Newport Beach Library - Literacy Services Celebrates with Holiday Potluck and Annual Meeting

Literacy Services Celebrates
with Holiday Potluck and Annual Meeting
Literally Speaking-NBPL Literacy Services: Winter 2008

Saturday, December 6th, was a day of celebration for many tutors, learners, and volunteers along with their friends and families. It was a full morning that began with a “Getting to Know You” mixer and an efficiently conducted annual meeting where bylaws were amended and five new board members were voted in. (Welcome to Kristi Chezum-Dougherty, Nancy Englebrecht, Tara Netherton, Amy Tan, and Nancy Thompson.)

Cherall Weiss, Literacy Coordinator for the program, spoke inspirationally about the many accomplishments of our learners, such as voting for the first time, improving their current employment, and reading aloud to their children or grandchildren. All this would not be possible without the generosity of all the tutors and volunteers who give so freely of their energy and time, more than 7000 hours in the 2007/8 fiscal year.

Jim Tracy, an Advisory Board member for 6 years, was named 2008 Volunteer of the Year. Among other things, Jim has used his time and talents to ensure regulatory compliance for the program as well as fiscal responsibility. He and the other outgoing board members will be missed. As usual, the food at the potluck was tremendous - many thanks to all who contributed.

Hemet Library - DOING LITERATURE

DOING LITERATURE
Press-Enterprise: December 3, 2008 by Diane A Rhodes

For more than five years, the monthly Doing Literature program at the Hemet Public Library has attracted a steady stream of readers to its informal discussion series.

A few years ago, Raymond Rodgers was offered the group's hosting duties by the exiting Dr. Paul Obler.

"I accepted because it is so very important that we do what we can to preserve and promote literature in a world of waning interest in reading," said Rodgers, 78. "I have been reading since I was 4, and it is a major aspect of whatever it is that is me."

On Dec. 13, Rodgers, a part-time English and literature instructor at Mt. San Jacinto College, will offer "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens as the topic of discussion.

Although reading the book is not a requirement of participation, Rodgers said most attendees are avid readers who enjoy the selections.


There is no charge to attend the meetings, which are held on the second Saturday of each month from September through June. Meetings are from 10:30a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the downstairs conference room of the library at 300 E. Latham Ave., Hemet.

"The library provides the space and administrative support and the program is conducted by unpaid volunteers under the library's literacy program," Rodgers said.

The library tries to provide extra copies of the books for participants to check out. Information: 951-765-2440. READ MORE

Economic Stimulus Package Must Provide Funds for Adult Literacy and Basic Education !

Economic Stimulus Package Must Provide Funds for Adult Literacy and Basic Education !
ProLiteracy - Action Alert: Dec 2008

Adult learners, especially those at the lowest literacy level, often struggle to make ends meet when the economy is strong. They are especially hard hit during times of economic recession.

Adult learners must have the necessary reading, writing, math, computer, and English-language skills to get jobs and keep them. Any economic stimulus bill that Congress considers must include money for programs that help adults gain these skills.

Tell your representatives and your Senators that there must be economic stimulus money for adult literacy and basic education programs !

Send an E-mail - Write a Letter - Call Your Representative Today !- sample letter from ProLiteracy - Check Out the 100 Day Plan @

I encourage you to target a minimum of $50 million to adult literacy and basic education programs as part of any economic stimulus package brought to Congress for action.

An estimated 30 million adults in the U.S. can barely read and write. There is a higher rate of unemployment in this group than in the general population. Many work in low-skill and low-paying jobs. Of the one million jobs lost this year, many were these low-skill jobs. For many of the unemployed, training for higher-skill jobs will require learning the fundamentals of reading, of writing, and of speaking English.

Local adult literacy and basic education programs are committed to preparing these adults for work. Many community-based programs offer workplace literacy services and partner with community groups to get people working. But thousands of adults are already on waiting lists for tutors and teachers, and demand is likely to grow as jobs become scarcer.

$50 million in funding for these programs is just a modest increase. It would support just 62,500 new learners at an estimated $800 per student for a year of literacy instruction. Failure to provide even this minimum level of extra funding will cost local, state, and federal governments more in unemployment and public assistance benefits, health care costs, and increased crime rates.

I applaud any action that helps individuals get back to work, but action that does not include funding to help adults gain the skills they need to access new jobs is woefully incomplete.

Sincerely,

Find Your Representatives @ American Library Association

~ members of Congress, governors, state legislators, and more ~

Writer To Writer 2008 - Awards

7th Annual Writer To Writer Challenge

an inspiring celebration of letters written by adult learners in California Library Literacy programs to authors of books that have changed their lives.

SCLLN - Winners & Runners Up

Beginning Level Winner:
Laurie H, Hemet Public Library
wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder - On the Banks of Plum Creek

Runner Up:

~ Jorge S, Escondido Public Library, wrote to John Steinbeck - The Pearl

Intermediate Level Winner:
Sandra G, Oceanside Public Library
wrote to Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea

Runner Up:Runner Up:

~ Blanca M, Riverside County Library wrote to Cecil Murphy - 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life

Advanced Level Winner:

Juan S, San Diego Public Library
wrote to Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook

Runner Up:

~ Dorothy C, Los Angeles Public Library wrote to Toni Morrison - The Bluest Eye

SCLLN 2008 Writer to Writer Challenge Finalists:
(in alphabetical order by last name)

Beginning Level:
Sarah B, San Diego Public Library
Jiyoung K, Newport Beach Public Library
Christine K, Alhambra Public Library
Tina L, San Diego Public Library
Jorge S, Escondido Public Library
Genoveva T, Escondido Public Library

Intermediate Level
Araceli C, Escondido Public Library
Anonymous, National City Public Library
Blanca M, Riverside Public Library
Kay H, Hemet Public Library
Mikaba S, Newport Beach Public Library
Anonymous, Altadena Library District

Advanced Level
Dorothy C, Los Angeles Public Library

2008 Statewide Writer to Writer Challenge

Winners & Runners Up

Emerging Level Winner:

Ferial H, Santa Clara County Free Library, wrote to Chase Ferris-Remember the Ladies: A Story about Abigail Adams
Runners Up:

~ Angelita O, Solano County Library, wrote to Lois Markham-Helen Keller
~ Michael S, Oakland Public Library, wrote to Edith Bajema-Trapped by Memory

Beginning Level Winner:

Laurie H, Hemet Public Library, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder-On the Banks of Plum Creek
Runners Up:
~ Jorge S, Escondido Public Library, wrote to John Steinbeck-The Pearl
~ Walter W, Stanislaus County Free Library, wrote to Daniel G. Amen, M.D.-Change your Brain, Change your Life.

Intermediate Level Winner:
Sandra G, Oceanside Public Library, wrote to Ernest Hemingway-The Old Man and the Sea
Runners Up:
~ Blanca M, Riverside County Library, wrote to Cecil Murphy-90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
~ Sharon Z, Contra Costa County Library, wrote to Gail Tsukiyama-The Samurai’s Garden

Advanced Level Winner:
Juan S, San Diego Public Library, wrote to Nicholas Sparks-The Notebook
Runners Up:
~ Dorothy C, Los Angeles Public Library, wrote to Toni Morrison-The Bluest Eye
~ Anonymous, Santa Clara Public Library, wrote to Charlotte Bronte-Jane Eyre

Adult literacy program recognized
Reporter: Dec 8, 2008

The Solano County Library Adult Literacy Program obtained special recognition recently for its participation in a statewide writing challenge sponsored by the California State Library. The award was presented in San Jose on November 15 during the California Library Association's annual conference.

The Mary Miller Inspirational Award was presented to Solano County Library literacy staff for encouraging the greatest number of adult learners from any one library system to participate in the Writer to Writer Challenge.

For the challenge, learners read a book, then wrote a letter to the author explaining why the book was significant to the learner's life.

Letters are judged by committees of fellow adult learners. Twenty-three Solano County Library learners submitted entries this year.

Mary Miller, literacy program coordinator of the Glendale Public Library, was the 2007 Writer to Writer chair and a member of the 2008 committee until her untimely death on September 1.  READ MORE

California Library Association Member of the Year - Carey Gross, Literacy Specialist Butte County Library

California Library Association

Member of the Year

Carey Gross, Butte County Library
CLA Weblog: Nov 25, 2008

Carey Gross, Literacy Specialist at the Butte County Library, is the recipient of the CLA Member of the Year Award for her tireless work promoting literacy services both in her own library and on behalf of all California libraries.

Long known to her colleagues as a passionate advocate for literacy services, Carey recently leaped to statewide attention in her valiant efforts to fight a legislative proposal that would have totally eliminated library literacy funding in California.

In her role as member of the CLA Legislative Committee, Carey sounded the alarm in a series of e-mails that delivered cogent, focused talking points mixed with impassioned pleas for the importance of literacy as a core library service. Inspired by her leadership, library advocates across the state took time out to contact their state legislators. These letters, e-mails and phone calls ultimately helped to defeat the proposal and save literacy funding. READ MORE

SCLLN Tutor Training: December 2008

SCLLN Tutor Workshops - December 2008

Southern California Library Literacy Network
Literacy & Library Events & Conferences
- visit SCLLN for more information -

Dec 2 – 9 am
Tutor Training
Newport Beach Public Library
1000 Avocado Ave.
Newport Beach, CA 92660

Dec 2 – 6 pm
Tutor Training
READ/San Diego
Malcolm X Branch
5148 Market
San Diego CA 92114

Dec 6
Tutor Training
San Luis Obispo City-County Library
1264 Higuera Street, Suite #102
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Dec 13 – 10 am
Tutor Training
Los Angeles Public Library
Pio Pico-Koreatown Branch
694 S. Oxford Ave.
Los Angeles 90005

Dec 23-24
Holiday Gift Wrap
READ/Orange County
Barnes & Noble

Local Southern California Events

Dec 1 – 12 Noon
Webinar - Infopeople
Finding Easy-to-Read and Multilingual
Health Information for your Patrons

Dec 17 – 5 pm
Winter Reading Land
WORD, AV
Antelope Valley Mall

Seattle Library names new CEO - Susan Hildreth, State Librarian of California

Seattle Library names new CEO:
California woman the 'clear choice'
Seattle PI: Nov 24, 2008 by Jon Naito

The candidate selected for the top position at The Seattle Public Library is an experienced executive who currently leads the nation's largest state library.

Susan Hildreth, the state librarian of California, was the unanimous choice of the library's board of trustees to become its new city librarian and chief executive officer, according to a news release Monday.

Hildreth was chosen after a nationwide search. The other finalists were Jane Light, director of the San Jose Public Library in California and Rivkah Sass, director of the Omaha Public Library in Nebraska.

Each of the finalists spent a day last week meeting with the library's board, its administration and staff, and members of the Library Foundation and Friends.

Hildreth, who will assume her post early next year, succeeds Deborah Jacobs, who left the library in July to accept a position with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. READ MORE