Looking to score a bunch of awesome kids' books, older-edition cookbooks, self-help guides, parenting manuals, or art books? Got a hankering for laser discs or '80s one-hit wonders and musical soundtracks on vinyl? Then get your tote bags ready and carpool to Fort Mason with a friend (learn from SFist's mistakes, lugging piles of books on Muni is never fun) -- the Friends of the Public Library's 47th Annual Big Book Sale starts Wednesday! more ›

Thanks to a huge outcry from the Oakland community, its libraries and many other invaluable public services have been saved for the time being. If you recall, the Oakland City Council was looking at three budget proposals to balance a huge budget deficit, the first of which would have closed 14 out of 18 branches of the Oakland Library and drastically cut the services at the remaining four. more ›

As part of the annual Banned Books Week, San Francisco Public Library will celebrate the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird on Tuesday night. The classic Harper Lee novel is on the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom’s most frequently banned classic books list. more ›

The San Francisco Public Library has come up with a great idea: The Family Pass, which is available through December 31. The pass can be checked out for a week at a time and is valid at a huge amount of local museums (but only valid at one museum visit per week). more ›

As SF Weekly noted yesterday, Lars Russell, a San Francisco-based writer, starting reading the entirety of 's first sentence, which wraps around the to final sentence, making the magnum opus a circular work, et cetera, et cetera, and so forth : more ›

Like many of its visitors, we visit to the Main Library only to shower in the sink. Others, however, still use the place to check out books. But some fear returning because of overdue library books and punitive costs. Well, fear no more, book lovers. The SF Public Library started a two-week amnesty period this week, where you can return your book and other library material without penalty or fine to restore your borrowing privileges. You can return your items to any SF library starting today up until May 16. Read more about it at sfpl.org/fineamnesty. The last time the SF Public Library had an amnesty program was way back in 2001, which saw more than 5,000 items returned. Oh yeah, items can only be returned if they are in good condition. more ›

We gasped at the sight: the San Francisco Public Library's Bookmobile cozying up to our favorite El Tonayense truck on Harrison near 20th. Now we truly have everything we need. Well, almost. Maybe the folks at Cafe Gratitude will let us us the restroom. more ›

Are you a poet? Do you know it? (Ouch.) Well, Poets Eleven, a citywide poetry contest showcasing prose created by residents of each of San Francisco's 11 districts, above, is now accepting submissions. You work will be scrutinized by San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman, so snap on your thinking and creativity caps, kids. more ›

Starting sometime in April, library books will be available at Contra Costa County BART stations via "ATM style lending machines." A new program called Library-a-Go-Go, along with the Contra Costa County Library, will allow BART riders to simply swipe a card, select a book, wait for said book choice to drop, and then return the book after the rider is finished reading their literary gem. The machines will "hold around 400 popular and best-selling titles, both fiction and nonfiction, and will be accessible during Bart hours." more ›

New feature alert, folks! more ›

Ever since the SFist Reads column turned us back onto the awesomeness of checking books out of the SF Public Library, we've been big fans of the First Stop area of the Main Library, where the library put all their books they'd acquired in the last two years. We've spent many a pleasant few hours checking out the latest memoirs, or all the books in the 300 section, or randomly pulling out titles in the New Fiction section to see if they look entertaining. It's like browsing your TiVo listings for fun shows, only wrapped in library plastic! more ›

We came back from taking down the recycling yesterday evening to find we had locked ourselves out of our apartment. "Noooo!!" [Insert Emo Darth Vader ballad here. Warning -- audio.] We dialed the apartment manager on the call-box but got his voice mail. Lucky for us, the manager, who wouldn't be back until 10:00, called our s.o., who wouldn't be back until 8:00, and our s.o. called our friend who lives a few blocks away. So, instead of being forced to sit on our lobby stairs all night, uncomfortably greeting all of our neighbors, we were soon whisked away and served pasta, wine, and a couple of episodes of the BBC version of "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares." more ›

Oh, this looks like fun. more ›

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Yesterday, Mayor Newsom signed into action the Tommy Ammiano-introduced legislation that requires the city to handout ID cards to undocumented immigrants and other residents who either can't or just won't apply for driver's licenses. The good news is that these IDs will help (formerly) undocumented residents gain access to the wonderful world of banking, a sense of peace before calling the fuzz, as well as "health services at city-run clinics, public library privileges, and resident discounts at museums and other cultural institutions." (Entry fee discounts at the Exploratorium: the American dream realized.) more ›

-- Should MUNI boss Nate Ford get a raise? Gavin says sure. [N Judah Chronicles] more ›

Unidentified Women On Horseback In Golden Gate Park, October 29, 1934 San Francisco Public Library Historical Photograph Collection We’re all for citizenship and all—we would even consider ourselves to be citizenship geeks. We love voting (of course) and jury duty (jury opportunity, we like to call it). We love the Post Office and even the DMV (especially those the traces of the Eisenhower era that remain here and there in those temples of citizenship…... more ›

Proposition D is a library bond initiative. Let's be clear: we love the public library. Sure, the main building is a little weird looking and they've been restoring it for two years and it functions as a daytime homeless shelter, but...everything in there is free, and if you are trying to find something, the staff knows pretty much everything. The city library is a fantastic resource, and functions a heckuva lot better than, oh,... more ›

Slide from the State of the City Address (pdf of full slideshow here) more ›

The SF Public Library's holding a good old-fashioned photo drive! One day only! Today! They're looking to add to their Historical Photograph Collection, and they need your help -- but heterosexuals need not apply. more ›

Hey, wouldn't it be neat if you could sign up for a weekly email newsletter that let you know when Muni closures would be happening? Well you CAN! If you're a member of the press. Towards the end of every week, Muni sends out an email to reporters about weekend traffic and transit disruptions. It's kind of like Muni's own little guide to what's happening around town, and what's fun to do if you find yourself bored on Saturday and Sunday. Though none of the events are actually Muni-endorsed, their event guide is among the handiest in town. more ›

Beware: staring tonight at precisely 7:30 p.m. the undead will gather around the Double L Gyratory Undead Attractor and wreak havoc around the city. Might you be one of them? Horrors! more ›

At Pine and Divisadero on Wednesday afternoon, a man severely slashed a woman with a box cutter (some reports we saw said she might die, while others said the wounds were not life-threatening); the cops subsequently caught him. more ›

This 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom house helped to land 94123 on Forbes’ Most Expensive Zip Codes list - #55 to be exact. At 2500 Lyon Street, you can live right down the street from Gordon Getty and Larry Ellison. How fun! The property lies at the entrance to the Lyon Street steps and boasts “abundant with rich and opulent architectural detailing and superb Bay views.” more ›

Tom Ammiano announced a plan yesterday to give city IDs to those who don't have IDs, mainly immigrants-- legal or otherwise. The idea, pushed by immigrant advocates, will allow those without an ID to be given access to a whole range of city services they would not normally be open to, including health care, library privileges, and the ability to use municipal golf courses. Ammiano also said he's going to work with financial institutions to let people use the Ids to open accounts. more ›

In today's world of Xtube and the like, Dennis Saunders -- Healdsburg's very own convicted peeping Tom, whose stash was confiscated by the police -- now wants his pornographic material back. And as one commenter pointed out on SF Gate, "Who in their right mind will pay for porn this day and age?" more ›

Today was the annual blessing day for taxis and taxi drivers across SF. (Wait, magic water on Yellow Cab? No! Yellow Cab should burn in the hell!) more ›

Oh, Berkeley law professor and torture-sanctioner John Yoo's not going to be happy about this (or maybe he will be!) -- Cal has tentatively agreed to accept a controversial collection of paintings by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, based on the Abu Ghraib photographs that repulsed the world. more ›

-- Scott McCloud: Experimental and wildly popular comic artist and novelist (Making Comics) speaks tonight at "Evolution of the American Comic Book". Rory Root (owner, Comic Relief) and Andrew Farago (curator, Cartoon Art Museum) also speak. Starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market; $7-$20. more ›