Taking advantage of National Library Week, which was celebrated April 23-29, San Benito County Superior Court opened a library to encourage children to read.
Chief Resource Officer Margaret Jones-Ryan said the library, located near the Self-Help Center, began with about 100 books that were donated by staff that include “Charlie Brown This is Your Life” and “All About Alligators.”
“This is a special project for us,” said Jones-Ryan, who was in charge, adding that the library is for everyone who is interested in taking or leaving a book.
Jones-Ryan and Judge Omar Rodriguez said the court recognizes parents can have added stress when coming to the court looking for services but still have to take care of their kids. Jones-Ryan said the library can give the children a place to be while mom or dad deal with small claims, family law matters, legal referrals and review court forms.
“The parents may not anticipate the wait. The kids likely aren’t aware that they are going to have to wait around,” Rodriguez said. “We just want to soften the experience for them and hopefully make it more enjoyable.”
He said he hopes the children who use the library develop a love for reading and books.
While the library is intended to help children and give back to the community, Rodriguez said it is part of an ongoing effort to reach out to the community about the court services.
He said there are lawyers who are in the court building at least once a week but don’t know about the free services the court offers.
“If people who are in the building day in and day out aren’t aware, then I don’t think people in the community at large are aware of these services,” Rodriguez said.
He said the court’s efforts to be more accessible include expanding the Family Court Services from four days to five days a week; opening self-help services five days and staffing it in-house rather than contracting with Santa Cruz Superior Court; having school tours; and increasing its presence in social media.
“We just want people to have contact with the court who ordinarily wouldn’t have that kind of contact, just so they are aware that we are here and there are services here,” Rodriguez said.
While the court is open to the public 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, the hours for the Self-Help Center are from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Fridays.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.