100 Celebrate Library's 100th

Fittingly, about 100 people gathered at the El Cerrito Library June 14 to celebrate the institution’s 100th birthday (http://elcerrito.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/celebrate-a-century-of-reading-at-library).

All of El Cerrito’s city council members were there for at least a portion of the event, as were some former mayors, a representative of Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, a representative of county supervisor John Gioia, plus county librarian Barbara Flynn.

Among the former mayors was Rich Bartke, president of the El Cerrito Historical Society, one of several people who gave short speeches. He noted that while today’s children may choose another medium, they still have the same need for information and escape that earlier generations filled with books.

Tom Panas, also of the historical society, presented a slide show on El Cerrito’s library, going back to the many years it was run by a volunteer and noting that at one time it was the proud owner of a total of 50 books. More information on the library’s history can be found in this article on the historical society’s website: http://elcerritowire.com/history/pages/Forge2007Oct.pdf

Panas has been quietly adding information to the society’s website (http://elcerritowire.com/history/) for many years. The El Cerrito in Print section (http://elcerritowire.com/history/pages/ECinprint.htm)  continues to grow with rich entries. Here are just two of the recent additions:

The ability to access online a complete copy of a 1976 book on El Cerrito’s history:

“El Cerrito Historical Evolution; by Edward Staniford; 1976; 116 pages; Contra Costa County Library. An excellent history of the social and historical development of the City of El Cerrito. Not in print. Click here to download an electronic version of this book (14 Meg).”

And this primary source that gives a great glimpse of the early days of the Castro Adobe:

“Alta California, 1840-1842: the journal and observations of William Dane Phelps, master of the ship “Alert”; William Dane Phelps; 1983; 364; Berkeley Library. This is the diary of Captain Phelps. During his visit to California he spent considerable time ashore and describes very clearly what he saw and experienced. Click here to see an excerpt that describes his visit to Victor Castro’s Adobe in December of 1841. He provides an excellent description of the Adobe in its early years.”

To find out more about the effort to get a new library for El Cerrito, see information on http://www.newelcerritolibrary.org/, like this recent article: http://www.newelcerritolibrary.org/city-budget-meeting-update/ .

And if you are interested in attending another 100 year library celebration, this one for the countywide system, see: http://guides.ccclib.org/100thbirthday

The June 14 event was supported by the El Cerrito Library, Friends of the El Cerrito Library, El Cerrito Historical Society, City of El Cerrito, and the El Cerrito New Library Committee.