Santa Clara County Libraries Named Best in The Nation
Staff Report
Morgan Hill – The Santa Clara County library was named the best public library in the nation for its high quality and cost-effective service according to the Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings 2006 published in the nationwide professional library journal.
This is the fifth time that the library is rated the best in the nation from 97 other libraries in the same population category.
Thomas J. Hennen Jr. compiled data from the U.S. Federal-State Cooperative Service that identifies the pubic libraries in America with the highest input and output measures that includes cost per circulation, visits and books per capita, funding per capita and hours open.
The county has nine libraries in the system which include the Morgan Hill and Gilroy libraries. It also runs the county’s bookmobile. Three million visitors that check out 10 million items each year.
The Santa Clara library provides materials in different formats such as CD’s, DVD’s, videos, audio books, and electronic full-text databases in 25 languages, but what has made the library so popular is the way they cater to the communities.
“Our library tends to have more Spanish language books because of the population that we serve,” said Yoshimura. She said the bookmobile also travels to places such as migrant camps and institutions to make books available to these communities.
County Pushes Eco-Friendly Pest Control At Conference
Seventeen specialists from across Northern California gathered on Tuesday to share their insights and expertise on organic gardening and sustainable ecological landscapes at Santa Clara County’s Integrated Pest Management Conference.
More than 350 participants, including professionals from approximately 200 public agencies and private businesses as well as homeowners, attended the conference at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center on San Carlos Street.
The purpose of the third annual event was to institute pest management practices that minimize impacts on public health and the environment.
In recently years, a growing importance has been placed on using low-risk and effective methods to control insects, diseases, weeds and other pests at both homes and public spaces. Several projects have been launched in Santa Clara County to use environmentally sound methods to replace conventional chemical treatment. For example, in 2005, the county decided to use mulch instead of herbicide for weed control on urban landscapes and roads. At the Ed Levin Park, clove oil has also been used successfully to control weeds.
The county also encourages the use of biological control agents such as bacterial or nematodes that can feed on fungus to control fungus gnats that grow around potted plants. These materials are essentially nontoxic to people and can be purchased at nurseries and garden supply stores.
Ground squirrels are a major pest problem in 27 regional parks and three regional airports. While using rodent poisons in open areas can pose danger to animals and human beings, an alternative pest control method of using strategic seasonal trapping has been recognized as an effective way to bring the problem under control.
“We combine cultural practices, mechanical and physical tools and biological control to design and maintain a pest and pesticide free community,” said Naresh Duggal, IPM Manager for Santa Clara County.
