When I began working for the San Jose Public Library in October of 1988, I was assigned to the Silicon Valley Information Center (SVIC) located on the 3rd floor of the old Main Library. The center was an archival collection of materials related to high tech companies within Silicon Valley. Besides books and periodicals, the collection contained 260 linear feet of materials including clipping files, as well as documents and ephemera gathered from the companies themselves.
Having little interest in computers at the time, I was initially disappointed in the assignment. My disappointment quickly vanished however, as I settled in and got to know the talented staff of this unique collection. As it turned out, the experience of working in a special collection helped prepare me for my current role in the library’s California Room (which had been located right next to SVIC). And coincidentally, the California Room now houses the SVIC collection, which was forced to close in 1993 because of budget limitations.
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