Recently the San Jose Public Library featured an interesting web resource called Statistic Brain. This website has statistics on a wide range of topics. Partners in Reading looked at the numbers for people in the U. S. and throughout the world who lack literacy.

Some of the appalling numbers are that almost a quarter of the population in this country reads below the 5th grade level and that almost 20% of high school graduates have troubles reading. Another shocker is that 63% of inmates don't read well. There is a strong connection between limited literacy and poor health, crime, and poverty, among many other problems that our society faces.

Statistic Brain also has data on the difference that a high school graduate will earn annually compared to a high school dropout - $14,117.

We encourage you to take a look and also to join Partners in Reading to help adults in San Jose read and write better. Orientation and training start on September 19th, 2012. Please call Partners in Reading at (408) 808-2361 for more information.

Statistic Brain as the name implies is a website chock full of statistics. The statistics are in a range of topics such as health, business, entertainment, technology and more. The site is clutter-free, simple to use, and the statistics are cited. This site would be useful for business plans and for those of you that are just interested in random statistics.

Do you need to write a position paper on a controversial subject, take part in a debate or just improve your critical thinking skills? With regards to a difficult subject, are you not even sure if you're pro or con?

Points of View Reference Center is designed to help students and researchers understand the broader scope of hundreds of contentious topics like censorship, abortion and factory farming by providing thousands of articles from the world's top political and societal publications.

One of its excellent features is the collection of color graphs and charts that one can use to substantiate one’s arguments in papers and presentations.

If you’re ready to get off the fence, go to:  Points of View Reference Center. You'll need your library card and pin number to access this database from home.

People who work with me soon realize I enjoy numbers, data, and facts (though I am kept very busy as the manager of a large and active library system I am still a librarian at heart).

I'm guessing you did not know that last fiscal year more people visited the San Jose libraries (the 18 branches and the joint use King Library) than attended the home games of the SF Giants, the Oakland As, the Sharks, the Raiders, and the 49ers combined? Their attendance was 5.9 million, the libraries had 7.6 million visitors.

Last year the King Library and five of the 18 branches each checked out or renewed over 1 million items. All told, just under 15 million items were checked out or renewed. San Jose's libraries are among the most heavily used large city libraries in the U.S.

Of course, underlying these huge numbers are the stories of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives are made easier and better by using library resources and by receiving assistance from library staff. From time to time, I'll share some of those stories through this blog. 

This might be a first – story time at a San José City Council meeting!  Librarian Ed Koetitz (Almaden) was asked to do a five-minute version of story time at Tuesday’s Council meeting (11-30-2010).  He got the audience to sing along with him and participate with gusto.  The Library Foundation was in attendance and they graciously participated by playing rhythm sticks in the last musical selection "There is a Planet Bright and Blue."

In Nancy Pyle's opening remarks (Council member for District 10), she pointed out that story time at the San José Public Library was one of its most popular services to the residents of San José.  During the last fiscal year (09-10), the library presented 3,022 Story Times with 119,033 parents and children in attendance. 

Research has shown that children who are read to and who enjoy the reading experience are much more likely to become proficient readers and as a result, have great academic success throughout their lives.

You can watch the video here. Council member Nancy Pyle begins introducing Ed at exactly one minute into the meeting.  Enjoy!