Hollister
– County Librarian Nora Conte has been making big changes at the
San Benito Public Library, and those changes have paid off with a
dramatic increase in circulation. Now Conte is asking the county
for more staff to keep the positive trend going.
Hollister – County Librarian Nora Conte has been making big changes at the San Benito Public Library, and those changes have paid off with a dramatic increase in circulation. Now Conte is asking the county for more staff to keep the positive trend going.
Before Conte took the job in October, San Benito made do with interim replacements for more than two years. Conte said that since her hiring, she’s been trying to build a library that’s responsive to the community’s needs. To that end, she’s tossed out some of the library’s furniture in order to create more open space, obtained six new computers, increased the number of items patrons can check out and more.
“We want to continue to make the library a relevant and vibrant focal point in the community,” Conte said.
Although Conte is still putting her plans into action – in fact, she spent Friday morning supervising the removal of four bulky study carrels from the children’s area – most of the changes were made in December, and they paid off immediately. Circulation jumped from 4,000 to 6,000 from December to January, Conte said.
She acknowledged that the increase could just be a one-month blip, but she said she’s going to continue watching the circulation numbers, and she hopes to see them skyrocket.
Tyrone Spencer, a weekly library visitor, said he approves of the changes.
“It’s a lot nicer now, instead of being all closed-in and stuffy,” Spencer said.
He noted that higher-quality computers and improved Internet access have also made the library more useful.
However, in order to keep that upward trend going, Conte said she’s going to need more staff. On Tuesday, she’s asking the Board of Supervisors to approve the addition of a full-time librarian, a half-time librarian and a half-time library assistant to her staff. Conte said that among California’s local libraries serving between 50,000 and 70,000 people, San Benito has the smallest staff – nine people, six of them full-time. In comparison, Palo Alto’s library system has a staff of 94, 53 of them full-time.
Conte said she knows the supervisors have to make tough decisions when it comes to the county budget.
“The Board of Supervisors has been very supportive and caring,” she said. “They have to balance the needs of the community.”
Nonetheless, the library’s current staffing levels mean everyone has to scramble just to keep the library itself working smoothly. Conte said that doesn’t leave any time for the outreach efforts that she says are key to any community.
For example, Conte said the library lacks someone who can focus on developing programs for children and reaching out to local schools. The library bookmobile, she said, hasn’t run for more than two years.
However, that hasn’t stopped Conte from making some efforts in that direction. Conte said she’s expanded the library’s story-reading sessions – held five times a week, including one bilingual session – from half an hour to an hour. That allows children time to play with educational tools, she said.
Conte said she’s also started a “floating book” program, allowing library books to be distributed throughout the community via service groups like the Community Pantry and the senior group Jovenes de Antaño.
“The library should not be contained in these four walls,” Conte said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
