Check Your Shelf: The Oakland Public Library Podcast

Dorothy is the interview subject in this final episode of the Fall History Miniseries. Amy Martin, Community Relations Librarian and our usual host, talks with Dorothy about the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it has brought to our lives. Dorothy shares some early submissions to the Oakland History Center's COVID-19 East Bay Community Archive, a digital record of our pandemic experience that needs your stories. Show notes on oaklandlibrary.org

Dorothy interviews Oakland journalist William Wong. His books Oakland's Chinatown and Yellow Journalist: dispatches from Asian America are celebrated by scholars and local history buffs alike, and offer a window into the history of Asian Americans in Oakland and across America. Join Dorothy and William for a conversation about Chinatown in the mid-20th century, the COVID-19 crisis, and this era of gentrification. Show notes on oaklandlibrary.org

Dorothy interviews Oakland filmmaker Cheryl Fabio, whose works include Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland's Music Legacy. They reminisce about the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, an Oakland organization that supported Black film and arts from 1974 into the late nineties. Check out Evolutionary Blues on OverDrive from OPL Show notes on oaklandlibrary.org

Dorothy interviews the editorial crew of the Oakland Heritage Alliance (OHA): Erika Mailman, Naomi Schiff, and Kathleen DiGiovanni. They talk about the founding of the OHA, Oakland's architectural history, and what changes may come in the wake of the pandemic. Find show notes on oaklandlibrary.org

Oakland History Center librarian Dorothy Lazard can't invite folks into the library for OHC's annual Fall History Series. So instead, we're bringing the Fall Oakland History Miniseries to you--in podcast form! Every Wednesday in October, tune in as Dorothy interviews an Oakland historian. Listen, subscribe, and leave a review anywhere you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify.

On May 4, 2020, Oakland Public Library staff began handing out food, calling seniors to check on them, supporting COVID-19 testing sites, and other duties. In this episode, we talk to six OPL staff about their Disaster Service Work assignments--during times of emergency, City of Oakland employees can be assigned to do work they don't usually do. Show notes

In this episode, we explore ways you can still access Your Library from home with your Oakland Public Library card. We touch base with various staff members to discover how they are continuing to serve Oaklanders while working from home. Learn how you can receive phone and email support, get a customized reading list from an OPL librarian, and learn how you can attend a storytime from the comfort of your own home. Show notes

February is Black History Month, and to celebrate, let's get an inside look at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland - AAMLO for short. Featuring Bamidele Agbasegbe-Demerson, Marco Frazier, Sean Dickerson, and Dorothy Lazard. Show notes, including links to all audio recordings and family collections

In Episode 1, Paul and Amy talk to Dorothy Lazard about the Oakland History Center, then explore reference questions with Mahasin Aleem and Kirsten Baldock. Transcript, show notes, and photos