Adults
Untold Stories of Albany: Contributions and Challenges in Black History
Saturday February 22, 10:30 a.m.
Join Oregon Black Pioneers and KinCultivate for a groundbreaking presentation highlighting Albany, Oregon’s Black history. Crafted specifically for Albany, this program will explore untold stories of Black pioneers, business owners, and community leaders, shedding light on their contributions and resilience.
Led by Oregon Black Pioneers’ Mariah Rocker, this presentation will also include snacks, an interactive trivia session with prizes, and opportunities to connect with local organizations. Sponsored by support from the Friends of the Library.
Albany Writers Meetup
Tuesday, February 25, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Join us for a monthly co-writing event this winter to work on your project in a supportive community environment. We will discuss the purpose of our projects to gain clarity, set intentions for our time together for accountability, and engage in facilitated writing sprints to make progress towards our goals. Please bring your own writing materials (laptop, notebook, etc.) and a project to work on.
Facilitated by Jenesis Rose Long, Ed.M. Author, Coach & Podcast Host of Sustain Your Passion
Library Uncorked Fundraiser!
Saturday, March 1, 5:30-8 p.m.
Join us for a wine and beer tasting event with a silent auction, wine wall, spin-the-bottle, cornhole, food and music. Proceeds from the event benefit the Friends of the Library’s Youth Literacy Programs.
Reading Recommendations for All Ages!
Looking for your next great read but not really sure where to start? Let our librarians help you! Fill out this form and we’ll send a personalized list of titles you, your child or teen might enjoy.
Adult Reading Recommendations click here for suggestions.
Children Reading Recommendations click here for suggestions.
Teen Reading Recommendations click here for suggestions.
Check out our Book Club Kits
Are you starting a book club, or already have a book club and need books? We’ve got you covered. The Library checks out Book Club Kits that contain between 8-15 copies of fiction and nonfiction books. The Kits check out for 8 weeks. Find the list of Kits here Book Club Kits.
Book Club
APL Book Club meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 12pm.
February 18 will be the next meeting
Copies of the monthly selection are available at the Adult Services desk at the Main Library
At our February 18th meeting, we will discuss Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.
Book Club Bags
Already in a book club? You can checkout sets of books from APL’s previous book club selections. Each bag contains 8-12 copies of the book and check out for 8 weeks.
Questions about APL book clubs? Email us at librarywebteam@cityofalbany.net
New York Times Digital Access
Albany Public Library is excited to offer access to New York Times Digital by remote code activation. See instruction below to get started.
Remote Access:
- Click here to redeem the promotional code, you must create or log-in with a NYTime.com account
- Promotional code is active for 72 hours. After 72 hours, you can redeem a new code by clicking here.
Adult Reading Recommendations
Access Ancestry.com from home!
Click here to login and access billions of genealogy records including Census, SSDI & Military records. Discover your family history and start your family tree.
Historic Albany Photos Online
Through a joint project between the Albany Regional Museum and the Albany Public Library, approximately 7,000 photos from the Robert Potts Collection were numbered, sorted, and scanned. This project is supported in part by a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The scanned images are hosted online at Google photos. (more…)