The Palo City Council unanimously voted on Monday, June 17 to put a $48.7 million library bond issue on the November ballot.  If passed, the measure will upgrade the Children's library and provide a new Mitchell Park library and community center.  The Main Library and Art Center are not part of this bond measure, which is reduced in scope from earlier proposals.

Upcoming Meetings

July 15 City Council Meeting to put library bond measure on ballot

Upcoming TV Coverage

The Community Journal TV show covers modernization of the Mitchell Park Library and Community Center:

July 10 at 8 pm, Channel 27

July 13 at 5:05 pm, Channel 28

July 14 at 7 pm, Channel 27

July 17 at 8 pm, Channel 27

July 20 at 5:05 pm, Channel 28

July 21 at 7 pm, Channel 27

Recent Articles

June 19 Palo Alto Weekly article

June 26 Palo Alto Weekly editorial

Online Documents

Library Telephone Survey Results

Library Telephone Survey Questions

Children's Library Improvements

Main Library Improvements

Mitchell Park Library Improvements

Mitchell Park Community Center Improvements

Organizations

Libraries Now!

NeighborSpace Library Forum

Take advantage of super low prices on Sunday, July 14, starting at 11 am.  Fill entire shopping bags with books from our bargain room for just $2.00 a bag (and we supply the bags too).  Come to the bargain room and adjacent patio at our usual location next to the Terman Library at 661 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto.

We've had enormous demand for the interesting, old, and valuable books in our special "glass case" collection.  At the July 13 sale, we'll start selling these at noon and only to members of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library who sign up to be priority buyers.  All buyers will have access to these books after 1 pm.

To sign up to be a priority buyer, just send an email to prioritybuyerlist@friendspaloaltolib.org with your name.  You must be a member of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library to be a priority buyer. If you are not currently a member, you can join by mail or at the sale before noon.

It's free for Friends of the Palo Alto Library members to be a priority buyer, so sign up today!

The Friends of the Palo Alto Library book sale has been an institution in Palo Alto for many years. Besides helping raise money for the local libraries, the book sale also keeps an astonishing number of books in circulation. The Friends sell approximately 15,000 books each month to members of the public and donate another 2,000 books to non-profit organizations, such as local hospitals and schools. That comes to 204,000 books per year circulated by the sale, or 3.3 books per resident. That's quite respectable when you consider that California public libraries circulate on average just 4.9 items per capita a year, including videos.  Moreover, the Friends book sale achieves its considerable circulation being open just five hours a month, using a few rooms in an old school and an all-volunteer staff. When you compare the book sale to libraries, it ranks at the top in terms of cost-effectiveness.

The Friends book sale exists because of the generous spirit of Palo Alto's volunteers and donors, and our collective community interest in reading and learning. Starting from very humble beginnings, the sale has become an eagerly anticipated monthly event for thousands of Palo Altans. As we move into new space this fall, we're committed to having the sales continue to grow and to support our city.

The Palo Alto Library sponsors a number of delightful summertime events for children and teenagers, including:

June 13 to August 31: Summer Reading Program at all branches

July 10 at 3:30 PM: Skit based on children's stories at the Children's Library

July 15 at 7 PM: Storytelling at the Children's Library

July 17 at 3:30 PM: Rainbow the Clown at Terman Park Library

July 24 at 7 PM: Popular performers Lori and RJ at Mitchell Park Library

July 31 at 3:30 PM: Dramatic science experiments at Children's Library

Palo Alto Library Director Mary Jo Levy plans to retire in late August, after serving in the Palo Alto libraries for 30 years.  Levy plans to travel, read, and advocate for the November library bond measure.  We wish her a happy retirement!  More information