County Library Provides Improved Experience

The San Benito County Free Library is chock-full of wonderful books and demand for library services continues to escalate. In 2014 there were 94,500 library visits, 30,000 card holders, and an annual library materials circulation of 102,900.

Librarian, Nora Conte, believes people understand the importance of a library in our community, but it has fallen on hard times with cutbacks in funding. Customer service continues to decline with reduced hours of operation and fewer employees to assist with questions. Manual library checkouts are slow, preventing staff from assisting customers with reference questions, online catalog searches, library databases, and other invaluable website services.

A grant from the Community Foundation, earlier this year, enabled the installation of two self-checkout machines, providing an improved library experience by reducing the wait time in line. In addition, patrons are able to interact in their preferred language, increasing the library’s ability to serve a multi-language community. Flexibility, now afforded staff, will help maximize existing levels of library programs and improve customer service for a growing community of library users. Conte said, “People will be able to come in and check materials out. Staff will be right there to assist them. They’re easy to use, but if people want help, we’ll be there to assist them.”

The library is open five days a week—check their website for hours. A free library card may obtained by presenting some form of identification that has your name and current address. Children 17 years and younger require either a parent or guardian to be present.