This article was contributed by the San Benito County Free Library.
After receiving a great number of requests for college textbooks, the San Benito County Free Library staff is proud to announce that they now have textbooks available for all Gavilan College courses offered at the Hollister Briggs Building and San Benito High School. Textbooks have been made available as part of a course reserves pilot project from the library aimed at eliminating barriers to equal access to information, pursuing higher education, and achieving academic success.
A Gavilan College Library study conducted in the 2016-2018 academic years showed that students who utilized their library’s course reserves were on average 5% more likely to receive a passing grade in their courses than the average Gavilan student, with Latinx students who utilized course reserves were on average 10% more likely to receive a passing grade than the average student. Course reserve utilization also increased enrollment persistence by an average of 39% among part-time students.
The San Benito County Free Library’s course reserves pilot project has been made possible through a partnership with Gavilan College and innovation grant funding from the Pacific Library Partnership and the Friends of the San Benito County Free Library.
Textbooks are available for use in the library for three hours at a time with renewals available as long as another student has not put that book on hold. If you have any questions regarding this program, please stop by the library at 470 Fifth Street in Hollister, give us a call at (831) 636-4107, or email our Circulation Supervisor Mary Alvarez at malvarez@cosb.us.