This is the main branch of the Berkeley library, and therefore the biggest. It was remodeled a few years ago, and now lives in a tall jade-green building with Art Deco-style carvings in light relief all over it. It's totally gorgeous.
Inside, it is four or five stories of books. You have to walk up at least three flights of stairs just to get to the children's section - which makes sense for the kids, if not the parents. Or you can take the elevator, and thank goodness for the Americans with Disabilities Act that makes that possible for everyone.
This library has a little more flash and razzle-dazzle than Oakland's does. Their library card qualifies you to check out two free passes to the Berkeley Art Museum; they have a fancy little "ticket" on their website advertising their Bookletters newsletter (which I believe is an outside agency, but makes them look pretty shiny anyway); they have a big paintbrush "spaceship" in the kids' room that kids can ride, or at least climb on. They have movie and music events - even though they're a quiet library!
On the other hand, they are a little shorter in the "special collections" department than Oakland. But since anyone from anywhere can use either library, maybe it's better to see them all as a vast network of library bounty, visiting the Oakland collections and the Berkeley events at will and supporting them all in any way we can.
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