Neighbors organize an outdoor library in the Fruitvale

Alex Lujano browses a book at the "People's Library" in the Fruitvale district.

Over the past two weeks an impromptu library has sprung up on the location of the former Latin American Library in the Fruitvale district. A group of nearly fifteen people, including a few Occupy Oakland protesters and several community members, have been loaning out books, constructing planters for gardening and holding community meetings.

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Knitting isn’t just for grandma anymore

Cherrie Tan, a high school senior, has been going to Oakland’s Lakeview library every week for the last year, but she’s not there to check out books, surf the Internet or read—she’s there to knit. Part social, part class, this library knitting circle, called “All Knit,” is one of several knitting groups to have popped up in the East Bay over the last few years.

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