A volunteer-driven nonprofit bookstore redefines public service in Oakland — and demonstrates the power of Oakland’s people to thrive despite chronic municipal dysfunction.
@Juan, thank you for your comment. Our description of the city’s financial maneuvers is accurate and we stand behind it. If the city did not engage in these maneuvers, then there would be none to report on nor describe in plainspoken terms, as we have done. Thank you again for engaging, the discussion is appreciated.
Great article. A little correction: Sven has been gone for months. The Bookmark was already in Old Oakland before relocating to its current location, also in Old Oakland. Thanks for giving The Bookmark some love. It is indeed a gem.
The son of a librarian, I applaud this. And coincidentally, just donated a bunch of LPs to the cheerful Friends of Oakland Library who volunteer there.
Am pleased to hear that The Bookmark is thriving in its new location on Broadway but would like to note that its reliance on volunteers is not unique. Another prime example is the White Elephant Sale that started in the 1960's. This year's sales grossed over 3 million dollars that helps support the Oakland Museum. Another example is the Gardens at Lake Merritt which is largely reliant on volunteers for maintenance and the proceeds from their annual Autumn Lights Festival have funded major improvements including the new entrance gates and re-landscaping of the beds adjacent to the garden center. On a smaller scale, the East Bay Children's Book project has distributed over 2 million books in the past 20+ years while the Deadheaders at the Morcom Rose Garden are key to its survival. That's likely true of neighborhood parks throughout the city and from first-hand experience, I can vouch that those volunteers are stretched far too thin. One way or the other, the city does need to figure out how to get more funding or make better use of the funds they have.
Great article, but the use of the term "double-dipping" is inaccurate and adds sensatiomalism. Indeed later in the article, it is referred to as "supplanting" which makes it sound bad enough! We don't need a hot-button term to make it sound bad that parcel taxes are supplanting the general fund monies for the libraries. That sounds bad enough as is.
Juan, thank you for your comment. Our description of the city’s financial maneuvers is accurate and we stand behind it. If the city did not engage in these maneuvers, then there would be none to report on nor describe in plainspoken terms. Thank you again for engaging, the discussion is appreciated.
The "double-dipping" is a well known FACT that has angered a lot of Oaklanders for a long while.
Here is one of many editorials and articles on how the city of Oakland CANNOT be trusted with the taxes we've paid, time and again, and yet, the city keeps asking us for more.
Thanks for sending but that opinion piece is about sales tax. You say "double-dipping" but indeed, this this not just supplanting general funds with parcel taxes? Double-dipping, per Merriam Webster, is 'unfairly or inaccurately claiming the same expense, benefit, or income twice, resulting in a dual advantage. It often involves utilizing two different methods or sources to get paid for the same action, such as collecting a salary and a pension simultaneously." That's not what's happening here.
This is why I questioned the rhetoric used. My understanding of the mission of the Oakland Report is to use reason to analyze the news of Oakland, to look at what's actually happening with committees, funding, dysfunction and so forth. Instead, we're veering into opinion, rhetoric, and hot-button terminology that undermines the actual issue. This is not even to mention the most common commenter is a member of Lyndon LaRouche's political party (which is incredibly problematic) or that there have been articles by Seneca Scott, a known homephobe and transphobe (proven by social media posts and harassment of a public official). You know, maybe there is a benefit to J-school, given the rigor it takes to understand what it takes to be a reporter.
I support that Oakland is poorly run and I don't want new parcel taxes supplanting what we should expect from the general fund's coverage of basic city services, such as libraries or police officer salaries. But the angle the Oakland Report is taking on this issues is troubling and not what I understood as the mission of this organization.
Thanks for giving me the space to share these thoughts.
@Juan, thank you for your comment. Our description of the city’s financial maneuvers is accurate and we stand behind it. If the city did not engage in these maneuvers, then there would be none to report on nor describe in plainspoken terms, as we have done. Thank you again for engaging, the discussion is appreciated.
Great article. A little correction: Sven has been gone for months. The Bookmark was already in Old Oakland before relocating to its current location, also in Old Oakland. Thanks for giving The Bookmark some love. It is indeed a gem.
Stacy — Thank you for your comment. We have updated the article accordingly. I agree, The Bookmark is a gem.
The son of a librarian, I applaud this. And coincidentally, just donated a bunch of LPs to the cheerful Friends of Oakland Library who volunteer there.
Am pleased to hear that The Bookmark is thriving in its new location on Broadway but would like to note that its reliance on volunteers is not unique. Another prime example is the White Elephant Sale that started in the 1960's. This year's sales grossed over 3 million dollars that helps support the Oakland Museum. Another example is the Gardens at Lake Merritt which is largely reliant on volunteers for maintenance and the proceeds from their annual Autumn Lights Festival have funded major improvements including the new entrance gates and re-landscaping of the beds adjacent to the garden center. On a smaller scale, the East Bay Children's Book project has distributed over 2 million books in the past 20+ years while the Deadheaders at the Morcom Rose Garden are key to its survival. That's likely true of neighborhood parks throughout the city and from first-hand experience, I can vouch that those volunteers are stretched far too thin. One way or the other, the city does need to figure out how to get more funding or make better use of the funds they have.
Great article, but the use of the term "double-dipping" is inaccurate and adds sensatiomalism. Indeed later in the article, it is referred to as "supplanting" which makes it sound bad enough! We don't need a hot-button term to make it sound bad that parcel taxes are supplanting the general fund monies for the libraries. That sounds bad enough as is.
Juan, thank you for your comment. Our description of the city’s financial maneuvers is accurate and we stand behind it. If the city did not engage in these maneuvers, then there would be none to report on nor describe in plainspoken terms. Thank you again for engaging, the discussion is appreciated.
The "double-dipping" is a well known FACT that has angered a lot of Oaklanders for a long while.
Here is one of many editorials and articles on how the city of Oakland CANNOT be trusted with the taxes we've paid, time and again, and yet, the city keeps asking us for more.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/21/editorial-oaklands-measure-a-duplicate-taxes-california-record-high/
Thanks for sending but that opinion piece is about sales tax. You say "double-dipping" but indeed, this this not just supplanting general funds with parcel taxes? Double-dipping, per Merriam Webster, is 'unfairly or inaccurately claiming the same expense, benefit, or income twice, resulting in a dual advantage. It often involves utilizing two different methods or sources to get paid for the same action, such as collecting a salary and a pension simultaneously." That's not what's happening here.
This is why I questioned the rhetoric used. My understanding of the mission of the Oakland Report is to use reason to analyze the news of Oakland, to look at what's actually happening with committees, funding, dysfunction and so forth. Instead, we're veering into opinion, rhetoric, and hot-button terminology that undermines the actual issue. This is not even to mention the most common commenter is a member of Lyndon LaRouche's political party (which is incredibly problematic) or that there have been articles by Seneca Scott, a known homephobe and transphobe (proven by social media posts and harassment of a public official). You know, maybe there is a benefit to J-school, given the rigor it takes to understand what it takes to be a reporter.
I support that Oakland is poorly run and I don't want new parcel taxes supplanting what we should expect from the general fund's coverage of basic city services, such as libraries or police officer salaries. But the angle the Oakland Report is taking on this issues is troubling and not what I understood as the mission of this organization.
Thanks for giving me the space to share these thoughts.