A Green Way to Make the Most Out of Your Local Library

If you consider yourself eco-friendly and you like books, you might not be surprised that your local library is one of the best places to go.

But it's not just because many libraries nowadays feature green sections.

The offerings at these libraries provide opportunities for you to be green in ways that you might not have thought were kind to the environment.

Libraries on the Peninsula offer books, of course. The efficient networking of each location’s collection means that anyone who lives on the Peninsula has access to everything in the shared catalog, regardless of the size of each city or town’s own branch. Books on paper, audio books, films, music and more will arrive at your branch within a few days of an online or in-person request for a fee smaller than busfare—or one-fifth of a gallon of gas—to the item’s home branch.

But if you don’t want to leave home for your books, Peninsula Library System cardholders can take advantage of a greener option: e-books, which can be accessed through a huge collection from your home computer. Some music, films, games, magazines and classes can be obtained online now as well—all for free.

But don’t forget all the reasons to visit your local branch in person, from using the public computers (or the meeting rooms or the homework and tutoring areas) to attending events like children’s story time or movie screenings or readings with authors.

Our local library branches are beautiful buildings that people all of all ages and backgrounds can feel at home in. They offer a safe, comfortable and free place for work, study and relaxation. And, best of all, they come staffed by friendly, knowledgeable professionals who can help you make the most of out this great local resource.

Here are some branch highlights:

San Bruno – bi-lingual story time for kids; author events for adults

San Carlos – World Language collections in Chinese, Hindi, Russian and Spanish; After-school storytime

Redwood City – Teen Space (12 -18) multi-purpose area; Spanish language collections

Burlingame – toddler and pre-school storytime; author events for adults

Daly City – free workshops on money management, green landscaping, and more

Menlo Park – bilingual storytime for kids; astronomy on the lawn November 1 (all ages)

San Mateo – special collections on business resources, biotechnology, San Mateo history, the Foundation Center, and Holocaust studies

South San Francisco – meeting room with auditorium; Spanish language collections

Foster City – Chinese/English bilingual storytime; free workshops for adults

Millbrae - Chinese/English bilingual storytime; Teen Lounge and homework help

Belmont – After-school crafts; multimedia foreign language collections including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, and Spanish

Half Moon Bay – Bookmobile to Coastside communities; adult literacy tutoring

Pacifica – family storytime; author evenings; knitting group

About this column: A biweekly exploration into all things green on the Peninsula.

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