Downey Library - September tabbed as literacy month

September tabbed as literacy month
Downey Patriot: 9.19.08 by Henry Veneracion

Downey Mayor Dave Gafin last week proclaimed the month of September 2008 as Literacy Month.

The proclamation is premised, he said, on the following considerations:

1) More than 27 % of adults in the Los Angeles area are capable of reading only simple words and sentences.

2) Literacy issues severely impact the lives of families in the area of work, school and their full participation in all the benefits of Downey residents.

3) Volunteers in the Downey City Library Adult Literacy Program give of themselves to help students reach their goals by providing free help in the areas of basic reading and writing skills.

“I urge fellow citizens to learn more about the importance of literacy and to become involved with literacy in our community,” he said.

Literacy . . . Info . . . News . . . Questions - WebQuest

WebQuest

To help adult literacy learners in three different areas: health literacy, family literacy, and workplace literacy. Although these WebQuests can be used by the learner independently, working together with a tutor will produce the best results. WebQuests also provides audio as well as visual support, the learners will be able to successfully learn how to gather the information they need.

~ You will learn to use the internet
~ You will learn to use video and sound on the internet
~ You will learn about the healthcare world
~ You will practice your writing skills
~ You will learn how to find information on the internet

Follow the steps in WebQuest. The steps need to be done in the order you see them listed.

WebQuest will also teach you how to use the internet and improve your writing.

Presidential Debates and Libraries

Presidential Debates and Libraries
from a letter by James Rettig, ALA President

On Tuesday, October 7, one of the three 2008 Presidential debates between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. This debate will be a town hall format moderated by Tom Brokaw. The moderator will call on members of the audience as well as select questions submitted online.

During this election year, we are looking for librarians and supporters from across the country to call attention to the value of today’s libraries in our communities, as well as the issues the library community is facing.

We encourage all ALA members to submit questions.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has partnered with MySpace to create a new Web site, MyDebates. This site will become available in the days leading up to the first Presidential debate on September 26.

The more questions submitted, the more likely a library question will be asked. This is an opportunity for the library voice to become an important part of the 2008 Presidential election.