SJSU News Archive
Date: 05/20/2010
Tuesday, May 11, was a huge day at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. That's when a giant digital counter mounted on the wall near the checkout desk showed that the 100 millionth item had been borrowed or renewed from the San Jose Public Library system. "The Counter," a public art piece, has been tracking business since August 2003, when the library held its grand opening. The city of San Jose and San Jose State co-developed and co-manage King. SJSU library science graduate student Joel Eanes won a contest to predict the exact date and time the counter would hit a 100 million. Based on counter data observed over a 15-day period, his entry was off by just one minute! Eanes prize was a booklover's goody bag filled with a short story anthology, book journal, wafers and hot chocolate.