HOOVER IS HAPPENING!

The Hoover Branch Library Feasibility Study is a partnership between the City of Oakland, Oakland Public Library Services and the Friends of the Hoover Durant Public Library focused on a community-based process for the Hoover catchment area. Together, we have conducted a two-year study to identify the primary concerns, goals, and priorities for Hoover residents and stakeholders. Our final Feasibility Study, linked below, contains the major findings from our community outreach, as well as recommended next steps. Please take a look! Further down, you can find the Executive Summary of the Final Hoover Branch Library Feasibility Study Plan.

With the completion of this feasibility study, the City of Oakland is positioned to advance the project once a site and necessary funding are secured.  Future success of this project will greatly benefit from the public’s advocacy.  If you would like to become a supporter of the Hoover Branch Library, please reach out to Friends of the Hoover Durant Public Library (FoHDPL) at www.fohdpl.org.

Greetings library fans! We’ve completed the community outreach and stakeholder engagement portion of the feasibility study for a new Hoover Branch Library and are super excited about all the great input we received from the workshops, street labs and surveys! Your voices, stories, and advocacy was essential in our efforts to transform the community into an even more vital and livable place for all residents. The following is a draft report of our findings! 

The youth participants saw a series of images of libraries from around the world and were able to say what they liked and didn’t like. They were attracted to library designs that looked comfortable and colorful with lots of activities.

Towards the end of the workshop we got a surprise visit from Alternier Cook, President of Friends of the Hoover Durant Public Library. She thanked the families for their participation and brought free books for the kids, so we want to thank her as well!

We had a lot of fun and got some great input from the neighbors at the latest StreetLab as part of the final Hoover Town Nights event! In addition to learning more about what people want to experience at the new Hoover Branch Library through our visual survey of ideas, and our “where your people from?” map exercise, we also launched our Oakland Hip Hop Hopscotch game, which was a total blast!! From the youngest to the oldest visitor, everyone was attracted to the hopscotch court that featured Oakland images and an Oakland hip hop quiz with a chance to win a custom t-shirt featuring images of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project. The mural was designed and created by Art Esteem, a local nonprofit, in partnership with students from McClymonds High School. The mural depicts Ja’Khi, princess of knowledge, who influences the people in her life to achieve the impossible, and Josiah, the messenger of fate, who works with Ja’Khi to change the lives of people around the world. DJ Justice is a DJ who spins and hosts block parties in West Oakland as a way to unite all people and ignite fires of change.

On June, 3rd, we held our first community engagement event for the Hoover Branch Library Feasibility study and everyone involved had a great time sharing and ideating what the new facility could be and how it could really serve the neighborhood. An important part of the process was an overview of other community organizing efforts which resulted in a library. It's important to note that it wasn't the product we were studying, it was the process. In these other locations, dedicated community members, like those in the Hoover neighborhood organized, and through persistence and determination, were able to achieve their goal of manifesting a facility that reflected their thoughts and dreams. With your help, we can do that too!

• blinkLAB!architecture

  • blinkLAB!architecture is a research-based architecture and urban design practice focusing on spatial transformation through design, urban advocacy, and technology exploration. Serving as lead designer and manager of the Hoover Branch Library feasibility study, blinkLAB! Uses an open and collaborative approach to bridge economics, architectural form, urban design, industrial design, furniture, and fabrication. blinkLAB!’s founder, June Grant, has worked for years with the community to bring this Hoover Branch Library project to fruition and is uniquely qualified for the task.

• RBA Creative

  • RBA Creative is a communications and public affairs firm based in the Laurel District of Oakland. The founders, Randolph and Erica Belle, both have a background in the arts and believe that in addition to life in the digital realm, we need to foster authentic human connection through face-to-face interaction, creativity, and self-expression.

• SF Urban Film Fest

  • The SF Urban Film Fest (SFUFF) gathers a diverse, engaged audience and uses the power of storytelling to spark discussion and civic engagement around urban issues— asking what it means to live together and create just and equitable cities. SFUFF will be leading the storytelling activities for the project, gathering and building a narrative around what this new library means to the community, and how it can truly serve the residents.

• Jeremiah Tolbert

  • Jeremiah I. Tolbert II, LEED AP, AIA is the founding principal of Tolbert Design Architects, which has developed a national reputation for the design of a range of major public and private buildings. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and is the past President of the American Institute of Architects East Bay Chapter. Jeremiah teaches for the AIA, promotes education on vital design topics, and supports outreach for current and aspiring architects. He will be conducting youth engagement activities for the project.

• Place It!
  

  • Place It! is a design- and participation-based urban planning practice founded by urban planner and artist James Rojas. At its core, Place It! engages people in urban planning, transportation, design, landscape, and neighborhood change through their hands and senses so that they can be creative and expansive in their thinking and offer up real solutions to the challenges facing our cities and neighborhoods.

    
    

The first major step towards the return of a dedicated branch library to this historic residential community. The Feasibility study will be a community-inclusive process, will document your vision and create an enduring plan that respects cultural legacy, while scribing a pathway towards new futures.

Can you believe the Hoover neighborhood once had two library branches! One was called the North Oakland Branch Library located at 3424 San Pablo Avenue near Hoover Middle School, which opened in 1888, and another called the Telegrove Branch housed in a small storefront at 34th and Grove (MLK, Jr.) Streets, opened in 1930. Our last branch library for the neighborhood disappeared in 1971 leaving many in the community longing for a new branch ever since!

Join us for the Hoover Branch Library Storytelling Workshop; the first in a series of public events in support of a new cultural and educational facility in the community. Sharing your stories and experiences will inspire and shape the design of the future branch library.

The 3-hour workshop has two highly interactive segments. In the first, participants will become familiar with the four main components of a story— Story, Audience, Message and Style (SAMS). Keith Battle from BAVC Media will lead the discussion and together we will analyze a few short videos on the impact and importance of branch libraries using the SAMS rubric. In the second half, participants will join small break-out groups led by a professional local filmmaker and generate unique storylines or simple storyboards using the SAMS rubric about what a new branch library means to you and your community. Lunch will be served. 

EARLY IDEAS

The new Hoover Branch Library was imagined as a place for stories, for community, for documenting history, and imagining the future. The new branch will ensure a balance of library space and service needs for area residents. From our initial outreach and community engagement efforts, we heard that residents want:

• A destination to convene a wide range of residents
• A space which provides access to information and materials throughout the system-at-large
• A place that sparks neighborhood revitalization and defines the community as a source of pride
• A resource that transforms hopelessness to empowerment and vision

In terms of the physical attributes of the facility, community members would like:

• A 12,000+ square feet building with a range of community-serving uses
• A multi-functional space with classrooms, a kitchen, special event areas, and the most current technological amenities
• A location convenient to area residents, i.e. parking, public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle access

Community Engagement

The storytelling workshop will be the first public engagement, but that’s just the beginning of a robust and comprehensive community engagement process, with input from young and old Oaklanders from the neighborhood to build an inclusive vision of an incredible community learning resource center! We want to hear from you to learn how the new Hoover Branch can best support the educational and social needs of Hoover and serve as a shining example of how the residents, the library system and the city of Oakland can work collaboratively to develop this vital asset.