They are just letters strung together to form sentences
– punctuated with a timeless sense of excitement or terror, love
or hardship that only a good book can produce.
They are just letters strung together to form sentences – punctuated with a timeless sense of excitement or terror, love or hardship that only a good book can produce.
The thousands of books that line the shelves at the San Benito County Free Library, the only extensive book collection available for residents in the entire county, has been struggling for years to provide the joy of reading, along with adequate services for its patrons.
With the installation of a new computer system, which includes an online public access catalog, residents can access the library’s catalog from any computer with Internet access, said county librarian Jo Wahdan.
“Instead of having to come all the way into the library you can say, ‘I wonder if they have that book,'” she said. “If you see that it’s been checked out, then why drive all the way in?”
The system was installed in December, and most of the glitches that plagued it since its inception have now been worked out.
The previous system, which was DOS-based, needed to be upgraded at least 10 years ago. Because of a lack of funding, the county was unable to oblige the library with a new system until several months ago.
Before the renovation, San Benito was one of only two libraries in the state to still use the DOS system. The new Windows-based system was provided by an allotment of $85,000 from the county’s General Fund.
“I don’t know how we could have survived another year without it,” Wahdan said. “We have finally, finally caught up.”
The library’s ability to supply this service has shown a visible increase in use to the facility, as well as to its Web site, she said.
“You have the have’s and the have not’s,” she said. “For those who can’t afford a computer they can come in here and use the computers here in the library for free.”
The welcome boost the new computer system has given the library is a small, albeit important, step in providing adequate services to the swelling community.
State funding cuts that affected all libraries have caused financial resources to dwindle more and more over the years.
Strong community support, devoted volunteers and frequent donations help sustain the library’s livelihood. But with a future that is often suspended in financial limbo, alternate sources and resources – other than the General Fund – are going to have to be tapped to secure a stable future, Wahdan said.
“The community’s need is going to continue growing and they need to incorporate impact fees,” she said. “That’s what is going to support this library.”
Funding that would go toward hiring more trained staff people, supplementing the shrinking book budget and getting the Bookmobile up and running again are the library’s greatest needs, Wahdan said.
The Bookmobile, which travels to the remote areas of the county supplying literature and resources to residents, has been parked indefinitely because of lack of staff.
“The person who was on the Bookmobile had to move in so we could keep these doors open and a lot of those children out there don’t have access to materials,” she said.
Unfortunately, the library doesn’t rank at the top of the county’s list of priorities, Wahdan said. When money is available, it is bestowed on public safety and other endeavors.
“We’re at the bottom of the food chain. What else can I say?” she said.
With no actual bookstore, Wahdan doesn’t consider the county to have a lackadaisical view on reading, but believes many of the residents simply gather their materials out of the area, she said.
Most of the library’s patrons are the children of the county who access the library’s resources after school and on the weekend.
A summer reading program the library puts on, as well as tutorial services via the Internet and special productions directed at children, accrue a significant amount of traffic from the younger population.
To at least maintain the modest services, the county needs to start looking at building more branches or an entirely new facility. Without it, the library’s future could deteriorate, she said.
“You’ve got to be looking for other ways to support your local library, or it’s going to suffer like this for years to come,” she said. “Like it has for the last 25 years.”
To access the library’s Web site log onto http://www.sanbenitofl.org. The library, located at 470 Fifth St. in Hollister, is open Mon., Wed., Fri. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tues., Thurs. from noon to 8 p.m.; Sat. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday. For more information call (831) 636-4107.
