The government wants to make your life easier...well, at least in terms of finding government data. Data.gov, spurred by President Obama's Open Government Initiative, aims to improve access to Federal data.  The site is regularly adding new data but right now you can access datasets about business, states, health, and more. Check it out and you might find some interesting statistics that may help with your business plan or the direction of your business.  You might also be interested in exploring these two other government data sites: Recovery.gov (shows how Recovery Act monies are being spent) and USASpending.gov (shows Federal grants and contracts spending).

The Basic Korean Conversation Club has been going on for five months now in the King Library.

I would like to share our students’ success stories. Most of our students didn’t even know Korean alphabet when they came to the first class. But now we have amazing stories of our regular students to share with you. (I am going to use their first initials of names due to the privacy issues.)

C has been attending our class ever since the first class in January 2013.  I met her at the Korean restaurant and heard the conversation with her friends right next to my table. She wanted to go to Korea as an exchange student this summer. So, I introduced myself and our Korean class to her. Finally, couple weeks ago, she got the admission from Ajou University, South Korea. She is going to Korea in August.

L also has been attending our class from the beginning of January 2013. In the meantime of looking for her job, she wanted to learn Korean language because she had been loving K-pop. She recently got a job using her Korean skill at the Korean Bakery in the Bay Area. 

V has been attending the class since March 2013. He is one of the most passionate students at the class. He is from India and just got to U.S.A. two months ago. He used to be an computer engineer in India. He says he would like to work at Samsung or LG (Korean Companies) in the Bay Area. He studies Korean language very diligently because he has very strong motivation to learn it.

J taught English as a foreign teacher in Korea. He says he doesn’t want to forget his Korean language skill in U.S.A. He knows a lot of Korean cultures. He shares his experiences of being in Korea.

Other students also have their own stories of why they would like to learn Korean. They love Korean Drama, Korean singers (idol stars), etc.

The volunteer teacher and I feel very rewarded and touched by this journey. Mostly because we can change people’s lives and give them a motivation as working in the public library.

The Basic Korean Conversation Club is open to all, and free. It's fun!

Look at the photo taken at the one of wrap-up parties for the Basic Korean Conversation Club in March.

The King Library also have other language classes (Conversation Cafés). Come join us!

A common research topic at San Jose Public Library (SJPL) is about the birth of the Tech Industry in Silicon Valley. Much has been written on the subject, but recently a patron in the California Room inquired about how to locate original documents related to technology development in Silicon Valley. We started our search on the Online Archive of California (OAC) which provides free public access to descriptions of primary source materials. Participating intuitions include more than 200 universities, libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives in the State of California. Primary sources are documents created during the time period being studied. In the case of the high tech industry, primary sources include materials related to the operations of the business such as product catalogs, press releases, product literature, and annual reports.

We used the search term "Silicon Valley Tech Industry" on the OAC homepage and were able to locate a finding aid to a collection in the California Room at the San Jose Public Library titled The Silicon Valley Information Collection (SVIC). A finding aid is a document that summarizes a collection of papers or records. The descriptive information in the finding aid we located states that the SVIC collection contains documents and resources which chronicle the birth, development and impact of the high technology industries of Silicon Valley.  We then followed a link to the SVIC index on the SJPL California Room webpage.

A quick search of the index led us to such unique material as Apple Computer, Inc. employee magazines from the 1980s, a press release binder from Atari Corporation (1987-88), and annual reports for Plantronics from 1974-1984.

The California Room houses many primary source documents; it is on the 5^th Floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

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A customer came to the 2nd Floor Reference desk at King Library and inquired about senior computer classes. He was an absolute beginner and English was his second language.  He had been told about one-on-one computer sessions at several branch libraries, and the computer classes for seniors taught in Mandarin at King Library. Unfortunately, Mandarin was not one of the languages this gentleman spoke. I informed him about the 3rd Floor volunteer Tech Mentors just waiting to assist.  The customer was thankful, but unsure of what to do next.  As a volunteer Tech Mentor was available until 2:00 p.m. that day, I invited him to accompany me to the 3rd Floor. As it turned out, our volunteer spoke the customer’s native language. A perfect match was made.

Volunteer Tech Mentors are available on the 3rd Floor of King Library from 12:00 - 4:00 PM Monday thru Wednesday and 12:00 – 2:00 PM Thursday and Friday.

Need computer help? Tech Mentors offer FREE computer help. They can assist with basic computer skills in Microsoft Office applications, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and also provide computer assistance for those who would like to search for a job or submit an application or résumé online.

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