Wordless Wednesday

by Kathryn Doyle (11/6/2008)

California Genealogical Society Library
Beginning Genealogy Class, October 25, 2008
Marge Bell, Assistant Director, Oakland Regional Family History Center



Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, 10/25/2008.

How Do You Do Genealogy? SAASC Tour November 18, 2008

by Kathryn Doyle (11/5/2008)

The California Genealogical Society will be hosting members of the San Jose State University Society of American Archivists Student Chapter (SAASC) on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.

Laura Spurrier and Dick Rees will be talking to students about how to untangle family trees and how to help people trace and uncover family histories. Students will take advantage of the CGS Library resources and stay and research their own family histories after the lecture.

Christina Fidler, Library Assistant at the University of California, found CGS in a directory of local libraries. She acts as event coordinator for the northern student chapter of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) at San Jose State’s School of Library and Information Science. Christina arranges group visits as a way to connect SJSU archival students with the “amazing collections around the Bay Area” and to “provide students an opportunity to meet each other outside of their digital classrooms and gain a strong sense of community.”

The volunteers at CGS are looking forward to the day!

The Great Wall of Oakland

by Kathryn Doyle (11/4/2008)

The Great Wall of Oakland
Friday, November 7, 2008
6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
FREE
Scheduled Theme: Democracy

The best thing about the recent Information Swap Meet for the tenants of 2201 Broadway was meeting so many nice people who work “upstairs” in the Breuner Building. (We genealogy-types tend to head straight down to the “lower level” at 2201 Broadway and never really interact with our neighbors in the building.)

I’ve communicated with Carly Perez-Munoz, Breuner Building Operations Manager and with Chris Curtis, Metrovation’s Project Manager, but only via email, so it was a pleasure to talk with them in person.

Carly and Chris told me about the special role that the Breuner Building plays the first Friday of every month when one wall of the building at 2201 Broadway becomes “The Great Wall of Oakland” – a 100 by 100-foot outdoor screen for experimental media art. It’s all part of the Art Murmur, a group of galleries in Uptown Oakland that have openings every first Friday of the month.

Chris explained, “Our idea in creating the Great Wall is to use the huge wall of our building at 2201 Broadway to provide a unique public venue for Oakland artists to display their visual artistry. We think the Great Wall of Oakland is an excellent addition to the Arts and Entertainment character of the Uptown District.

The Oakland Great Wall and Art Murmur gallery walk is now in its second year. The Great Wall overlooks Grand Avenue just west of Broadway, above a parking lot behind Luka’s Taproom & Lounge.

Graphic from the Oakland Cultural Arts Web site.