(From the May 2023 Circle of Friends Newsletter)

Happy Spring, Friends! We have endured the storms of winter and deserve the flowers of spring! So much to look forward to! Castro Valley Reads is winding up after two months of discussion groups, art activities and programs for kids. The Grand Finale on April 30 features the author of Peach Blossom Spring on Zoom from her home in London. Many people who participated in discussion groups at the library have commented on how rich and meaningful the discussions were. Thanks, Chris Selig and Dawn Balestreri for doing a great job!!

 Our Spring Book Sale is right around the corner on May 5, 6, and 7. The Book Sale Committee has been meeting to ensure a great experience for our members! Remember that Friday night, from 6-8 pm, is for members only. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, it will be possible to do that on Friday night. Again, we will offer our children’s and teens’ books in the Bookstore area, as well as specially priced and antiquarian books. Our adult fiction and non-fiction books will be in the large Chabot and Canyon Rooms. Saturday’s hours are 10-4. Sunday is the popular $5 Bag Day from 1-4. We have a great inventory of books in every category as well as DVDs, CDs, and audio books. Don’t miss this book sale!!!

Our eBay account is up and running, thanks to volunteers Amber Marsh, Amy Fain, Sari Weis, Ginger Russell, and Vice President Joan King. eBay is where we place books of special value for sale. It’s wonderful to have these enthusiastic volunteers managing this lucrative program!

Special thanks go to Wayne Ainsworth, our web master for several years, who has turned the job over to Amber Marsh. We really appreciate the time and energy Wayne devoted to this job over the years—keeping the website information up to date and relevant. We are so fortunate to have members who are willing to share their talents!

Volunteers are always welcome! We have been able to add some trained volunteers to our office staff but could use more. Please stop by for a volunteer form if you’d like to work in our Bookstore. If you speak a language other than English, we would love to put you on a resource list to help us when we receive donations of non-English books. Just call our office at (510)733-3285 if you would be willing to help!

Looking forward to seeing you at the Book Sale!!