June 12, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
News
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welcomes high tech and summer 
Photographs by Jacqueline Ramseyer Book Worms: Maurice Stevenson, left, senior librarian; Kathy Boyd, children's librarian; and June Hayashi, adult services librarian, are the heart of the Willow Glen Library. By Susan Wiedmann The Willow Glen Library has turned into a high-tech information center, but it is still a haven for Willow Glen's traditional book lovers of all ages. Its three librarians and staff of 12 deserve a lot of the credit for both achievements. June Hayashi, the adult services librarian, is a diminutive powerhouse who contributes enormously to the flow of energy at the branch. "I just love it here," Hayashi says about the library and Willow Glen, where she has lived for 35 years. She has been with the Willow Glen branch for five years and says she has noticed that a lot of young families with preschool children come to the branch. An excellent feature of the building is that its children's section is in two large rooms on the other side of the adult computer terminals and reading materials. This gives younger children space to let loose a bit during some of their programs. Kathy Boyd, the children's librarian, certainly makes them feel at home. She has been at the branch for six years and says that children's "happy noises" are just fine with her, which is fortunate, since between 75 and 90 mothers and children come to her Storytime hour at 10:30 a.m. each Friday. "I love seeing kids get excited about books," Boyd says. "I love telling stories and having everybody rush up afterwards and checking out the books." She is the only person in charge of Storytime for toddlers and preschool children. Boyd reads three books for the tykes, including one that is also a song she sings. In between, she sings other songs and does finger plays and stretches with the children. The staff gets to know the children who come in after school because the branch is small enough for them to be noticed and welcomed. Elementary school children will soon participate in a free, nine-week summer reading program at the branch. They can accumulate points for small prizes and certificates by reading books and/or by participating in weekly events. The program will begin once school ends in June and will take place at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. The events will include the "Short Attention Span Circus," Walter the Giant Storyteller," a magic show (for which reservations will be required) and a program brought in from the Tech Museum of Innovation. Between 50 and 125 children come to each event, Boyd says. The summer reading program has been expanded to families. Adults can read and get points, which they can give to their children for additional prizes. A new category encourages parents to read to their children and for older children to read to younger children for points. A summer program for teens is also being planned, possibly including a cartooning workshop. Two computers are in the children's section, and many of the children know how to use them. "We have a lot of children who come in and go right to the computer," Boyd says. "Third-graders are there, reserving their own books." 
Book Search: Librarian Kathy Boyd helps a customer locate a book. Boyd, who's been with the Willow Glen Library branch for the past eight years, has been working in the San Jose Public Library System since 1975. When the library was renovated a couple of years ago, Hayashi says the intent was to make the building comfortable, welcoming and accessible for patrons. Air conditioning is a welcome summertime feature at the branch, and large ceiling fans over the main service area provide additional comfort. The most popular materials, including new fiction and nonfiction, are in the center of the main part of the branch, and the nearby books-on-tape are also a popular choice of local residents. Hayashi says commuters especially appreciate them, as do seniors who have vision problems. The Willow Glen Library has the largest large-print collection in the system next to the main branch in downtown San Jose, which shows the extent of the older population that the Willow Glen branch serves. "Two doors down is Live Oak Adult Daycare Services," Hayashi says. "I go there once a week and I do outreach." Many of the clients there look forward to the library materials she loans them, which include books, magazines, videos, books-on-tape and CDs. In addition, the Willow Glen Villa, a senior community near the post office on Meridian Avenue, provides a van each Saturday for individuals eager to visit the branch. While children learn to use computers in school and many young and middle-aged adults use computers at their jobs, senior citizens are often bewildered by them. The Willow Glen Library offers free Internet training for seniors at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays, by appointment only. During two Saturday sessions, each of which lasts for two hours, the seniors learn how to set up email, do research and use the San Jose Library system's WebPac catalog. The branch currently has seven Internet stations for the public, and staff members are available for assistance. "The seniors at Live Oak want to learn more about the Internet," Hayashi says. "They've heard about it and they're curious. They want to be up to date about what's happening in the world." One of the students who took the senior Internet class was a 95-year-old Live Oak client. "What makes our Internet training so appealing to seniors is that there are only two people per instructor, and we have two wonderful volunteers who have been doing this for over two years," Hayashi says. "The thing I feel so good about is seeing the seniors who were so anxious about using the computers and the Internet gain so much confidence after learning how to use the system." A lot of the branch's materials could not be purchased without the help of The Friends of the Willow Glen Library. They are a group of about 100 dues-paying volunteers who raise money to supplement the materials in the branch's adult and children's collections, including videos, books-on-tape, audio books and large-print books. The branch was even able to buy the two computers in the children's section through their efforts. The Friends hold book sales four times a year - the next one is on June 26 - and along with bake sales, a book spin rack, and donations, they bring in between $12,000 and $15,000 each year, according to the Willow Glen Library's branch manager/senior librarian Maurice Stevenson, one of the group's biggest fans. Stevenson, a Willow Glen resident who oversees all of the branch's activities, has been there for eight years. "Working and living here is like being part of the community and helping the community, too," he said. Since home and work are so near to each other, he admits he is sometimes tempted on his day off to come in to take care of some business. It would be understandable if he wanted to do it in the branch's relaxing patio area off the children's reading room. Under a massive oak tree, large, colorful, painted tiles with a theme of rabbit scenes from children's literature - including The Velveteen Rabbit, White Rabbit, and Peter Rabbit - have been laid into the ground. The work was part of a children's summer reading club project in 2000. Stevenson, Hayashi, Boyd and the staff encourage people to use the self-checkout machines and to use the online WebPAC catalog to reserve materials, but the librarians and the staff still answer customer's questions. "Technology has changed the way we do business," Hayashi says. "We're now able to do more programs and do more outreach activities." 
Tools of the Trade: Scrap paper and pencils are ever ready to be used for noting book IDs from the Willow Glen Library's computer system. The librarians have to keep up with the constantly changing technology that they now use every day. Their reference collection is much smaller than previously because a lot of the print material is now in electronic format and the databases are available online. "We have workshops and training that the library provides for us," Hayashi says. "Our role as librarians has changed because of the changes in technology, and we really are becoming trainers and teachers of the technology." Hayashi finds time and energy to be part of the Willow Glen Library-sponsored book club, which meets at the Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company on Lincoln Avenue at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of every month. The Willow Glen Library is open Monday-Tuesday, noon-9 p.m., and Wednesday - Saturday, 9 a.m. 6 p.m. It is located at 1157 Minnesota Ave., Willow Glen. For more information, call 408-998-2022. |
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