Posted on behalf of a Berryessa Branch staff member.
Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence
San José Public Library's Berryessa Branch Library is celebrating its 20th anniversary! This is a perfect chance to look back at the history of the public library in the Berryessa neighborhood, now part of District 4 of the City of San José.
Everyone is also invited to the 20th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, March 1, 2025 with welcoming remarks by city leaders, live entertainment, and more!
Every Story has a Beginning
Did you know that the first Berryessa Branch of the San José Public Library opened its doors to the local community in 1968? The story of the Berryessa branch begins even earlier: a small Berryessa branch of the county free library existed as early as 1914 (in the 19th and early 20th century, public libraries were called “free libraries”)!
On February 4, 1915, the following paragraph was published in the San José Mercury Herald: “The branch county library is proving very popular, and the people of Berryessa are making good use of it. So many books are being circulated that a second bookcase has been installed.” This note was published next to other important Berryessa news, such as: “Ms. Evelyn Heath entertained two of her girl friends, Miss Cronin and Miss Reynolds of San Francisco, over Sunday. Miss Cronin is Miss Heath's cousin.” Newspapers were our social media that time. Yes, life was analog back then.
On August 29, 1932, the newspaper mentions that Elizabeth Singletary, the second County Librarian of Santa Clara County, “visited the Berryessa library recently, reorganized it, and placed over 100 new books on the shelves.” Three and a half decades later, on April 9, 1969, the San José Mercury article titled “Book Circulation Up in Branch Libraries” stated that “More than 21,000 of the new volumes went onto the shelves of the Berryessa branch library, the ninth branch facility in the city’s system, which was opened in October.”
The "Noble Park Branch" Era
Indeed, from the 1950s through the 1960s, San José experienced a period of intense growth, and new San José Public Library branches were opened in various parts of the city. Once a pastoral valley checkered with ranchos, farms, and orchards, the Berryessa area was rapidly developed. It became a San José neighborhood in 1956, built with new family houses, schools, golf courses, and business and entertainment centers. The residential neighborhood grew quickly, and in 1965, Anthony P. “Dutch” Hamann, the former the city manager of San José from 1950 to 1969 and a big supporter of the public library, promoted the allocation of funds for constructing the Berryessa branch, adjacent to a new Noble Park. After some delays, San José Public Library's ninth branch, which was 8,637 square-feet large, was dedicated on Sunday, October 6, 1968 with Hamann as the Master of ceremonies. Curiously, all new branch staff was named in the San José Mercury News article, including branch librarian Eleanor Arndt, children’s librarian Carolyn Hook, library assistant Eleanor O’Hearon, library aid Don Le-Couteur, and library pages Kathy Howard, Steven Wozny and Susan Wright.
The “Noble Park branch,” as it was called, is still fondly remembered by its former patrons. It played a significant role in the neighborhood’s social life by serving the growing and diverse Berryessa communities, supporting local schools’ educational efforts, and offering published materials and activities for residents. The Berryessa branch became a favorite place for students to gather after school. Over the decades, the library has evolved as a public space and assumed new responsibilities. Michael Leonard, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Piedmont Middle School and a daily branch visitor, back in 2002, became part of the Berryessa library’s history by telling the San José Mercury News reporter: ''It's cool. I see my friends every day, and I do my homework. I don't have to go home and do nothing.''
A New Millennium, A New Library
By the end of the 1990s, libraries throughout the city needed an upgrade. The Berryessa Branch was one of six new and 14 expanded libraries paid for by a $212 million bond measure O passed by voters in 2000. On Saturday, March 12, 2005, the opening ceremony took place. The library manager, Maria Blankenship, invited neighborhood residents to the new 26,000-square-foot building. Today, Candice Tran, Berryessa's manager for almost 15 years, leads the dedicated team that strives to provide the best services and programs for its patrons.
The Berryessa Branch has preserved the “Noble Park Library” traditions and created new ones. The “library by the pond” is a welcoming space for all visitors. It features large collections in Chinese and Vietnamese languages and the seed library and offers programs and events for all ages, including grand cultural celebrations. Along with San José Public Library's other 24 locations, the Berryessa Branch proudly serves communities of all walks of life across the city.
Share Your Berryessa Library Story
Share your Berryessa Library story with us to remember the enjoyable moments you had at the branch while celebrating, creating, learning, playing, or simply finding and reading a good book.
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