We'll highlight from time to time, what makes our town unique as compared with our neighbors.
Public Libraries in the Bay Area By The Numbers
Emeryville is the largest city in the Bay Area without a library-
Emeryville: 2018 estimated population 12,104 (u.s. census)
-Ranking of Largest Bay Area Cities Without Libraries: 1
-Total Municipalities in the Nine County Region: 101
-Towns Without a Public Library: 7
-Towns With a Public Library: 94
-Smallest Town With a Library: 2,982
-Average Population of the Six Towns Other Than Emeryville Without a Library: 5,752
-Average Population of the 14 Towns Smaller Than Emeryville With a Library: 6,410
- Number of Months since Emeryville Residents Voted YES on Measure J, the $95 Million School, Community Center and Public Library Bond: 109
Literacy and the social cohesion it creates is a cultural hallmark of the San Francisco Bay Area as reflected in its impressive system of public municipal libraries. The Bay Area as it turns out, is crazy over public libraries. The vast majority of cities, towns and even hamlets in the nine counties that comprise the Bay Area has at least one library, even Napa County’s tiny Yountville at 2,982 souls has got a downtown public library. In fact, there are only seven towns in the entire Bay Area that don't have a public library.
Emeryville however has the dubious distinction of being the largest town in the nine counties without a public library. Of the 101 total municipalities in the 6,966 square mile nine county region, 20 are smaller than Emeryville and of that group, 14 have their own libraries. The bedroom community of Piedmont in Alameda County, with a population of 11,238, is the second largest town without a library.
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| With a population of 1510, Colma can be forgiven not having a public library. What's Emeryville's excuse? |
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| Small Towns With Big Community Values Tiny Yountville leads the pack; showing the Bay Area how to foster a vibrant and connected community. Are you listening, Emeryville? |
I had forgotten that we were promised a library with the Measure J bond. Thanks for this reminder. I can't overestimate the value I personally get from public libraries, but the American Library Assn says it more universally: “Libraries are innately subversive institutions born of the radical notion that every single member of society deserves free, high quality access to knowledge and culture.”
ReplyDeleteA radical notion indeed. And getting more so as America descends.
DeleteThanks for commenting Will and here's to an Emeryville public library!
I love going to our local library, and it doesn't bother me a bit that Oakland runs it. http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/golden-gate-branch
ReplyDeleteI'm happy for you that you don't mind traveling to Oakland to go to a library. Because you haven't got much choice in the matter, have you?. Many in the other six towns without libraries might enjoy the journey to their neighboring town's libraries as well. But then again, the people in the other six towns didn't already vote for and pay for a library in their own town as Emeryville residents did.
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