Newport Beach Library - Adult Learner Blog -a special potluck party

a special potluck party
beginner… learner… December 4, 2010

to me, the special table with having Afsaneh, Yucari, Frencine and her son, Bruce and his son, daughter.

I got up early in the morning today compared to any other weekend because I had to cook Kabocha salad until 8:30 am at least for 2010 Holiday Potluck & Annual Meeting hold by Newport Beach Public Library Literacy Program at Newport Coast Community Center. I was done everything for the potluck party, I started the engine of my car and I turned off the engine after 15 minutes.

I took out a rectangular foil tray from the trunk of my car, I walked to main entrance.

As soon as I pushed the door, a nice woman was standing nearby sort of a reception desk.

"Hi!" "Good Morning!" I said first...I think I said first....

"Good Morning!" she also said after me. Right after the greeting, I felt so cozy.

If you are an English native-speaker, you might don't know that someone's 'hello' with a smile face make me comfortable when I go to somewhere alone even the saying is hello.

The party was started a harmonic performance by Edie and Friends. Everyone at the party was busy to talk to each other, and they seemed to be happy to be there. During Brunch sequence of the annual party, I emptied my plate which was filed with exotic foods, and absolutely I left the space for desserts in my stomach. Right after I tried many varied sweet which looked like decorations for Christmas dessert table. You know....when I am in party and I see assorted desserts, I feel that 'I am really in America.' hahahaha.....anyway...

I had a wonderful time with leaders and learners. The party was so great as annual. And there were special moments at the party to me. Firstly, I met Afsaneh at the party. She was a great learner, but she couldn't attend the literacy programs after getting her job. I missed her. Finally I met her today. She had a seat next to me, we talked to each other about saying hello, other learners, news of new class in the literacy program. Moreover Bruce, a wonderful leader, got the prize Volunteer of the Year. I'm sure that he deserves to get the honor. Congratulation Bruce!! I also met his son, Chris, who is gentle and was a good helper in Thursday class during winter break, and his pretty daughter, Candace. And, Yucari won the raffle. She got a gorgeous gift basket as a prize. The above people had the same table with me. Lastly, I was happy to see Afkaham again. She is still in therapy for her shoulder taken a surgery, but her looking was better than I visited her before. Those moments were special to me today.....

there are Bruce and Cherall. Bruce! Congratulation again!



Everything was too good to be true.

From Jiyoung Kang's beginner... learner... blog. Thank you to Ms Kang for letting me including her post on the SCLLN blog. Wish more learners would create and write blogs about their experiences -Congratulations Ms Kang !

Santa Barbara Library - Public Library Literacy Program The Votes Are In: Adult and Family Literacy Wins

Public Library Literacy Program Receives Verizon Grant
The Votes Are In: Adult and Family Literacy Wins
Santa Barbara View: December 14, 2010

After more than 7,000 text message votes for Verizon’s “Vote for Literacy!” campaign were counted, The Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library received enough text message votes to earn a $9,700 grant funded by Verizon customers through the company’s Check Into Literacy program. The top 5 vote getters received grant funds.

The Verizon Foundation presented a check for the grant to the Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library and the Santa Barbara Public Library System on Friday, December 10. “These funds generously donated by Verizon customers will enrich our programs for adult learners and families,” said Beverly Schwartzberg, the Library’s adult literacy coordinator.

The Check Into Literacy program allows Verizon’s landline telephone customers to support literacy by checking a box on their monthly phone bills to make a $1 tax-deductible donation to promote literacy throughout the United States. Verizon then distributes these donations to local literacy organizations that serve the state the customers live in.

The Library’s free adult and family literacy programs provide tutoring services and family programs to hundreds of local residents each year. Adults can receive free tutoring to help with reading, writing, and basic skills, and bring their children to learn about library services and develop school readiness skills. Over 150 community volunteers provide tutoring services at all branch libraries. READ MORE !

Protect Library Funding: 2011-12 Budget

News From The Capitol

- ACTION REQUESTED -

LETTERS TO GOVERNOR-ELECT BROWN NEEDED ASAP: Protecting Library Funding in the 2011-12 Budget
CLA Weblog: December 9, 2010
by Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists

GOVERNOR-ELECT BROWN HOSTS BUDGET FORUM:
Deficit Could Grow By Another $2.7 Billion

Jan 3: Governor-Elect Jerry Brown will be sworn into office
Jan 10: Governor Brown by law must submit a balanced Budget

The Governor-Elect has been receiving regular briefings on the $25 billion projected Budget deficit for the 2011-12 year and he hosted a symposium for the members of the California Legislature to present to them the dire state of the State.

Governor-Elect Brown convened the forum by stating that he was "determined to do everything I can to get us back on track."

The Deficit may now actually be $28 Billion:
~ a potential estate tax revenue loss, depending on Congressional actions
~ unfunded pension liability (projected at $100 billion - $500 billion)
~ unemployment insurance liability ($10.3 billion)
~ outstanding Budget borrowing ($15.3 billion)
~ cost of implementing new health care reform mandates ($3.5 billion)

LETTERS TO GOVERNOR-ELECT BROWN NEEDED ASAP:
Protecting Library Funding in the 2011-12 Budget

CLA is unsure what Governor Brown's leaning will be toward the state financing of library programs:
~ Public Library Foundation
~ Transaction Based Reimbursement
~ California Library Literacy Services

The Legislature and the Governor-Elect will be operating under an "everything must be on the table" mentality as they examine their solutions for bringing the massive Budget deficit into correction.

Please take a moment and write the Governor-Elect
~ encourage his support of protecting library funding during this difficult time
~ include specific information pertinent to your local libraries such as:

[Tailor these to fit your own situation, please]

> County, city and special district libraries continue to be one of the hardest hit segments of local government. These libraries have had their funding reduced under Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger by over 72 percent. (PLF)

> Over the past years, many school districts have reduced or eliminated their teacher librarians or their school libraries. Public libraries then become the community's lifeline for students and their families for important programs such as Homework Help centers, early learning programs, etc.

> Door counts continue to rise at an amazing rate for most libraries and library branches. In this difficult economy libraries are a safety net for many people who have lost their home or jobs and are using their local library to write resumes, attend workshops on credit repair, and utilize free access to high speed Internet to look for work.

> Libraries are the "great equalizer," providing resources and materials to all types of patrons from all walks of life without the expectation of payment. To reduce or eliminate funding for the Public Library Foundation, Transaction Based Reimbursement, or literacy programs under the State Library, would have lasting reverberations for a statewide system that would have a difficult time ever recovering.

ADDRESS LETTERS TO:

Governor-Elect Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

CLA thanks you for your help.
Please send your letters ASAP. READ MORE !

TAKE ACTION: Support Museum & Library Services Act

URGENT

Support the Museum and Library Services Act S.3984 !

Call your Representative
Tell them to
Support the Museum & Library Services Act !Take Action !

CALL the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your representative’s office. Tell their staffs that passing S. 3984, the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA), is imperative to ensuring libraries can continue providing critical resources to their constituents, particularly in this tough economy.

Specifically highlighting programs or resources your library provides to the member’s constituents will make your message stronger.

The U.S. Senate passed MLSA Reauthorization under unanimous consent late Tuesday night, bringing the bill one step closer to reauthorization before the end of the 111th Congress.

MLSA will ensure that the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds are secured and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is equipped to lead America’s libraries. This bill received bipartisan support from both Senate Republicans and Democrats, especially Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), who is a longtime supporter of libraries in this country. Other Senate sponsors of this bill include Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Susan Collins (R-ME), Michael Enzi (R-WY), and Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Jon Tester (D-MT).

Access the full text of the bill S. 3984 here.

MLSA has moved to the U.S. House of Representatives where it must receive a vote before the end of the calendar year. Please call your representative and urge him or her to press House leadership for a vote on the Senate-passed version of MLSA and to support the bill.

Your calls are urgently needed TODAY. If the House does not pass this legislation in the next two weeks, the whole reauthorization process will have to start over after the first of the year.

Compose a Message Here and send by email.

Find Your Elected Officials @
~ including the president, members of Congress, governors, state legislators, and more.

San Diego Co Library - Now Read This: Recession Halts Local Libraries' Literacy Programs

Now Read This: Recession Halts Local Libraries' Literacy Programs: Both the Casa de Oro and Spring Valley branches have had key literacy programs cut due to the economic downturn.
Mount Helix Patch: December 2, 2010 by Martin Jones Westlin

In the old days, San Diego County's anchor literacy facility was loopy with community outreach and the people who performed it. Everyone got involved, from churches, to book fairs, to schools, to entire neighborhoods. With a rate of about one in five county residents who lacked basic reading and riding skills, the county library's El Cajon branch personnel sought to help in its literacy campaign. The war was on, and the county had created a local program to help wage it.

Problem is, the old days aren't so old.

Only last year, the San Diego Council on Literacy applied for its annual grant to administer its Literacy*AmeriCorps coalition for 2010-11. But the recession has come to call, in the form of denial of the monies—leaving the county's AmeriCorps connection in disarray, costing the Spring Valley library branch a key class, slashing outreach at the Casa de Oro branch and meeting with the literacy council's dismay. If the grant had been given, the funding would have kicked in last summer, providing, among other things, modest stipends for those who volunteered for service.

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The county created Libraries Empower All to Read Now (LEARN), its latest literacy effort, in 2005, staffing it with full- and part-time personnel from AmeriCorps and its own system, and housing it at the El Cajon branch. Seven AmeriCorps volunteers assessed and tutored scores of learners in LEARN's five years, assisting with clerical and outreach duties and attending literacy seminars from San Diego to Los Angeles. The members' terms of service typically last a year; members cannot serve more than twice.

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For Kevin Vigil, a county library associate who helped spearhead AmeriCorps' local literacy work, the funding denial has meant a fight for survival.

"I would say the word would be 'inconvenient,' " Vigil said. "It's been quite an adjustment. Before, we always had someone in the office, regardless of who went where. Now, we don't have anyone answering the phones or e-mail. It's just me, and I do what I can."

Vigil handles tutoring requests and outreach for the southern half of the county. LEARN also maintains a facility at the county library in Vista. The library system has 33 facilities and circulates 10 million books and other items annually.

In Spring Valley, the cut has meant the cancellation of a citizenship class and the cessation of AmeriCorps' in-house tutoring program, leaving five potential learners to wonder what will happen next (the average wait time for tutor service from LEARN is about two months). Currently, no potential learners await tutor service at the Casa de Oro branch—but without AmeriCorps' aid, they're also no longer targets for outreach and may be unaware that LEARN exists. READ MORE !

Redlands Library - New Service Redlands Adult Literacy Program

A. K. Smiley Public Library

New Service
Redlands Adult Literacy Program

Welcome to the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, in association with A. K. Smiley Library! Working with community volunteers, our mission is to provide professional one-on-one tutoring in reading and writing to adults, 18 years and older, seeking help in our community.

Tutoring services are provided at no cost to adults, 18 years and older, requesting assistance in improving reading and writing skills. Lessons are individualized, confidential, and goal-oriented.

Tutors are volunteers from our community and must be at least 18 years old. No previous teaching experience is required. Tutor qualifications are: the ability to speak, read, and write English; compassion and sensitivity to the needs of adult learners; and the willingness to be trained to assist the learner in meeting the learner’s goals.

Learners must be at least 18 years old and out of the traditional high school environment. A learner must be able to speak to and understand English-speaking staff and tutors and are asked to make a six-month commitment to the program. Learners meet with their tutor once or twice a week for 1½ to 2 hours.

FUNDING: The Friends of the Library, a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, working in association with A. K. Smiley Library, is committed to the life-changing benefits of literacy.

Please contact the Volunteer Literacy Coordinators:
909 . 798 . 7565, ext. 4138.

Corona Library :: Corona literacy coordinator elected to school board :: John Zickefoose

Corona literacy coordinator elected to school boardPress Enterprise: November 3, 2010 by Dayna Straehley

Corona library literacy coordinator John Zickefoose won a seat on the Corona-Norco Unified School District board Tuesday.

Six candidates sought two open seats on the school board. Longtime board members Bill Hedrick and Sharon Martinez did not run for re-election.

Zickefoose, who has 27.88 percent, or 16,554, of the votes in the unofficial tally, said he was thrilled and humbled by the community's support.

Zickefoose said he learned to read as an adult and has made literacy his mission. He reads to students at every school in the district. He also co-founded United Neighbors Involving Today's Youth, a community coalition that includes school district representatives.

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All six said they want more career education, especially for students who don't plan to go to college.

Most agreed that not all students are college-bound, so programs such as computer technology, auto shop or wood shop will motivate them at school and close the achievement gap between middle class white and Asian students and black, Latino students and socio-economically disadvantaged students. READ MORE !