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San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Young San Franciscans aren't going to bars. They're hanging at the library
It's no secret that young people in San Francisco don't frequent bars and nightclubs the way they once did. This has left many perplexed. If the city's dwindling population of 20-somethings isn't drinking and dancing, what are they doing? This 20-something has spent much of her time this summer at the San Francisco Public Library. And based on my observations, plenty of other young adults have, too. No, we aren't geeks. The library is cool. To start, it's a free third space — a perk that cannot be overstated in this ridiculously expensive city. I recently visited the Chinatown library shortly before it closed at 8 p.m. There was barely an empty seat in the house. And it was impossible not to notice the sizable number of young adults. Is it any surprise we'd forgo a moody bar when a glass of wine can set you back $20 these days? Meanwhile, the library's marketing and community engagement teams have made concerted efforts to capture the attention of millennial and Gen-Z audiences. Their smart gamification strategy is working. The library offers a tote bag as a prize for completing its Summer Stride program — which challenges residents to complete 20 hours of reading from June through August. I was already excited to see the design. Then I discovered the library would also be offering a Trader Joe's-style mini tote this summer. 'We really got on board with the idea that we needed to try and compete with Trader Joe's,' Michelle Jeffers, the library's chief of community programs and partnerships, recently told me, laughing. The grocery chain's $3 mini tote bags became a viral social-media sensation this year, with people waiting for hours in line for the chance to snag one. The bags sold out in minutes and are now being hawked online with asking prices as high as $49,000. Library Community Engagement Manager Alejandro Gallegos told me he was 'skeptical' of the mini tote plan at first, but as soon as he saw the tiny bags, he was sold. San Francisco readers are, too. When I talked with Jeffers and Gallegos in late July, almost all of the library branches had already run out of the mini totes. It's a sign that, despite the prevailing winds of our digital age, libraries can still succeed at getting people of all ages to engage with that most analog of pleasures: reading books. Since the pandemic, the number of people completing the Summer Stride challenge has steadily increased. In the 2022 fiscal year, 10,515 people claimed their tote bags, a nearly 328% increase from the prior year, according to the library's annual report. By 2024, the total had boomed to 18,300 people — a 14% increase from the year before. So much for the idea that summer reading challenges are just a way to incentivize kids to crack open books when they aren't in school. In recent years, a growing number of libraries, bookstores and literary groups have begun letting adults in on the fun — a sign of their craving for authentic community following years of isolation and the app-ification of relationships. The San Francisco Public Library expanded its summer-reading challenge to include teenagers and adults around 2008, when officials discovered 'that a lot of people that weren't kids wanted to participate,' Jeffers told me. It turns out that when you offer 'something really fun and exciting' with 'no barriers' to entry, people will sign up in droves, Jeffers said. I wasn't thinking of these admirably democratic arguments last year, when I first learned about Summer Stride. I was focused on getting my hands on the adorable tote hanging over the check-out counter — with 'READ' emblazoned in puffy blue cloud-like letters above a pigeon clutching an open book in its talons. Yes, I already had a not insignificant tote-bag collection. But there was no way I was going to leave without this one. When I asked the librarian if it was for sale, she smiled and said it could be mine for free: I just needed to track 20 hours of reading across the next few months. So that's what I did — with a level of fervor I hadn't displayed since elementary school, when my fifth-grade class participated in a challenge sponsored by the San Jose Sharks hockey team called 'Reading is Cool.' Whoever read the most books each month won a Sharks-branded medal with a vibrant teal ribbon. (Yes, I made nabbing those medals my entire personality.) This summer, my pursuit of the coveted mini tote helped me realize how libraries can be a refuge from the crush and cynicism of contemporary society. Anyone can sit down and read in their cool and quiet embrace. No one is judging you for your age or aesthetic or your drinking choices. And the incredible amenities — a daily printing allowance, access to major publications and streaming services, job training, museum and park passes — cost you nothing. There's also a surprisingly comfortable and peaceful companionship that comes from browsing the shelves with other readers or working quietly alongside others at long tables. You don't need to talk, but if you do, it doesn't feel like approaching a stranger. You intrinsically know you're part of a larger community. Is it any wonder that so many of us are choosing the library over other social spaces? Emily Hoeven is a columnist and editorial writer for the Opinion section.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
San Francisco searches for next drag laureate
(KRON) — The San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives announced Monday it is searching for the city's next drag laureate. The drag laureate is a role described as 'celebrating and uplifting the city's vibrant LGBTQ+ community,' according to officials. City officials said applicants should be full-time San Francisco residents and have 'a strong understanding of the city's rich drag history, and have experience in community activism, engagement, or philanthropy.' The individual selected to be drag laureate will get a $105,000 stipend — or $35,000 annually — to support works over a three-year term. The search comes after the tenure of D'Arcy Drollinger, San Francisco's first drag laureate and owner of Oasis nightclub, comes to an end. Officials said Drollinger 'defined the inaugural program through a series of key appearances and a new event in collaboration with Oasis Arts, the Civic Joy Fund, and drag performers Juanita MORE! and Honey Mahogany called SF is a Drag.' Jonas Brothers announce new tour with San Francisco show 'D'Arcy has done an amazing job serving as San Francisco's first drag laureate, and I am thrilled that we are celebrating and honoring queer artistry and voices by opening the application process for our next drag laureate,' Mayor Daniel Lurie said in the announcement. 'It brings me so much joy to know that Mayor Lurie and the [San Francisco Public Library] are committed to continuing this legacy, and I truly hope that the Drag Laureate position becomes an integral part of San Francisco's cultural fabric, much like the Imperial and Ducal Courts and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,' Drollinger said. 'These organizations have become pillars of our community, and I'm thrilled to see the Drag Laureate position become part of that same enduring tapestry.' The call for applications closes on April 13, with the final selection to be announced in May. More information can be found on the Drag Laureate Program website. The Drag Laureate Program is a collaboration between the mayor's office, the San Francisco Public Library, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the Office of Transgender Initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
14 Black Bay Area authors to add to your reading list
Black authors around the world are taking literary genres to new heights, and many of them started right here in the Bay. State of play: Axios asked the team at the San Francisco Public Library's African American Center and Collection Development for recommendations of literary authors who have ties to the Bay Area. They replied with a long list, one we had to unfortunately condense for this story. Here are some of the selections for each genre. Children's books Natasha Tripplett: A Jewish Jamaican American adoptee based in the Bay Area, Tripplett has focused her work on bolstering cultural representation in children's literature. Notable works include " The Blue Pickup," which tells the story of a young girl's love for fixing automobiles with her grandfather in Jamaica. Thomishia Booker: A member of the Bay Area's Black Literary Collective, Booker uses her writing to uplift Black children. Her series includes the books " Brown Boy Joy" and " My Brown Skin." Angela Dalton: Based in Oakland, Dalton has a longtime interest in space that inspires her books. She is part of the Bay Area BIPOC Book Creators. Notable works include " To Boldly Go," which chronicles "Star Trek" actress Nichelle Nichols' experience as the first Black woman astronaut on TV. Nonfiction Akilah Cadet: Co-owner of the Oakland Roots Sports Club, Cadet explores structural oppression from her vantage point as a Black disabled woman in her writings. Her book, " White Supremacy is all Around: Notes From a Black Disabled Woman in a White World," includes personal stories from her experience with workplace disability and more. Rue Mapp: A Bay Area native, Mapp is the founder and CEO of the Oakland-headquartered Outdoor Afro, which advocates for Black connections and leadership in nature. Her book, " Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors," uplifts the history of Black people's relationship to the outdoors, from a journey up Kilimanjaro to a beekeeper couple in Detroit. Earlonne Woods: This Bay Area resident co-created the podcast "Ear Hustle" with Nigel Poor while incarcerated in the San Quentin State Prison. The podcast was lauded for painting a rare portrait of life behind the bars. Woods and Poor's book, " This is Ear Hustle," illuminates their path to the podcast and shares new stories of prison life. Memoir Dorothy Lazard: Raised in San Francisco and Oakland, Lazard has made a name for herself as a librarian and public historian. Her memoir, " What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World," looks back at that journey by tracing her life through historical moments like the murder of Emmett Till, Summer of Love, and the redevelopment of Oakland. Aisha Harris: Her voice is well-known to listeners of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Harris, a Bay Area resident, brings that same wit to her book " Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture that Raised Me." "Wannabe" explores the staples of Harris' 90s childhood and analyzes the origins of tropes like the "Black friend." Melissa Valentine: Valentine completed her debut memoir, " The Names of All the Flowers," after serving as a fellow at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. The memoir examines themes of racial trauma and grief through Valentine's experience seeing her brother fall victim to the criminalization of Black boys and men and later to gun violence in 1990s Oakland. Contemporary Kai Harris: A professor at Santa Clara University, Harris traces themes of Black girlhood, the slave narrative and motherhood in her works. Her book, " What the Fireflies Knew," a coming-of-age novel told by an 11-year-old girl as she grapples with her new reality after the death of her father and disappearance of her mother. Romance Jasmine Guillory: A Bay Area native, Guillory has made a reputation for herself as a rom-com writer. Many of her books are set in the region. Her latest book, " Flirting Lessons," is a queer romance that involves a young woman who seeks dating advice from Napa Valley's biggest heartbreaker. Horror Tamika Thompson: A former journalist who lives in the Bay, Thompson is among the many Black authors who followed in the footsteps of Octavia Butler to take speculative fiction to new heights. Notable works include " Unshod, Cackling, and Naked," a collection of 13 horror short stories that reframe mundane Black experiences and delve into Black women's rage. Science Fiction/Fantasy Kemi Ashing-Giwa: A Ph.D. candidate at Stanford's earth and planetary sciences department, Ashing-Giwa weaves messages of anti-colonialism and ecophysiology into her works. Notable books include " The Splinter in the Sky," which depicts a tea specialist-turned-spy-turned assassin's mission to rescue her abducted sibling and save her conquered homeland. Historical fiction Yaa Gyasi: A Berkeley resident, Gyasi began writing her debut novel as an undergraduate student at Stanford, where she pursued funding to do research in her home country of Ghana. Her debut novel " Homegoing" follows two half-sisters as they embark on different paths in 18th century Ghana.
