When the Vineland Branch of the San Jose Public Library system opens for the first time in January, the branch will join three others in a pilot program offering Sunday service.

For more than 30 years, San Jose's branch libraries have been closed on Sundays, but Mayor Ron Gonzales said the city should be offering library services on both weekend days to working people who don't have time to use the library during the week.

Three branch libraries—Berryessa, Evergreen and West Valley—will begin Sunday service in December. The hours are scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m.

The pilot program will run through June of 2004, at which time the city council must decide to continue or cancel it.

The money to pay for the Sunday service at the four branches will come from the city's other libraries, which will eliminate one hour of service from their Thursday-through-Saturday schedules.

Dando unveils new postage stamp

San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando and San Jose Postmaster Noemi Luna unveiled a new postage stamp on Oct. 27 aimed at stopping family violence in a ceremony on the steps of City Hall.

The new "Stop Family Violence" fundraising stamp is the third stamp in U.S. history to raise funds for a special cause. As a fundraising stamp, the difference between the 45-cent sales price of the stamp and the underlying postage in effect at the time of purchase, currently 37 cents, consists of a charitable donation.

"The Postal Service is pleased to announce the availability of the Stop Family Violence stamp," Luna said.

"The Postal Service has a proud tradition of issuing stamps to help raise awareness of social issues. The Stop Family Violence stamp takes this wonderful tradition a step further by providing funds for a worthy cause. We encourage everyone to purchase and use the Stop Family Violence stamp on their cards and letters."

The 8-cent donations will go to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for use in domestic-violence programs.

Fundraising stamps, also known as semi-postal stamps, have been highly successful in raising funds for important causes. The first U.S. semi-postal stamp was the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, which was issued in 1998 and has since raised more than $30 million for breast cancer research.

The Heroes of 2001 semi-postal stamp was issued on June 7, 2002, and has raised more than $8 million for the families of relief personnel who were killed or permanently injured during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.