Are you interested in being a part of the planning process for improving the Main Library? Starting this Summer, we will kick off a robust and comprehensive community engagement process including input from Oaklanders from all parts of the city to build a new and exciting vision! This process includes the creation of a Community Advisory Committee (AC) and we would be honored if you would agree to participate. The Committee will be composed of library advocates from many interest groups, neighborhoods, demographics, and ages, and we believe it will be an incredible opportunity to build a common vision for a foundational community asset. Through this process we will learn how the Main Library can best support the educational and social needs of everyone we serve and how to re-imagine it as a world-class example for the entire OPL system? We will review the conditions at the existing Main Library and work with the community to determine how the new vision can be realized.
Advisory Committee Roles and Responsibilities
The Advisory Committee will be composed of 20-30 members who will share their opinions and perspectives, study issues, and advise the Project Lead Team, which is composed of members from Oakland Public Library, Oakland Public Works, and two community-focused architectural and planning partners, EHDD and blinkLab! architecture. The Advisory Committee will also interact with the community engagement team from RBA Creative, storytellers from the San Francisco Urban Film Festival, and youth specialist Jeremiah Tolbert.
The Advisory Committee members are asked to:
- Participate in (4) 90-minute meetings between June 2023 and February 2024
- Engage and be available for specific questions about their areas of expertise as needed
- Participate in stakeholder meetings of interest to their vision
- Stipends available for non-professional members of the committee; inquire for more information
