Piedmont Avenue Library Ends Weekend Hours
– Saturday, September 7 is the final Saturday –
Beginning Saturday, September 14, the Piedmont Avenue Branch Library at 80 Echo Avenue will no longer be open on weekends. Changing from a Tuesday through Saturday schedule to a Monday through Friday schedule will maximize use by the adjacent school. The same schedule change is occurring at three other branch libraries – Brookfield, Eastmont and Golden Gate. Interim Library Director Gerry Garzon promised to assess the public reaction to the new schedule in six to nine months.
Piedmont Avenue Branch Library hours beginning September 14:
Mondays 12:30 pm – 8 pm
Tuesdays through Thursdays 10 am – 5:30 pm
Fridays noon – 5:30 pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Hours Until September 14:
Branch Phone (510) 597-5011
On March 2, 2004, 77.2% of Oakland voters voted in favor of Measure Q for the purpose of “maintaining and expanding neighborhood branch library services, days and hours…” In 2009 branch library services were reduced from six to five days per week. This month four libraries eliminate weekend access. Oakland property owners will continue to pay the Measure Q library parcel tax through June 30, 2024.
Are the primary book borrowers from Piedmont Avenue School, or are there a sprinkling of adults who borrow books at that location? If there are adults, the only time those who work might be able to inhabit the library on Piedmont Avenue is apparently on Tuesdays. If there is a tax through 2024 specifically to “maintain and expand neighborhood branch library services, days and hours,” this seems contrary to the tax approved by the population. How can this be explained so an ordinary person can understand the shrinking hours?