OAKLAND – Starting this Monday, the Oakland Public Library will extend its operating hours for all branches.
As a result, all locations will be open on Mondays, the Main Library and the 81st Avenue Branch will be open seven days per week, and the African American Library and Museum of Oakland will be open six days per week. Fourteen neighborhood branches in all will now be open six days per week, and, for two nights a week, will stay open until 8 p.m., according to the city.
Between all locations, the increase in operating hours means that the Oakland Public Library system will be open an additional 228.5 hours per week.
The expanded services were made possible by the passage of Oakland’s Measure D, which was approved by voters last June with an overwhelming 77 percent of the vote. Measure D authorizes the city of Oakland to levy a parcel tax in order to fund library services. This increased funding means that the library has been able to increase its hours for the first time since 2004.