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photo CC BY-SA 2.0 by Kai Schreiber

The Asian Branch Library is location in Oakland's Chinatown, and is one of the sixteen libraries in the Oakland Public Library system. It opened in 1981.

The Asian Branch Library is unique among public library branches in the United States as it houses eight Asian language collections. The larger language collections are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The smaller collections are Khmer, Lao, Tagalog, and Thai. Additionally, the branch has an Asian Interest collection in English focusing specifically on Asia, Asian heritage, culture, and history, an Asian American Experience collection, and Asian immigrant history.

The branch is equipped with 9 computers with internet access. Computer and new technology classes are offered in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Events include Bilingual Toddler Storytime, which meets every Wednesday and Bilingual Family Storytime, which meets every Saturday, both of which are in English and Mandarin.

Programs:

  • Game Nights, Fridays, 3:30 PM - 5 PM

Location

388 - 9th Street, Oakland, California 94607

Telephone

510.238.3400

Hours

  • Monday: 10 AM - 5:30 PM
  • Tuesday: 10 AM - 8 PM
  • Wednesday: 10 AM - 8 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM - 5:30 PM
  • Friday: 12 PM - 5:30 PM
  • Saturday: 10 AM - 5:30 PM
  • Sunday: Closed

​History

The Asian Community Library opened in 1975, sharing space at the Park Boulevard Branch Library before moving to the Main Library in 1978. It moved again in 1981 to become the Asian Branch Library.

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