Our Library

Rockridge is the only neighborhood in America to fund and build its own library. The doors opened on August 3, 1996. Neighbors raised $3.5 million to build a 15,000 square foot library, which today houses 2 large community meeting rooms and approximately 91,000 books, CDs, DVDs, audio books, video games, magazines and newspapers for patrons of all ages. Rockridge residents continue their support for this library by paying additional property taxes each year.

The DVD Collection

There are 2800 DVDs in the current collection. We aim to double the collection by adding 2800 DVDs rescued from a local video store, Videot's, which went out of business last year. We have a wonderful selection which includes silent, pre-code Hollywood, film noir, animation, foreign, documentary and both classic and recent American films for all ages. See the titles on our DVDs page.

Why donate?

- Many local residents cannot afford premium cable or Netflix. Especially for children, teens, and seniors who fall into this category, the expansion of the Library's collection is most welcome. Just like great books, films are part of our cultural history and should be available to everyone.

- Our community backs the project in both word and deed.

- Oakland Public library will pay for all the costs of cataloging and security cases.

- DVDs bring people to the library. Currently 3% of the collection, the DVDs account for 20% of annual circulation.

- DVDs are a gateway to reading. Our librarians say people come for the DVDs and stay for the books.

Bigger than Netflix!

Every day, public libraries in the U.S. loan out 2.1 million DVDs, slightly more than Netflix's 2 million daily rentals, making films accessible to all members of the community. The Rockridge Branch is one of the busiest in the Oakland Library system, and serves patrons both from the immediate neighborhood and from outside it. Students from Oakland Technical High School, Claremont Middle School and Chabot and Peralta Elementary Schools use this library. And with the Claremont Branch of the Berkeley Public Library, located in Elmwood, closed for renovation and the lease of the Piedmont Avenue Branch Library expiring later this year, the Rockridge Branch is expected to serve even more patrons from the cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont.

Keeping the doors open

City of Oakland budget issues make one thing certain: libraries will be impacted. Some will close and the rest will have hours and staff cut back. When deciding where to cut, two criteria are used: the number of items circulating annually and the number of patron visits. The DVD collection draws patrons to the library and boosts circulation numbers. Doubling the collection through the Rockridge DVD Project can only increase both numbers.