Five things YOU can do to save Oakland’s public libraries

1. Tell your friends and neighbors about the devastating funding cuts to libraries

Ask 10 of your friends to call or write the mayor and city council to support our libraries. Tell them that Oakland could lose 14 of its neighborhood libraries, and have only 3-day-a-week service at its 4 remaining locations. Make sure that everyone at your church, union, school, or job knows about the threat to libraries. Tell your friends. Post why the Oakland Public Library is important to you on social media you use. Like the Save Oakland Library page on Facebook.

2. Share your library experiences with city officials

Make sure that Oakland’s mayor, city manager, and city council know what libraries mean to you and your community. Personal stories are best, but a form letter is okay. Find out who your city council member is by visiting the Council District Locator page. Find city council member contact information here.

3. Attend Oakland City Council meetings

Your attendance at City Council meetings can make a difference. Check back here for information about upcoming meetings that will address library funding.

4. Organize – Volunteer with us

Fill our volunteer form and help save your library. Check our volunteer page for an activity near you. Download a flier of this webpage in English, Spanish, and Chinese..

5. Contact newspapers, radio stations, TV stations and local blogs

Call the media and ask if they are covering the proposed Oakland library closings. When you read related news coverage, write a letter to the editor with thanks and a message about why Oakland’s public libraries are needed.

Possible Messages

• Keep libraries open. Don’t close branch libraries or reduce service hours at any library.
• Don’t violate the public trust by throwing away Measure Q funds
• Closing libraries hurts all of Oakland’s citizens.
• Libraries give everyone, regardless of income, free access to books and the Internet.
• Libraries have already sacrificed by limiting service to 5 days/week at all of the branches.
• These cuts are unfair. The Library represents only 2% of the general fund monies but the “All Cuts” proposal calls for 198 full time library jobs to be eliminated out of 367 citywide. The library’s share of jobs lost equals more than 52% of the total positions eliminated.
• Measure Q supplies the library’s entire budget for buying books, DVDs, CDs, downloadable audiobooks and e-books, and other popular materials. Locations which remain open will not have new materials to offer the public.
• The “All Cuts” budget proposal suggests that there will be limited or no programs, including adult literacy, children’s storytimes and the Summer Reading Game.