Community Engagement – Spring 2025

The San José Public Library is committed to connecting and listening to San Jose residents. One way we do this is by visiting public events and talking to residents and neighbors. Here is what we've been hearing from some of our 26 library locations during our Spring Community Events.

Berryessa| East San José Carnegie| Joyce Ellington| Mount Pleasant|  Village Square| Tully

Berryessa Branch Library

Berryessa Branchh Library staff hosted a community engagement event as part of a Baby & Me Time program on February 25th from 11 a.m. to noon. Baby & Me Time is a monthly program where children can interact with each other and learn by playing. During this time, caregivers can sip drinks and eat branch-provided snacks while engaging in conversation with each other. The objective is for caregivers to be able to form meaningful connections with each other and a librarian. Through this connection, they can share their struggles and successes, provide and receive support when needed.

42 patrons attended the event, and our feedback was collected via sticky notes that were distributed to patrons. From this feedback, they learned that these patrons want a clean, safe, and friendly community. No patrons gave their feedback for the question of how different their ideal community is from what they see now. In response to how the library can help create the community that they want, patrons said that they want longer library hours and more activities for children. Regarding the types of programs that they want to see at the library, they want more story times, evening and weekend programs, grab and go kits, and arts and crafts programs for toddlers.

East San José Carnegie Branch Library

East San José Carnegie Branch  Library staff surveyed library patrons in the library building and at various outreach events at nearby locations such as Roosevelt Community Center, Olinder School, and Martin Park. They found residents cite concerns such as a rise in gang activity, graffiti, littering, and inadequate police response time. Residents often say they feel unsafe and worried in our surrounding neighborhoods. They would like to see better services and responses from the SJPD and other city services, and would like to see a happy and involved community working together to solve problems. 

Joyce Ellington Branch Library

Joyce Ellington Branch  Library staff attended Grant Elementary School’s Coffee with the Principal in February. One of the most discussed topics was support for immigrant communities. There was a presentation on the threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in schools. 

Educators expressed concern for students who are undocumented. They want their students to feel safe coming to school despite threats of deportation. They want to keep ICE off the school campus and create resources such as immigrants’ rights training for staff, students and families. They want to declare their support for immigrant communities. 

Another topic that came up during the meeting was that despite the supplemental funding received from hosting Scholastic Book Fairs, the school’s library and media center continues to suffer from lack of resources including staffing and funding. 

Educators also discussed the San Jose Unified School District, California, Measure R, School Upgrades and Affordable Housing for Teachers Bond Measure. The school needs many renovations including replacing and updating campus safety systems, updating classroom technology and infrastructure and repairing old electrical systems.  

Another topic that was discussed was the majority of students are performing below grade level in reading and math. 

There are many potential action items for the library to consider in expanding and enhancing our programs and services. We strive to make our libraries safe and welcoming to everyone by providing a variety of culturally relevant services and programs.   

We have created a Citizenship Corner book display highlighting our collection of citizenship materials. In the display, we’ve included information on what to do if approached by ICE. Additionally, library staff have received training on how to handle instances of ICE visiting the library. 

We continue to provide and grow our after school educational programming for youth and strengthen our relationships with local schools. 

Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library

Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library staff spent some time talking with program participants at the end of their Beginning Sewing Program.  Participants asked if they had found the program helpful and asked whether they would attend other programs at Mount Pleasant Library.  Most attendees only came for the sewing program and were not really interested in the other programs the library had to offer.  All of them said they would like to do more sewing classes and a few had said they wanted to invite in more of their relatives or friends. 

After hearing such positive feedback about the sewing program and hearing that customers would like more, we will be trying to find time in our scheduling to offer these classes. There is currently a wait list of 40 people.  A volunteer recruitment has been posted to help offer more classes as this program takes specialized knowledge and resources to host.  

Village Square Branch Library

Village Square Branch Staff collaborated with SJPL Works staff to attend the annual Transition Fair held by East Side Union High School District. Our local high school, Evergreen Valley High School was the host for this event. The fair is an event to help special needs students and their families to transition to life after school and enter the adult workforce. In conversations with parents and faculty, there was a real sense of pride and excitement for the wide array of vendors and services present. One staff member noted that the fair’s attending vendors had grown significantly from when it had first started, highlighting the growing interest and importance of developing better post-school support for differently abled individuals. 

A consistent conversation point that came up was the concern over looming budget cuts and its potential effects on these important services and the vulnerable populations that need them. Some attendees noted that it was a difficult situation given the concerns over issues like crime and homelessness. There was overall a sense of awareness that resources were thin, and hard choices were going to have to be made. The library’s role in possibly helping to alleviate some of these issues was also a common point of discussion. Questions about library volunteering programs to help build work experience, as well as additional support programs for special needs adults continuing their education were discussed.  

A persistent theme in interactions with both families and faculty was the notion of the library as a point of stability in the community. A “third place” that provided families and students with a place to be, to find support and access to information about assistance programs, and a way to connect to the community. With that in mind, VS is working on connecting with more community vendors for tabling and potential informational events to help get the word out on valuable programs and resources that might help our families and citizens get the assistance and information they need.  

Tully Branch Library

Tully Branch staff, on January 27th, 2025 went to ICAN Family Resource Center (International Children Assistance Network) to do a Bridge Library Storytime. They surveyed parents and caregivers with paper forms in different languages such as English and Vietnamese. When asked the 4 ASK questions parents and caregivers stated that they want to live in a friendly and safe community. They also mentioned that they wanted more events or places to go with their family where they could build connections and friendships with people.

As of right now, parents and caregivers feel that their community is scared to leave their house for whatever reason. When asked what the library can do or what programs we can provide, they told us more English classes, fun programs for seniors, and programs for kids.