2010 SCLLN Tutor Conference: Call 4 Presenters

Southern California Library Literacy Network
Annual Tutor Conference = February 27, 2010

Holiday Inn - Buena Park

Call 4 Presenters

If you would like to present a workshop, or if you know a volunteer or a community member who would make a great presenter, please contact SCLLN as soon as possible.

SCLLN has 21 slots to fill = Deadline: December 15 !
There are 3 Strands of Workshop sessions @ 75 minutes.
9:00am – 10:15am . . . 10:30am – 11:45am . . . 1:45pm – 3:00pm

And if anyone from Central or Northern California wants to join the fun, let's talk.

The conference is for tutors, learners, and literacy staff, and often times there's a mix in the workshop audience. SCLLN does have a "Learner Strand", and we love workshops that encourage participation from tutor-learner pairs, but there are also classes geared specifically to tutors.

Sorry, there's no stipend available this year, but presenters earn free admission to the conference and our undying gratitude. Yeah, it's the best we can do in a sour economy . . . .

Anyway, time's fleeting, so please contact me if you're interested.

Lookin' forward to the flood of applications in my inbox in the next few days.

Rod Williams = Literacy Coor.
Palmdale City Library
661 . 267 . 5682

. . . check out the workshops from the 2009 Conference !

Colton Library - Colton Libraries Reopen with Six-Day Schedule

Colton Libraries Reopen with Six-Day Schedule
SB Sun: December 1, 2009 by Michael J Sorba

Library service is back in Colton.

The Main Library, 656 N. Ninth St., reopened Tuesday. Starting today, it will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Service has also been restored at the Luque Branch Library, 294 E O St. It will reopen Thursday and then operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new schedules at both libraries will remain until June 30.

Pete Carrasco, chairman of the Colton Public Library Board of Trustees, said he's glad the city responded to the public's request to restore the libraries.

The libraries and homework assistance center that was housed at the Carnegie building were closed in November as cost-cutting measures to offset a projected $5 million deficit for the fiscal year.

At the ensuing City Council meeting about two-dozen people spoke against the decision and asked that some level of library service be restored.

The homework assistance center and an adult literacy program that was offered haven't been restored, but the city is working to get those programs back online, said Interim Deputy City Manager Bill Smith.

Schedules are effective immediately and will remain until June 30. READ MORE !

Palmdale Library - Writer To Writer Awards 2009

2009 Writer-to-Writer Awards

This year 188 adult learners entered the Challenge from 43 library literacy programs all over California. Their letters, based on their writing skill levels, were divided into four categories: Emerging, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced. [see earlier Post for more information !]

The letters of the winners will appear as a Four-part Series by the Literacy Interest Group E-newsletter, continuing part two with this E-newsletter with a letter from Intermediate winner Larry Evans:

Larry Evans
Palmdale City Library

Dear Mr. Poitier:

My name is Larry Evans and it was at the age of fifty-one that I learned how to read. Your book was the first book I ever read from cover to cover. Thank you for the inspiration I received from reading The Measure of a Man. My comments will start with you growing up in the Bahamas. Being blessed with weather so warm and beautiful all year round to enjoy - what a life! That lifestyle would only be a dream for me. The closest thing I had to living on an island was an old television show called Gilligan's Island.

My hometown was somewhat like yours; we also carried water to drink and had to use an outhouse. It is easy for a country boy like me to relate to your life style as a boy. As I read your book about how you faced racism at a very young age, it made me think that racism is maybe part of the reason why it took me fifty-one years to read the English Language. READ MORE !

CA & National Literacy Calendar: December 2009

California Literacy Calendar: December 2009

SCLLN Literacy & Library Events & Conferences
-local, California and National Conferences-

visit the Southern California Library Literacy Network
for more information

Tutor Training Workshops scrolling in left frame

Southern California

Dec 2-3: CA Secondary Literacy Summit = Costa Mesa
Dec 5: Literacy & Arts Festival = Santa Clarita Hart Park
Dec 8 7pm: Ten Tenors = San Diego Council on Literacy @ SD Civic Theater
Dec 12 10am: Learning Disabilities Adult Support Group = Providence Tarzana Medical Center
Dec 12 10am: Sensory Friendly Film – Princess & Frog @ some local AMC Theaters: Covina – Ontario – Orange – SD – Torrance – Woodland Hills

National

Dec 2-5: National Reading Conference = Albuquerque
Dec 4-6: Zero to Three Institute = Dallas

Lodi Literacy Program Coordinator Yvette Herrera Shares Learning Tips

Literacy Program Coordinator Yvette Herrera Shares Learning Tips
Lodi News: November 23, 2009 by Pam Bauserman

Blue squares line the floor in the Lodi Public Library through the children's area and to an office at the back.

Yvette Herrera calls these squares "the path to literacy."

Herrera is the literacy program coordinator at the library. She likes to see the life-changing progress people make once they enter the program.

"Those of us who can read, we don't realize what it's like not to be able to read a menu or a medicine bottle," she said.

What are some causes of adult illiteracy?

Having poor experiences in elementary or secondary schools. (There are also) people from other countries and there are some with learning disabilities.

What are some of the teaching methods used?

We use the Laubach way to reading technique. There are different levels they graduate in and go into different levels.

What has been the biggest success story?

We've had various learners progress. One who I can think of is in the process of getting her phlebotomy license. That's definite improvement.

What is the biggest problem adult illiteracy causes? READ MORE !

California Budget - Library Cuts 2010-11

Legislative Analyst’s Office Projects $20.7 Billion Budget Problem
CLA Action Alert: November 18, 2009

Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report:
The 2010-11 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook.

According to the report, the $20.7 billion Budget problem, "consists of a $6.3 billion projected deficit for 2009-10, and a $14.4 billion gap between projected revenues and spending in 2010-11." The vast majority of the new Budget problem, according to the LAO, is the result of several major "solutions" in the recently enacted Budget, that did not pan out as well as additional funding owed to schools.

Tips For Lobbying Your Legislator - During Difficult Budget Years
By Mike Dillon and Christina Dillon DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists

REINTRODUCE YOUR LEGISLATOR TO YOUR LIBRARY

When you are visiting with your legislator, please take the opportunity to ask him or her to attend an event at your library. While we personally know of legislators who actively visit their local libraries, unfortunately many lawmakers have not set foot in one in a long time. It is not unusual for a legislator who does not have a particular attachment to a local library to ask us, “With the advancement of Barnes and Noble, do we even need libraries any more ?”

Explain to your legislator that the 2010-2011 Budget does not contain any cuts to library programs such as the Public Library Foundation, Transaction Based Reimbursement, and English Acquisition and Literacy Program. Ask your legislator to continue to support public libraries and to resist talks of future cuts.

MARKET YOUR LIBRARY !

Many legislators simply do not know of the extensive services you provide. Pick three or four that are very unusual or popular and highlight them in your discussion. Explain what the modern day library provides to its patrons.
Get Rich @ Your Library

Your public library is a goldmine of books, magazines, movies, music and other great stuff. There are many ways you can Get Rich @ Your Library !

Don't Know Your Legislators ? Click Here

Colton Library - Colton City Council Bombarded with Complaints over Library Closures

Colton City Council Bombarded with Complaints over Library Closures
SB Sun: November 17, 2009 by Michael J Sorba

Nearly 100 people crammed into the City Council Chambers Tuesday night to hear complaints about the recent closure of the city's three libraries.

Several who spoke said they were flabbergasted by the decision and questioned why other options weren't considered before such a brash move was made.

"There are things that can be done when you ask the community for help," said Linda Tripp, vice president of Friends of the Colton Public Library. "You need to reach out to the community before you do something this drastic."

Last week, Interim City Manager Bob Miller announced the libraries would remain shuttered until the June 30 close of the current fiscal year and almost 60 employees would be laid off to combat a projected $5 million general fund deficit.

These moves will only save about $3.5 million, and it's likely more layoffs and organizational changes will be needed to make up the difference, Mayor Kelly Chastain said. READ MORE !