Newest San Jose Public Library Foundation (SJPLF) board member Jenn Protas has always dedicated free time in her busy schedule volunteering despite being a full time lawyer.

For the past 18 years, she has resided in the Bay Area working as a shareholder at Hoge Fenton. As she was searching for a new volunteer position, the Foundation was in the back of her mind.

 “Getting involved with the Foundation was always on my radar,” Jenn said. It wasn’t until a colleague at Hoge Fenton emailed gauging interest for prospective board members that she took initiative to join the board in the spring of 2025. 

However, recently Jenn wasn’t too familiar with libraries. “I have not been active in libraries for a good chunk of my adult life,” she said. “As a kid, I went to the library a lot, but as an adult I had the privilege to buy the books.” 

Once, a friend pointed out the privilege of affording brand new books and directed Jenn to the many resources and opportunities libraries could provide for free. Inspired, Jenn returned to the library looking at a new opportunity: joining the Foundation.

Connecting Students to Opportunities

The San José Public Library (Library) and San José Public Library Foundation (SJPLF) believe in a future where San José boasts a high rate of postsecondary success for all students. San Jose Aspires is an innovative partnership created between the Library, former Mayor Sam Liccardo, and SJPLF to reduce financial and informational barriers that students in underserved neighborhoods face when making decisions about college and career choices. Through SJ Aspires, we connect students to opportunities to pursue meaningful postsecondary education and offer scholarship dollars for actions aligned with academic success.

At its core, SJ Aspires aims to change students’ attitudes and behaviors related to graduating high school, succeeding in post-secondary education, and the Silicon Valley workforce. Students enrolled in a participating school who meet the program criteria (first-generation college students and English language learners) are automatically eligible to participate in the program. SJ Aspires student have the opportunity to earn up to $5,000 in scholarships to support their post-secondary education goals and help defray the financial barriers to college. Since SJ Aspires’ inception in 2018, the program has, to date, served 2,129 high school students who have claimed 7,983 scholarship awards, and earned $661,925 scholar dollars.

Beyond the Pilot Phase

With such a successful pilot phase, the Library and SJPLF sought a qualified partner agency to assume long-term oversight and operations for SJ Aspires including program expansion and financial sustainability. The Library and SJPLF reviewed the qualifications of potential partners and determined that the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley (BGCSV), is the ideal organization to continue advancing the impact of SJ Aspires.

The Library and SJPLF will work closely with BGCSV through this transition to ensure that the incredible work that has gone into building this program continues to grow and maximize the potential of students, regardless of their economic status or geographic location.

Every week, librarian Randall Studstill leads storytime activities in the community room of the San José Public Library’s (SJPL) West Valley Branch. A gaggle of toddlers appear once the doors open, and they crowd around Randall with questions left and right. They’re curious, spirited, and excited to learn. 

As parents settle in their seats and enjoy a period of rest, the sessions begin with follow-along songs and chants. However, before storytime begins, it’s routine for Randall to flip through and advocate for a slideshow of summer programs. Most notably, Summer Learning.

This year, grand prizes for each age category include a toy projector (ages 0-5), a portable soccer equipment set (5-10), a space projector and rocket lamp (10-12), a record player (12-18) and a travel coffee and tea kettle (18+). If you’re interested, the summer’s not over yet, and neither is Summer Learning!

A committee meets regularly to decide the prizes of Summer Learning. “They usually have a good time with it,” Wilson said. The only restrictions for the prizes are they must be education related and they have a price point of $50-$75 per prize. Every summer, each age category has five winners. Now that’s a lot of prizes!

But how does the San José Public Library afford that many prizes?

Reading is a calm activity, but the thought of winning prizes sparks excitement and motivation among younger crowds. Randall explained, “The prizes motivate the kids to do [the program]. As they do it, they learn along the way, ‘oh yeah, this is enjoyable.’”

He added that “a lot of the success of Summer Learning has a lot to do with parental involvement. I tell the parents that storytime is for all ages, so hopefully you can sign up and read together as a family.”

Libraries bring people together in families, neighborhoods, and cities. Consequently, Paul encourages anyone and everyone to participate in Summer Learning. “The library is a hub of the community, a gathering place, as well as a place to learn, have fun, and stay engaged with the surrounding community for all ages,” he said. “I would hope that the program would just boost awareness and appeal of the library as a community meeting place, and encourage people to learn and stay engaged with the city and the neighborhood that the library is part of.”

The TeenHQ at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library was bustling with eagerness on the afternoon of July 26, 2025. Handmade products, from crocheted chickens to fidget toys, were lined neatly on multiple different stands, and they were selling out fast. Most notably, the sellers behind these stands weren’t entrepreneurs with full-time jobs. They were ARTrepeneurs, also known as teenagers on summer break.

Jessica Lundin, the program leader, explained: “ARTrepeneurs started out as a a grant that we got through the California State Library to try and get teens interested in starting small businesses or doing arts as a career path.”

Through the help of the San José Public Library Foundation, the library additionally received support to collaborate with WeThrive, a program providing seed funding and an entrepreneurship curriculum to teach youth how to start their own business.

Most recently, the ARTrepeneur Teen Pop-up Market held at the King Library was a booming success. As a beginner opportunity for teens to promote and sell their products, the market proved to be a valuable experience for many. 

“It’s been great to start a business and start making money that I can save and spend,” a participant of the program said. “I’ve been used to selling through my mom’s Facebook account, and this is the only in-person event I get to do. The program definitely teaches you how to sell and approach customers, and also how to price your products.”

Programs like Teen ARTrepeneurs inspire youth to fulfil their wildest dreams by providing them with the resources and the path to do so. Thanks to the initial funding of the Foundation, the opportunity to become an ARTrepeneur is available every summer. 

Laura is a retired physical science and math tutor. Yet week after week, in her free time, she continues tutoring at the San José Public Library. Not physics, or math, or anything STEM related at all. She teaches English.

Laura volunteers as a tutor for Adult Literacy and ESL, a free program at the San José Public Library. Supported by the San José Public Library Foundation, the program educates adults with an array of skills needed to thrive in Silicon Valley, from reading and writing in English to critical thinking and life skills. In particular, Laura focuses on conversational skills.

Laura is not new to volunteer work. “[Volunteering] almost all of my life is something that my family did because they didn’t have money to do anything else to help out,” she explained. “I had been volunteering previous years in other organizations including the school from which I retired. I would work with ESL students or non-native adults who had never learned to read and were working on it.”

She explained that becoming an English tutor for the library was simple: “The training program for both the [Adult] Literacy and the ESL program through the library is excellent.” Laura said, “They’ll teach you the best practices. They provide you with all the materials that they think you need, and any materials that you don’t have. They will also try to accommodate your schedule.”

In her lessons with Brisa and Alma, Laura starts every session with conversation. She explained, “I usually meet with two or three individuals together. We’re learning to ask questions now, so they ask each other questions. Or if there’s been a major event in their lives, they want to talk about that and share.”

After an initial conversation, they turn to textbooks. “We have an interesting set of text materials to use which we skip around in to make more effective,” Laura said. 

At the end of each lesson, her students will often have unique requests. Most recently, Brisa got her Green Card to visit her mother in Tijuana, but was “frightened about coming back into the United States through immigration and [responding to] the questions they would ask.”

Laura said, “We spent three weeks working ahead of time with all of the ladies on what kind of questions could you expect from immigration.” 

As an ESL tutor, Laura must come up with many strategies to keep her students engaged while teaching practical vocabulary. “I think of teaching as having a gigantic bag of tricks,” she said while laughing. “You need a lot of different kinds of things to do, to work well with individual learning. I like pictures and real objects if we can. I like us to move around if we can.”

She added, “We tend to learn better if we’re learning something we like. I can teach you a speech from Abraham Lincoln, but do you really want to know that yet?”

As a recent first generation college graduate, Mariana was in the midst of searching for a job when she was introduced to the RC program. “It wasn’t until my dad had shared a job opportunity with me through the SJPL Foundation that I felt like things were finally moving for me,” she said. 

One after another, she completed her interview, then her training, then she began her work with the Resilience Corps (RC) at the Educational Park Library. 

As a Resilience Corps Associate (RCA), she supported kids from K-8 in afterschool education and extracurriculars, while also learning professional skills such as program development, leadership, and presentation.

The RC program additionally built a foundation for her to comfortably and confidently explore job opportunities to launch her career. “Becoming an RCA opened doors for me that I had no idea were even possible,” she said. “I was lucky enough to represent all the RCAs and speak with the mayor during a conference. I got to network with Apple and Apple educators to talk about their journeys into education, and I got to meet amazing people who have been nothing short of supportive.”

Her work in the library led her to ultimately return to school to get her Master’s in Library and Information Sciences. “I would have not been able to come to this decision without being able to see firsthand what it was like to give back to my community through the library,” she said. “I hope that the next cohort enjoys it as much as I did.”

In the Community Room of the Edenvale Branch Library, pipe cleaners and cardboard scraps become elementary school children’s best friends. While the teachers and volunteers can manage the students’ excitement, they can’t limit their creativity. With funding support from the San José Public Library Foundation (SJPLF), this three-day Digital Discovery Workshop held at eight different San José Public Library branches fosters a fun, hands-on environment for learning about the digital world.

Using iPads and robots provided by the library, the children can dip their toes into aspects of robotics and technology. In a controlled classroom environment, the teacher encouraged his students to let loose and explore. The learners were quick to show off their bites of code with each other, along with tricks their robot companions did.

“I like the hands-on learning. We actually get to play around with the apps. We learned about coding robots and 3D modeling. It’s fun.” -Participant

To learn more about how SJPLF prioritizes digital empowerment as a focus area and how you can support the impact, visit sjplf.org/DigitalEmpowerment.

As a mother to two young children myself, I’d like to share what libraries have meant to me.

When my family first moved to San José three years ago with two children under the age of three, we didn’t know anyone. At home with the kids all day, I relied on our public libraries to keep us entertained and engaged in learning. We drove all over town checking out library events, attending storytimes, and borrowing books. Over time, I began to make friends and build community, finding the connection I desperately needed in a new town. It’s a chapter of our lives filled with special memories all thanks to the San José Public Library.

This Mother’s Day, as you honor a mom in your life, consider donating to the San José Public Library Foundation in her name. If we receive your gift of $25 or more by May 1, we will send a Mother’s Day card notifying her of your gift (within U.S. only).

On behalf of moms throughout San José, thank you for supporting our libraries. Your gift is making a difference. We thank you.

Sincerely,
Marly Young
Community Giving Manager
San José Public Library Foundation