The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

City Council approves a 20-year plan for improving the library

Plan includes increased budget and a review of buildings, facilities

By Cecily Barnes

The San Jose City Council unanimously approved the public library's 20-year plan at its Dec. 16 meeting. Prepared by the Master Plan Task Force, the proposal demands more money for the library and a review of all its facilities. The task force further proposed ways to keep the library system abreast of the latest technology and to continue serving the needs of San Jose residents.

"One of the recommendations was to look, building by building, at what the current space is, what the needs are and what the cost is for remodeling," said city librarian Jane Light. "We told the council we could come back with a status report in about six months."

The library task force also requested that the library system receive more money, at least as much money as other libraries of comparable size. Currently, the San Jose Public Library is underfunded compared to the national average, said Light.

"The library should get no less than the average per capita operating budget for large cities," Light said. "Currently, we are below the average. If we were at the average, we'd have about $3 million more to spend."

For the 1997-1998 fiscal year, the San Jose Public Library's operating budget is $18,752,548.

The council agreed that the libraries should get more money, without technically allotting any funds--a move that would have to wait for the midyear budget review in February.

The task force also proposed increased library hours. Whereas only the main library is now open seven days a week, other libraries would become available Sundays and Mondays. All libraries would open earlier and close later, and card-holders would have 24-hour access to the library electronically.

Currently, the Willow Glen Library is open from noon to 9 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

"With most computers, you can negotiate access from people's homes and offices if they have a library access code," Light said. "And more and more the traditional reference book, like the encyclopedia, is available electronically."

With electronic databases rapidly increasing, the San Jose Public Library will soon be able to provide more information at all of its branches, rather than just the main library.

"All these things, we used to be able to buy only one and have it at the main library," Light said. "Now, electronically, people will have access at every branch."

Electronic information, however, requires more computers. Money has already been budgeted to increase the available terminals at neighborhood libraries. At the Willow Glen Public Library, 12 new personal computers are expected to replace the old systems by mid-1998, said senior librarian Maurice Stevenson.

"Right now we have two PCs with the latest software applications and Internet access. Those are mainly for email and Internet access," Stevenson said. "Then we have 12 dumb computers that can't do anything on their own. I'm pretty sure the plan is to replace each and every one of these dumb terminals with a PC."

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