San José State alumni, students, staff and San José City representatives gathered on East San Fernando Street to summon the Spartan spirit for the 20th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library.
The San José Public Library system and SJSU worked together in the building of the MLK Library, completed on Aug. 15, 2003.
The afternoon was filled with excitement and entertainment building up to the main event – the handing out of awards to new and old people of significance to this celebration of the bond between San José and SJSU.
The celebrations kicked off with the ceremonial entrance of the SJSU marching band and cheerleading squad that rocked the block and drew a dense crowd of students and alumni.
Sammy Spartan also tagged along and celebrated with students, snapping selfies and giving fist bumps to attendees as the band played the SJSU fight song.
Before festivities transitioned into formalities, a local San José choir serenaded the event by singing “Blackbird” by Paul McCartney and Lennon McCartney.
San José Mayor Matt Mahan said the collaboration between the city and university was a great accomplishment.
Mahan, along with several other community leaders, acknowledged public workers, namely library-science majors, SJSU alumni and current library workers both in the San José Public Library system and the MLK Library.
City of San José technical worker and San José Public Librarian Tim Collins, said that while his perspective is that of a city worker, it’s clear why students approve of this collaboration.
“I think the students are very grateful to have the opportunity to come to such a nice building with resources and meeting rooms and not only the San José State University collection but also having immediate access to the San José Public Library and the City Library,” Collins said.
Collins said a bulk of San José Public Library workers are SJSU alumni, including himself.
He also said in his experience, the city of San José and SJSU the library stands as an unbreakable bond.
City librarian Jill Bourne said one of the SJSU professors asked her to oppose a ‘terrible idea’ to build a joint library on campus.
She said the original idea of the library was speculated by city librarians, because they weren’t sure if San José residents would make use of the space.
Mahan also said that libraries have the power to bring together students and their city.
“Personally, libraries have always been a place of refuge for me,” Mahan said. “My little sisters and I grew up in a small farming town on the central coast. Everyday after school, we would go to the public library to do our homework and just as a safe place we waited for my parents to pick us up,” he said.
Mahan said he has his sights set on making San José one of the most diverse and innovative places in the world.
“Whether it’s securing federal grants or building housing for students or faculty, making our downtown more vibrant, filling small storefronts and ensuring San José continues to be the most innovative place in the world with the most diverse talent pool in the world by working closely together,” Mahan said.
Councilmember Omar Torres, who also spoke at the event said this merger was a collaborative but tedious process.
Torres said nearly every individual who came to celebrate this special day has, directly or indirectly, adopted the MLK Library into their life.
Business management sophomore Gurkirat Bagri said many of his fellow students see the MLK Library as a hotspot.
“There are so many different spots where you can go study,” Bagri said. “Whenever there’s a group project you can have a club meeting, I’m with the SSA (Sikh Students Association) so we have meetings (here). People come here from the public and students are always here studying, so the library is one of those places you can always go to where you mostly feel safe in the community, in San José. It’s just a good place to come as a student.”
University library dean Michael Meth said he remembers the discourse when the library was still in its location-finding stage.
“Before (the merger) the library was in two locations and neither one of those locations really were up to date, so the idea to build this library in a state-of-the-art facility 20 years ago worked tremendously well, it’s really what brought us together here.”
Torres, with great enthusiasm, honored Meth, Bourne, Mahan and SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson behind the podium to accept individual plaques and be showered with a round of applause.
Meth said the history of the MLK Library is very sentimental.
“I hope this library continues to be the pearl in the clam for our library and our university. I hope we continue enjoying the support that we have thus far, and I hope we are going to continue to innovate and evolve services to reflect the diversity of our services and our community.”
Collins said, this partnership between San José and the MLK Library is beneficial and long standing.
“I think this library will be around for many years to come,” Collins said. “There are always changes and new programs coming online. The only thing that doesn’t change is change. It will be an integral part of both the University and the City Library for many years to come.”
