With spring just around the corner comes the dreaded task of spring cleaning. But fear not! The library has plenty of resources to make this purge easier.

As someone who has a small space, the challenge of making the most of the space I have is never ending. I was able to find many resources on living in small places.  Not Not Not only fdfdfadNoNot only did I find techniques for scaling down, but the books also gave me great ideas of how I want to redecorate.

Also, if you find books and media that you no longer need or use, feel free to donate them to your local library!

 Here are some helpful links to library resources:

• Getting Organized
• Living in Small Spaces
• Home Storage

Are you burdened with too much stuff? Are you drowning in a sea of personal clutter? Do you have good intentions of weeding and organizing your possessions, but have never found the time or been able to rally the enthusiasm to do so? You are not alone. It seems as if Americans have way too much stuff and the popularity of the television programs Clean House, Storage Wars and Hoarders is proof that clutter is a concern for many people. For those who are in need of inspiration and guidance to eliminate the clutter chaos in their lives, here are a few resources to check out at San José Public Library.

You might want to begin your quest with Lighten Up: Love What You Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier with Less, by Peter Walsh. This book shows readers how to audit and trim down not only their physical junk, but also how to come to terms with the emotional and financial junk that permeates our lives. Walsh believes that living with less can lead to abundant happiness.

Peter Walsh has also written It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff and an accompanying workbook It’s All Too Much Companion Workbook: The Tools You Need to Conquer Clutter and Create the Life You Want. These two books are helpful step by step guides for organizing a clutter free home.

Put your stuff on a diet with Lorie K. Marrero's book The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life.

Don't have enough room in your house for one more book? No problem.  These ebooks can be downloaded and read on your home computer or eReader device :

• The Clutter Cure: Three Steps to Letting Go of Stuff, Organizing Your Space, by Judi Culbertson.
• The Everything Organize Your Home Book: Eliminate Clutter, Maximize Storage, by Jenny Schroedel.

OK. Now what do you do with all the stuff you have decided you no longer need? What about selling it? Toss, Keep, Sell: The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In, by Leah Ingram offers strategies on how to prepare and sell your unwanted items for profit using the Internet and other resources.

In challenging times, dysfunctional organizations hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. Healthy organizations look around for creative solutions to the problems they face, and join in the discussion of great ideas to find the very best solutions. San Jose Public Library is one of those healthy, although challenged organizations. Over many years of change, through very difficult budget times, our staff have not only willingly joined in the discussion, in many cases we are leading the discussion.

Some recent examples:

At a recent conference entitled "Internet Librarian", people from across the library field came together to discover the best ideas for using the Internet to further the educational and informational needs of library users. Two of our Library Managers were presenters of workshops, and our entire "Digital Futures Web Team" was in attendance, learning and sharing great ideas.

Over 100 staff from libraries who are users of the circulation and purchasing system (ILS) called "Millenium" from across Northern California were hosted here at King Library on a recent Friday to share experiences, best practices, and to suggest ideas for new product development to the vendor. This event was hosted by SJPL SJSU managers and has become a great place for great solutions to issues to be discussed.

Then, the annual California Library Association Conference was held in Sacramento and San Jose Public Library was well represented by attendees as well as workshop presenters - twenty library staff spent the weekend discussing, networking, debating, and generally making the future of libraries a brighter one.

We are very proud of what we do at San Jose Public Library for the people of San Jose in providing the best possible library service, but also what we do for the library community as it comes together to solve very difficult issues and looks to making libraries relevant and effective in the future.