Berkeley proclaims National Library Week; trustees outline services, Measure X support

The Berkeley City Council proclaimed April 2025 National Library Week at its March 25 meeting and recognized local library staff and volunteers for their work.

Beverly Green, president of the Board of Library Trustees, thanked the council and community partners and introduced Tess Mayer, Director of Library Services, who presented an update on the system. Mayer said the Berkeley Public Library serves four branches plus a central library and cited registration and circulation figures the trustees asked the council to note: the transcript records 157,190 registered library users and 8,252 child borrowers. Mayer also said the system circulates both a large physical collection and extensive digital collections—she stated "we do have over 400,000 books and we also have over 700,000 ebooks"—and highlighted popular technology loans (laptops and hotspots) and more than 150 cultural and educational programs across the system each month.

Mayer thanked the community for the passage of Measure X in the prior fall and described a new five‑year strategic plan and a technology roadmap that will guide investments in online services and materials‑handling systems. She also said the library plans a multi‑day workplace‑violence and safety training for all staff this summer.

Mayor Ishii and council members thanked the trustees and staff for the presentation. The proclamation and the staff update were ceremonial but provided context for upcoming budget and program work related to library services.

Next steps: the trustees invited residents to attend National Library Week events and to follow the library’s program announcements. Council members referenced the update to guide future budget and policy discussions.