San Diego Public Library - READ San Diego - 50 People To Watch in 2006

50 People To Watch in 2006
San Diego Magazine: April 2006

As director of READ/ San Diego, Valerie Hardie oversees the San Diego Public Library system's innovative literacy program, which has been nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

READ is acclaimed for its successful strategies to improve language skills among the estimated 422,000 adults in San Diego County who cannot read and write well enough to get along in the business world-or even meet their own daily needs. Hardie's challenge in the coming year: to weather San Diego's worsening budget crisis and likely cutbacks in library funding while maintaining READ's excellent scorecard

Huntington Beach Library - Literacy Program Helps Newcomers Improve Their English

Literacy Program Helps Newcomers Improve Their English

Pacific News: March 29, 2006 by Josie Cabiglio

Immigrants to the United States often take ESL to learn to speak, yet for many, it isn’t enough. Finishing those English as a Second Language courses, some find out they cannot read or write as well as they should to get a job or to connect to fluent sons and daughters.

In other cases, even people born and raised in the U.S. do not master these skills they need to succeed. In fact, studies show that one-fifth of our adult population lack the reading capability to cope successfully as workers, parents and citizens, yet low-cost or free help is within reach.

Enter literacy.

Thanks to nearly 1,200 affiliates of ProLiteracy America, tutoring is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, offering one-on-one service by trained individuals.

Since it began in 1984, the Literacy Volunteers program at Huntington Beach’s Public Library in California alone has helped nearly 5,000 people — both American-born and newcomers from such countries as Vietnam, China, Mexico and Japan. Through the years, participants have worked with about 4,500 tutors, at times gathering in two-hour weekly sessions. There’s no charge; it’s confidential and personalized.

Another two-hour session Thursday mornings focuses on conversation, led by Caroline Fuelling. Here, Vietnamese students join in, building on what they picked up from the tutoring side. They debate cultural differences and current events, along with problems they faced, say, the previous week at the office, said Anna Combs, a literacy specialist and assistant to Rose Saylin, who runs the program.

Some mothers and fathers who go to the center have youngsters who “are pretty fluent and the parents feel lost. They want to help with homework, but can’t,” Combs said. “Kids can be very critical. Or they are embarrassed,” pushing the adults to want to improve even more, she said.

“Women come here, especially Asians, who worked hard all their lives” and once in this country, still “put food on the table and their children through college. Now they feel, ‘It’s my turn,’ “ she noted.

To qualify for most of the tutoring, students must have some proficiency in English as these are not ESL sessions, Combs said. And for the Huntington Beach program, attendees also must live or work in or near the city. They will be taught by men and women completing at least one 15-hour training session before being matched to their charges.

Only two months after taking the sessions in Huntington Beach, Hai Nguyen, who settled in the U.S. just two years ago, can honestly say his English has advanced greatly and that he feels more confident speaking, reading and writing, inspired by his tutor, Karen Kliem. READ MORE

Burbank Library - Not a trivial matter: The 10th Annual Trivia Challenge

Not a trivial matter: The 10th Annual Trivia Challenge
Burbank Leader: April 1, 2006 by Lauren Hilgers

The annual Trivia Challenge hosted by the Burbank Public Library does not discriminate. It aims to stump actors, artists, businessmen and librarians alike.

"I thought it was a trivial contest," joked Gary Lamb of Burbank's Shakespeare at Play. "I know lots of trivial things."

Soon Lamb would sweat it out with the rest of the contestants onstage, his team losing their first point by mispronouncing the Garfield character 'Odie' as 'Obie'.

The contest pitted groups of three against each other -- each team is asked one question each round and two wrong answers are enough to eliminate you from the competition.

"It's nerve-racking," admitted Shauna Vaughn, a member of the team representing the Boys and Girls Club. "I still remember the question I got out on last year."

Questions throughout the night included, "What kind of animal is the Cheetos mascot?" and "What kind of meat is used in Moussaka?"

"I watched quiz shows to prepare myself," said Jim Schendel, also of Shakespeare at Play.

The event, which drew 24 teams from organizations across Burbank, is in it's 10th year. Each year the library funnels the money from ticket purchases, team registration fees and a concurrent silent auction into their literacy program.

. . .
Photo: Trivia Challenge 2006 was held at the Castaway Restaurant, Thursday, an annual event to benefit Burbank Public Library Literacy Services. (L-R) Jack O'Neill, Tony Potter, Gary Lamb, and Jim Schendel.

Burbank Library - Words of Wisdom in Burbank

Words of Wisdom in Burbank
Daily News of Los Angeles: March 8, 2006 by Rick Coca

Anna Nelson, a volunteer tutor with the Burbank Adult Literacy program, had been warned at orientation that many of the people she and her fellow volunteers would teach would view reading as a chore - not a pleasurable pastime.

Typically, students signed up for the program because they didn't want to lose a job that required reading, got sick of taking an oral driver's license test or wanted to help their children do homework.

They weren't there because they wanted to cozy up in front of the fireplace with a good book.

So after months of working with a student who had very little reading skills coming into the program, Nelson, a retired school nurse and Burbank resident, was ecstatic to learn that the woman had stated in a curriculum report that she enjoyed reading.

``It was Christmas all over again,'' Nelson said. ``(I) wanted my learner to learn how to read and enjoy it, and she is.''

William S. Byrne has been literacy coordinator for the program since 1998. The program is largely state-funded and open to English-speaking adults 18 and over with an eighth-grade or lower reading level. The program is ongoing and pairs about 30 students and volunteer teachers.

. . .
On March 30, Burbank Literacy Services will will hold its 10th anniversary fundraising Trivia Challenge at Castaway restaurant, with proceeds going toward its various literacy programs. To purchase tickets to the event, which will also include a silent auction and door prizes, or to inquire about the literacy program, call (818) 238-5577.  READ MORE