New Library Digital Collection Broadens

Online Access to the History of Santa Clara Valley Library Invites

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Where can you find images that document the diverse history of Santa Clara County including photographs from Japanese Internment during World War II, the 1906 earthquake, and a variety of subjects spanning 150 years of history?  San Jose’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library introduces a new Digital Collections Database in September that will provide fresh opportunities to explore the richness of the valley’s history.

Through this new online portal the community can research the rare and unique materials held by San José State University Special Collections and San José Public Library's California Room. The database features interactive links that enable community members to share personal knowledge concerning individual images, thus enhancing collective memory. Visitors are encouraged to contribute their knowledge to the rotating array of “mystery” images featured on the collection’s home page.

The Digital Collections document the history of the Santa Clara Valley from its agricultural beginnings to the high-tech boom and formation of the Silicon Valley, recapturing the look and lifestyle of a bygone era (1850-1950). The range of subjects covered include local politics, social and cultural traditions, education, local business and industry, and historical events. Featured collections include San Jose State University Archives, Japanese Internment Records, the archives of Frontier Village, along with many others.

The development of the database is ongoing and will eventually encompass letters, maps, brochures, and other primary documents. The Digital Collections will stimulate discovery of the rich and diverse resources of the library and promote new scholarship from our community.

Mary Hanel Wins Award for Excellence in Public Library Service

The California Library Association awarded its 2005 Award for Excellence to Mary Hanel for excellence in public library service by an individual librarian in a California public library. The award was presented to Mary in November at the annual California Library Association convention in Pasadena. The winner of this prestigious statewide award must have shown an extraordinary range and depth of knowledge about books and other library materials and a distinguished ability to share that knowledge. The winner must also have a record of outstanding programming for children or adults or both and a record of extensive community outreach. Recent implementation of a new and creative service to the public is also required.

Mary has an extensive background as librarian specializing in history. She was the Kern County Local History Librarian and the CalTrans Historical Records Officer before coming to the Santa Clara City Library in 1991. Here in Santa Clara, her professional accomplishments have been many. She developed a directory of local services available through the library’s website—the searchable Community Information Network. She also contributed her knowledge of local history and tracked down photographs for the City-wide team that published A Place of Promise, the City of Santa Clara 1852-2002. As a founding member of the Silicon Valley History Network and a key member of the Silicon Valley History Online project, she has been involved in digitizing images of photographs and other materials from local libraries, archives, and museums at Silicon Valley History site.

We in the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society appreciate most of all Mary’s management of the Heritage Pavilion at the Santa Clara Central Park Library. She regularly speaks to our group and others about the Library’s historical resources, she conducts training for the Library Consultants so that they can help the public with questions about genealogy research, and she writes many of the articles that appear in our Newsletter. Her efforts help keep the partnership between the Library and the Society strong, and we are pleased that the California Library Association has recognized Mary’s work with it 2005 Award for Excellence.

New Website Domain Name for City of Santa Clara

In December 2007, the City of Santa Clara adopted a new website domain name that should be easier for people to remember and type into browsers: www.santaclaraca.gov

This change has affected the URL’s or web addresses of all City departments including the Library. The homepage address of the Santa Clara City Library is now: www.library.santaclaraca.gov

This has also affected email addresses for City staff. For example, the email address of Mary Hanel, Library Staff Liaison to SCCHGS is now: mhanel @ santaclaraca.gov (without the spaces).

The old City website addresses and email will continue to work for several more months but the City recommends transition to the new addresses as soon as possible. Those that use Heritage Quest Online from home by going through the Santa Clara City Library Research Databases webpage should update that weblink to: www.library.santaclaraca.gov/research.html

Mary Hanel, Library Staff Liasion to SCCHGS

County Archives Wills Collection index online

The index to the County Archives collection of wills can now be searched online  (http://archives.sccgov.org)

The County Wills Collection consists of approximately 10,000 wills filed with the County Clerk. The wills date from the early twentieth century into the 1970s, with the bulk of the wills from the years after 1940.

You may search the wills collection using the index. Each entry includes the name of the individual writing the will, his or her city of residence, the date of the will, and, occasionally, additional remarks. The wills are available at the County Archives.