a construction bond would be necessary. One option calls for partially gutting the existing building at l4th and Madison streets to add a new atrium and adding more floors. Estimated cost is $70 million.

Don't be surprised if the measure appears on the ballot in a year or two. And don't be surprised if Oaklanders vote for it just as they did for Measure Q by a huge margin. Maybe it's time to make a dream become a reality.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax##
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email