How do you measure the value of an institution that builds
relationships, provides experts in all facets of a community’s
life, creates a public forum for the sharing of all kinds of
information, and connects the world together?
How do you measure the value of an institution that builds relationships, provides experts in all facets of a community’s life, creates a public forum for the sharing of all kinds of information, and connects the world together?
Did you know that you can order any item from any other library throughout our county system and request that it be brought to the Gilroy Public Library for you to pick up more conveniently?
Did you know that the music collection at Gilroy’s library inspires people to greater levels of integrity? After checking out its large collection of cassettes, CDs, videos, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, a man was overheard saying to another, “You know, the electronic and world music collection here is so cool, we won’t need to illegally download anymore.”
Did you know that our library provides cassettes on special phonograph machines for those who can no longer hold a book in their hands? Instead of buttons, it comes with levers that can be pushed down with one’s elbow. The library provides special players for the blind as well, and home delivery can be arranged.
Did you know Gilroy librarians give book talks at our local schools, hoping to inspire students to read more?
Did you know that the Gilroy Library offers free computer classes to everyone? Librarian Dennise Julia has developed courses in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and surfing the Internet.
Did you know our library is in the business of building relationships for life, according to Lani Yoshimura, our community librarian? “We get to know our patrons by their first names,” she tells me. “We use this community as its own greatest resource. We won’t just look for the book you need. We’ll look for the person you need. We know a lot about the flavor and tenor of the community.”
Librarians like Yoshimura are community experts who can answer just about any question. People come to them who are job-hunting, who have lost their homes, who don’t know where to turn next. Yoshimura will never forget the man who walked in one cold and lonely night. As Yoshimura spoke to him, she saw how despondent he was.
When she found out where he was from, she located a newspaper for him online from his home country. The man’s face lit up, and when he turned to thank Yoshimura, there were tears in his eyes. It was at the library that he eventually learned how to send his own e-mail, how to speak English, and how to become a U.S. citizen. His story is only one of many Yoshimura can tell that illustrate how the library has changed someone’s life.
“Just ask me,” Yoshimura recommends. “You haven’t even touched the surface of what we offer.”
How do you put a monetary value on that?
Gilroy Public Library: Priceless.
