Summer Reading 2022

Our annual Summer Reading Challenge is on! This year, bring a little nature into your life. In addition to Alameda County Library’s Summer Adventure called “Wonder in Nature,” the Dublin Library is offering two reading challenges for you to enjoy. Participants can earn prizes and finishers can enter drawings for grand prizes.

Sample gameboards for the Children’s (left) and Adult (right) Summer Reading Challenges

The Turtley Awesome Summer Reading Challenge
June 6 – August 6, 2022
For Children, only at the Dublin Library

Help sea turtle make her way to a tasty jellyfish snack by completing 20 minutes of reading per circle on the game path. Pick up your game board only at the Dublin Library between June 6th and July 31st. Prizes will be available starting June 15, 2022. When you finish the game board you can also fill out an entry ticket for a chance to win a prize from the grand prize drawing. The last day to claim prizes is Saturday, August 6, 2022!

First prize: book bag, pencil, sticker, and bookmark
Final prize: book & grand prize entry ticket
*The grand prize drawing will be held the week of August 8th.

Around the World in Seven Wonders
June 6 – September 6, 2022
For Adults and Teens, only at the Dublin Library

Join us on a trip to see the seven natural wonders of the world! Pick up your Seven Wonders game board only at the Dublin Library, starting June 6th. As you spend the summer exploring, mark off one activity for each natural wonder/country. In addition, you must write a book review (form included on the game board) to complete our game. By September 6th, bring your finished game board to the Information Desk to receive a prize and be entered in our grand prize drawing!

Seven Wonders Book Lists

Aurora Borealis: Northern Exposure Titles

Grand Canyon: Arizona Reads

Great Barrier Reef: Australia Reads and Watches

Guanabara Bay: Brazil Books and Music

Mount Everest: Nepal & China (Tibet) Titles

Paricutin Volcano: Mexico Reads and Watches

Victoria Falls: Zambia and Zimbabwe Books

To complete the game, you may also do activities besides reading:

• Get instructional videos on art (Craftsy, Creativebug) or stream films and TV shows (hoopla Digital): See more information at aclibrary.org/resources-types/streaming-video/
• Find recipes using AtoZ World Food or discover fun facts on Global Road Warrior (see the Did You Know? section): See more information at aclibrary.org/resources/travel-geography
• Try Pronuniator or Rosetta Stone, our language eResources,: See more information at aclibrary.org/learning-tools/learn-a-language
• Listen online through hoopla Digital Music, one of the library’s music eResources: See more information at aclibrary.org/resources-types/streaming-music

Bonus! If you complete all 21 activities in the Natural Wonders boxes, you can get two more entries in the grand prize drawing!

Wonder in Nature: Alameda County Library’s Summer Adventure
June 15 – Aug 15, 2022
All Ages, Alameda County Library-wide

Let’s follow our curiosities about nature around us! Complete learning activities, reading, and more to receive a book gift and prize drawing entries. Find out more at aclibrary.org/summer

 

Health Challenge 2022

Start the new year by checking off some healthy habits. Each month from January to May 2022 will focus on a different aspect of health: financial, mental, physical, spiritual and social.

In January, pick up your financial checklist at the Information Desk.

Complete at least 12 activities to earn a prize entry for that month.

Return your list to the Information Desk by February 5^th for a chance to win one of three physical prizes or a $30 gift certificate from a local store. As a bonus, you will get an additional prize entry for each additional 3 activities you complete in a month.

Finish all 5 lists for an entry for a $50 gift certificate from a local business.

 

Winter Reading Programs

Read and Win Prizes- only at the Dublin Library

(Sample Children’s and Adult Gameboards, please come in to the library to get your gameboard)

Winter is coming, and we here at the Dublin Library think you deserve something special for all that time you’re spending snuggling up with a good book. So, we’re holding Winter Reading Challenges for all ages, where you can win prizes by reading books!

Adults and Teens can get a Bookshelf Bingo game card at the Information Desk and read or use library resources to win prizes, including our fun Reader’s Pins. Doing four activities* in a row qualifies you in a drawing for reading-related prizes. Complete all the squares and you can enter the drawing for a gift card to Towne Center Books.

Children are encouraged to Race the Yeti this winter to win prizes.  Go to the Children’s Desk to pick up a gameboard. Read for 20 minutes, and mark off a footprint on the gameboard. When you reach a snowflake, you earn a prize! If you complete the challenge, your name will be entered in a grand prize drawing for your very own yeti.

Drop by the library in December 2021 to pick up your winter challenges, and complete your gameboards by January 15, 2022 to qualify for prizes. We look forward to seeing you!

*Book Lists to help complete Adult Bingo activities:

Award-winners

Biography/Memoirs/Historical Fiction-
Real Writers, Fictional Detectives
Top Memoirs & Biography (2020/21)

Characters nothing like yourself / Diverse writing-
Indigenous Perspectives
LGBT+ Authors’ Favorites
Summer Picks by Black Women Authors

Home/Craft/Cookbook-
Eat What You Grow (gardening and cooking)
Let’s Get Crafty!
Simple Suppers

Mystery/True Crime/Sci-Fi/Science-
Top Crime Fiction & Debuts (2020/21)
Top Crime Fiction (2019/20)
Top SciFi, Fantasy & Horror (2020/21)
Top Science Nonfiction (2020)
Epic Fantasy

Self-help/Feel Good Fiction-
Bright Reads for Dark Days (fiction)
Just Breathe (mindfulness nonfiction)
A Good Night’s Sleep (nonfiction)
Rollicking Romances
Top Romance Fiction (2020/21)

 

We’re Back!

Starting September 19, 2021, the Dublin Library will be returning to our pre-pandemic hours. This means we will no longer be open on Fridays, but that our Sunday hours and evening hours will resume. Our full hours are as listed below:

Masks are still required and appreciated when you come in to visit the library. Disposable masks for adults and children over 2 years are available if you forget yours. Please stay home if you are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms.

Donations for the Friends of Dublin Library are not being accepted at this time.

To see the expanded hours at other Alameda County Library locations (some of which have changed from their pre-pandemic open hours) and for more information on our current visiting guidelines, see our Welcome Back page. To see our current open hours, you can also always check the Dublin Library page of the ACL website.

We’re excited to be offering you more open hours, and look forward to seeing you in the library. Until then, happy reading!

 

Expanded Visiting Hours

Exciting news! Starting August 1, 2021, we will expand library visiting hours and end No Contact Pickup and midday closures. Ending No Contact Pickup will allow us to more easily staff our expanded visiting hours. If you are unable to come into the building to pick up your holds, please call us at 925-803-7252.

We plan to resume our pre-pandemic library hours in September; stay tuned for more details.

Once our new hours begin, we will be discontinuing some of our pre-made grab bags. We will still have the graded book bags at the Check Out desk for Grades 2-3, 4-5 or 6-8. For pre-readers, teens and adults, you can get book recommendations through the library’s Book Match program.

All Alameda County Library locations continue to require face coverings and social distancing for staff and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. As a reminder, please stay home if you are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms.

Hold Pickup Times return to 7 days

As our libraries become more open, we are returning to our pre-pandemic holds period. Once you are notified that your hold is ready, you will have seven days to pick up the item before your hold expires. Note the “Pickup by” date in your hold’s notice. You can also see this information when you log in to your account and select “On Hold” under “My Borrowing.” 

Welcome Back

We look forward to seeing more of you in the coming weeks. At this time, for the safety of our staff and the public, the library is still holding our programs entirely online. We do not know when we will resume in-person indoor programs. In the meantime, check out our online calendar of events.

There’s no better time to come back and visit your neighborhood library. Our shelves are full and waiting for you to browse and check out armloads of items. Happy reading, everybody!

 

More Visiting Hours!

Starting today, the Dublin Library is expanding our visiting hours to include Monday evenings, as well as Friday and Saturday afternoons. Here’s a summary of our new service hours:

You can always check our webpage for the current visiting hours. We do not know when we will return to our old hours or when we will start in-person programs again. We thank you for your patience.

If you’re not ready to come indoors, we are still offering no contact pickup holds, as well as our grab-bags of pre-selected fiction for various age groups, from baby board books to adult. You can request a bag while scheduling your no contact appointment. These grab bags are also available during our visiting hours by going to the Holds Pick-up area.

If you visit us on a Saturday, be sure to check out our new Children’s Book Bundles! These special bundles include 5 picture books on a theme.

• Bundles are ONLY available on Saturday.
• Bundles are available while supplies last. 
• Check out the entire bundle and leave the tag and rubber band behind.
• The books do not need to be returned as a set.
• There is no limit on the number of bundles per family.

So come on by, say hello, and stock up on some good reads and maybe some DVDs or other items, too! We look forward to seeing you.

 

Eat What You Grow

This Earth Day learn how to get
your garden to grow a feast!

Thursday, April 22
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Register online

There is nothing more satisfying than eating food from your own garden. In this online presentation we will cover topics such as transplanting seedlings, seeds vs. starts, soil fertility, and the best crops for your garden. Emphasis on the reuse of materials will also be discussed. There will be ample time for questions after the lecture.

Lori Caldwell is an Alameda County Master Composter, self taught edible gardener and residential sheet mulch maven. Her mission: “To connect people to the soil and all that it provides.” She has been happily teaching sustainable gardening classes and transforming yards in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2007.

Eat What You Grow- SlidesDownload

Program Handouts:

Companion Planting: The planting of different crops near each other has mutual benefits.  Either one of the plants helps repel pests, attract beneficial insects or they help each other grow (more vigor).

Container Gardening Handout: Additional information on creating big gardens in small spaces.

Edible Planting Chart: This basic chart will help you maximize garden space and help with crop rotation.

Soil Amendment Chart: The addition of organic material throughout the growing season is very crucial to healthy plants and substantial yields

Aphids Fact Sheet: created by University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM)

Powdery Mildew Fact Sheet: White powdery growth on leaves and shoots can be a sign of powdery mildew. Find out more about the symptoms and how to prevent it. -by UC IPM

Snails and Slugs Fact Sheet -by UC IPM

Full Library of UC IPM Quick Tips about common garden pests and and environment-friendly gardening practices.

Tools for Building Healthy Soil – by StopWaste.org. This public agency based in Alameda County has plenty of great resources. See their Home Gardening page for events, news, and more informational brochures.

 

Welcome Back!

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Starting the week of March 22, Fremont Main and the Dublin Library will be open for limited walk-in visitors. (Both the number of visitors and the length of visits will be limited.) Available in-person services include browsing, printing, and computer use.  See the library’s Welcome Back page for our full guide on what services are available in the library, outside the library, and what is currently not available.

We will continue to offer No Contact Pickup appointments, on a reduced schedule, as shown above. You can schedule your Dublin No Contact Pickup appointment online.

We are following county and state public health guidelines to ensure your visit is as safe and pleasant as possible, and will continue to adapt and modify services in accordance with the Alameda County Public Health Reopening Plan. 

We’re excited to have you back in the library! Be sure to wear your mask, and stay home if you are sick or have Covid-19 sy

 

Blind Date with a Book – The Grab Bag Edition!

In the past, during the month of February we let you pick out a specially wrapped book from our display at the library. We called it Blind Date with a Book. Sadly, the libraries are still closed to the public, but we’re still setting you up on Blind Dates this year, by using our Adult Grab Bags.

As you may know, you can pick up books at the library through No Contact Pickup Holds. At Dublin Library, you can also add a Grab Bag to your appointment. We offer them in a variety of grade levels and genres. Since you don’t know what you’ll get when you request a bag, it’s essentially a blind date.

Go on a Blind Date this February
During the month of February, when you request one of our Adult Grab Bags (Fiction, Mystery,  Science Fiction/Fantasy, or Graphic Novels), you will also receive a Blind Date with a Book review card. Read and review any of the books in your grab bag, then return that review to the library by Monday, March 15, 2021, and you will be entered in a prize drawing!

If you don’t like any of the books in the bag, you can still review it. Bad dates are as entertaining to hear about as the good ones! Or you can request another, just set your pickup appointment before the end of February! You can win a prize even if your date was a flop. There’s nothing to lose, and so much to gain.

Are you only reading eBooks these days?
Try this: Use one of the library’s eBook platforms, OverDrive/Libby, hoopla, or SimplyE! Pick a category/genre, like Romance. Count the number of letters in your first name. Use this number to select your random title. My name has 5 letters, so I’d select the fifth title in the results, or one of the titles in the fifth row, or I’ll go to the fifth page of results and then pick the fifth title on that page. That’s three chances to find your match! (You can also do a similar thing with the eAudiobooks, if you prefer to listen to books.) Then use this review card as a template to email us your review.

Take a chance on the unknown
Request an adult grab bag of books in February. Who knows? You just might find your Print Charming!

 

No Contact Pickup and Return

While the Dublin Library building remains closed to the public, we are offering No Contact Pickup by appointment, lots of great virtual programs for all ages, opportunities to socialize through Kind, Connected Conversations, and more.

Do you have items to return to the library? You can drop them off during our No Contact Pickup hours. Place your items in the large bin next to the pickup tables. If you prefer to use the book drop, the book drop is only open from Saturday at 5 pm – Monday at 9:30 am. Be aware that all returns are quarantined and will not be cleared from your account for at least 96 hours.

No Contact Pickup hours for Dublin Library (by appointment)
(updated 11/16/2020)
Monday: 12 pm – 7 pm
Tue – Fri: 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday: CLOSED

Want to pick up your holds at the library? Visit AC Library’s No Contact Pickup page to learn more about how the process works.

Did you know you can book your no contact pickup appointment online? In the email notification that your hold is ready, click on the “Dublin Library” link and complete all 3 screens to schedule your appointment. You will get an email confirmation of your appointment upon completion.

Not sure what to read next? Get a customized reading list from our Book Match librarians! Fill out a questionnaire about your reading preferences and we’ll send you a list of books to try. You can then place holds on the titles you want.

Miss the serendipity of stumbling upon a book while browsing? You can request an extra bag of books when you schedule your No Contact Pickup. These “grab bags” are a random selection of 5-10 books in specific categories, including Picture Books, 2nd-3rd grade Fiction, Teen Graphic Novels, Adult Mysteries, and more. See the full list of available bags when you schedule your appointment; only one bag per card.

As you can see, there’s still a lot that the library can do for you while our locations are closed. We do not know when the library building will reopen to the public, but we are working hard to get our staff and our building ready to reopen safely. For more information, see AC Library’s Phased Reopening Plan.

Thank you for your continued support of the library. We miss seeing you! Still have questions? Call us at 925-803-7252.