The San José Model. (cover story)

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  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      SAN Jose (Calif.); CALIFORNIA; UNITED States
    • Subject Terms:
      LIGHT, Jane; HAMMER, Susan; CARET, Robert
    • Abstract:
      This article looks at the winner of the annual Library of the Year award. It took six years to propose, plan, and execute what Jane Light, director of the San Jos& eacute; Public Library (SJPL), calls" the marriage." The idea came from brainstorming at a power breakfast of former mayor Susan Hammer and former San José State University (SJSU) president Robert Caret in 1997. They would collaborate to build what became the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library to serve as the main library for SJPL and the city and the university library for SJSU. Much of the credit must go to the current directors of each library, Patricia Breivik at SJSU and Light, who, after inheriting the idea, have organized the marriage and continue to make it work so effectively. Not only is the King Library co-owned and comanaged, it has one online system and one web site (SJLibrary.org), and all library materials are accessible to all users. SJPL and SJSU staff work together in technical services, reference, circulation, and IT. There is one library card for both.