Downey Library - Literacy Month 2007

More on Literacy Month: Donna's update: I spent Monday evening at the Downey Public Library talking about My California with a very enthusiastic group that included many of the city's volunteer reading tutors.

Librarian Claudia Dailey mentioned a surprising statistic: that 27 percent of adults in Los Angeles County are not fully literate. So Claudia and her wonderful band of volunteers spend countless hours all year long helping other adults improve their reading skills.

I'm delighted that the library's tutors and their students are all diving into the narrative travel stories in the My California anthology. And I can't think of a better way to inspire people to read than sharing the work of these 27 great writers.

CaliforniaAuthors.com blog: Sep 19, 2007

Newport Beach Library - Man proves it’s never too late to learn

Man proves it’s never too late to learnDaily Pilot: 9.06.07: By Joseph Serna

For most of his adult life, Donnie Madril has had to watch opportunities pass him by. His parents could afford to send him to college, but the 48-year-old Irvine man chose manufacturing after high school.

Every time an opportunity for advancement arose in the company, Madril could only stand by, immobilized by his inability to write.

After 20 years, when his company relocated and many of them were laid off, Madril’s choices were limited — find a job with little writing. Something repetitious that did not require elaboration was about as far as he could go.

“For most of my adult life I’ve mostly been well-read and spoke fairly well,” Madril said. “But I was never able to transfer my thoughts to paper. It was real simple stuff, simple, small words. A sentence did not have a beginning or an end. Fragments every place, no punctuation at all.”

Nearly 10 years into his second career, now as a truck driver, Madril seized a life-changing opportunity with Newport Beach Public Library’s Literacy Services program. He did better than learn how to write. He won the program’s Rochelle Hoffman Award Thursday.
The Newport Beach library’s literacy program can be reached at (949) 717-3874. READ ON

Hemet Library - Hemet Library Raises Funds for Literacy

Hemet Library Raises Funds for LiteracyPress-Enterprise: 9.12.07 by Diane A Rhodes

Download story podcast

Some came in strollers, some in wheelchairs and many in sneakers to participate in the second annual Walk-A-Mile for Literacy on Saturday.

Hosted by Hemet Public Library Adult Literacy Services, AmeriCorps and Hemet Adult Literacy Advocates, the event was intended to raise awareness and funds.

According to Adult Literacy Services Program Director Lori Eastman, nearly one in five adult residents of the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley is functionally illiterate.

About 250 supporters who participated in Saturday's Walk-A-Mile for Literacy gather for a raffle at the Hemet Public Library.

The Walk-A-Mile route, which measures out to be closer to two miles, contained 15 checkpoints for about 250 walkers to stop and learn about the importance of reading. Each table provided tickets for prizes that were raffled off after everyone met upstairs at the library. READ ON