As of December 11, 2009, all Library patrons are required to update or confirm their library record before checking out materials from the Library. This has resulted in a somewhat slower check-out process, but so far the procedure is going very smoothly. Ultimately, updated records will result in expanded library services.

For the Library, updated records creates an opportunity to clear accounts that have not been in use for years, even decades. (The Library has never before purged old, inactive records, hundreds of which likely belong to people no longer living in California.) While re-registering their accounts, patrons can opt for receiving phone or email notifications three days prior to due dates for materials they have checked out. Patrons who have placed holds on materials can also opt to receive phone or email notification when those items become available.

Here's what patrons need to know, and what they need to do:

• all patrons with Library Cards must visit a Library in person to re-register their card;
• photo ID with current address is required;
• if address on photo ID is not current, a recent bill or postmarked letter with current address is required;
• a parent's ID is acceptable for children, but child must be present;
• without address verification, patrons will be limited to checking out two (2) items at a time until verification can be completed;
• after March 1, 2010, access to online services and access to the Internet will not be available to any patron who has not verified their card;
• details, including a listing of all libraries, are available at www.oaklandlibrary.org.

As part of the program to update its patron database, beginning March 1, the Library will purge records of patrons who have not visited the library since November 1, 2006. So anyone who hasn't used their library card in the past three years will need to get a new one the next time they want to check out materials or take advantage of Library programs and services.

All patron information will be protected under the California Privacy Act and will remain confidential and will not be shared.

For further information about this update call 510-238-3271 or visit the Library's Web site.

"Silence, Please" is a site-specific installation created by Chris Kubick for the Oakland Public Library. Drawing from time spent in locations around the city, Kubick has created a catalog of the names of "sounds which border on silence" - empty or unnoticed sounds which are often ignored or mistaken for silence. This catalog, written out on transparencies, attempts to represent peace, tranquility, and emptiness, but is inevitably a record of the disturbances and fantasies that interrupt the notion of silence. Visitors will be able to view and manipulate layers of these transparent silences on an array of light boxes in the Oakland History Room. A copy of the catalog will be donated to the library and available for checkout.