Newport Beach Library :: Tutor Snapshot

SNAPSHOT: Tutor - Gigi Spragins

Literally Speaking: Nov/Dec 2017

What first drew you to the Newport Beach Public Library literacy program?

Once upon a time, I was a middle school English teacher but marriage and children put my career on hold for several years. Being an avid Newport Beach Library user, I had heard of the Literacy Program. But it wasn’t until I was at a dinner party with a lovely Japanese woman who waxed so enthusiastically about the program and how it had helped her adjust to life in America that I felt that this could be the perfect outlet for the teacher in me. I called the Literacy office the next day to sign up.

In the past 3 and 1/2 years, I have tutored three learners from Japan, Iran, and South Korea. My current learner has been here from South Korea since 2008 and is a US citizen. She is married with two grown daughters. My learner owns a sushi restaurant where she employs 14 people and where she works seven days a week. She plays the saxophone in an ensemble from her church and often performs for senior living homes. She is also part of a Korean running club and supports her husband who ran in both the Chicago and Boston Marathons this year. As anyone can see, this woman is working hard to be part of the American dream and I am happy to be her champion in reaching that goal through this wonderful program.  READ MORE >>

The Only Reading Comprehension Tools You Need Are Right Under Your Nose

The Only Reading Comprehension Tools You Need Are Right Under Your Nose

Fluent U: by Susan Verner

Less is more.

Simple is best.

Apply this wisdom to your English teaching, and you’ll have the recipe for success.

That’s because to teach reading comprehension effectively, you don’t need to look any further than your own classroom for three seriously valuable teaching tools.

Yes, you heard right—the key you’ve been searching for has been right under your nose!

And putting these simple tools to use, we’re sharing 12 phenomenal, tested-and-approved reading comprehension activities below that require nothing more than a few bare essentials: pencil, notebook, post-its. Let’s get started!

Reading for Comprehension: 3 Simple Tools That Are Right Under Your Nose

1. Writing in the Book

2. A Reading Notebook

3. Off the Page

READ MORE>>

Redlands Library :: Reading is a Challenge – Adult Learner Poem

Reading is a Challenge – Adult Learner Poem

Redlands Reads: November 2017

Reading is a Challenge

Poet Tim Allen

Black black

Reading is hard

When it is easy for others

They think it is easy for you.

Blue blue

Reading is like blue skies are opening

A new world is opening when you read

Red red

TV will rot your brain

Too much TV and you get lazy.

Black black

Reading is hard

When it is easy for others

They think it is easy for you.

To learn more, join us at the next Tutor Orientation, on January 29, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at the A. K. Smiley Public Library Assembly Room. Please call the Redlands Adult Literacy Program office at 909.798.7565, ext. 4138

Monrovia Library :: The Eyes Have It On Infographics

The Eyes Have It On Infographics

Business Record: 12.01.2017 by Drew McLellan

We’re three weeks into a series of columns that are focused on helping you plan for 2018 by identifying the channels too critical for you to ignore. This week, we’re going to investigate the value of infographics.

Monrovia Library

Adult Literacy

Visual content works. Consider these facts:

•  The human brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than it does text.

•  Infographics are liked and shared on social media three times more than any other type of content.

•  High-quality infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than text articles.

An infographic allows you to communicate complex ideas in an easy-to-understand format. They make it easy to show the relationship among various elements so your audience can see the bigger picture.

You can deliver more information because the format itself is simple, clean and holistic in how it presents your ideas. If your audience needs to understand how one fact or choice affects other elements, an infographic may be the right choice. If you know that your audience is faced with multiple options, help them follow the path to the outcomes tied to each decision.

Infographics are also a smart option for telling a linear story and showing the flow of events in a relational way. Think of it like a storyboard that outlines the key events or milestones. You can use colors and design choices to suggest emotions behind the facts and set a tone for the entire discussion.  READ MORE >>

Newport Beach Library :: America Star Library

National Ranking: Newport Library is a ‘Star’

Newport Beach Indy: 12.08.2017

The Newport Beach Public Library was recently named as a “Star Library” in a national ranking, authorities announced this week.

Board of Library trustees announced Thursday that the city library earned the honor in a list compiled by the Library Journal, in its tenth edition of the Library Journal of Public Library Service.

This year, 7,409 U.S. public libraries were scored on the LJ Index of Public Library Service, explained NBPL Marketing Specialist Katherine Mielke in the press release.

They compared five areas: Total circulation, library visits, program attendance, public access computer use, and circulation of electronic materials.

Of the 259 named as America’s Star Libraries, thirteen are in California with just four in Southern California. Newport Beach Public Library is the highest scoring library in Orange County. This is the fifth year in a row, and ninth time in ten years, that NBPL has been named a Star Library, according to Mielke.  READ MORE >>

Other SCLLN “2017 Star” Libraries

Beverly Hills Public Library

Santa Monica Public Library

Obligations Under the California Employee Literacy Education Assistance Act

What are our obligations under the California Employee Literacy Education Assistance Act?

Business Management Daily: 12.06.2017 by Joseph Beachboard

Q. An employee recently disclosed that he is illiterate and asked for our help in finding an adult literacy education program. What are our obligations toward this employee under California law?

A. The California Employee Literacy Education Assistance Act, which is codified in the California Labor Code, requires private employers with 25 or more employees to “reasonably accommodate and assist any employee who reveals a problem of illiteracy and requests employer assistance in enrolling in an adult literacy education program.”

Employer assistance may include providing the employee with information on literacy education programs in the area or arranging for a literacy education provider to visit the worksite. An employer would not be required to provide these reasonable accommodations if it would create an undue hardship for the employer.

Furthermore, an employer must take reasonable efforts to safeguard the illiterate employee’s privacy and confidentiality with regard to his or her illiteracy.

An employer is also prohibited from discharging an employee for revealing that he or she is illiterate.

Note that an employer is not obligated to provide paid time off for an employee to enroll and participate in an adult literacy education program.

Huntington Beach Library :: Congratulations to Bob Bonney on 30 Years!

Congratulations to Bob Bonney on 30 Years!

Open Doors: October 2017

Huntington Beach Library Literacy Volunteers

When it comes to commitment, Bob Bonney belongs at the top of the list. We're proud to feature Bob's recognition at the Literacy Volunteers-HBPL's June 2017 Annual Awards Event for 30 years of dedication. =Born in Amityville, Long Island, New York, Bob went through school there and joined the Navy after high school, where he served for three years. After his first tour of duty he entered the work force, but was recalled back into the Navy and sent to Asugi, Japan. There he served as flight crew of the PB4Y2 aircraft which flew reconnaissance over the Pacific Ocean looking for Korean submarines. 4½ years later, the Korean War had ended and Bob found himself once again a civilian.

Time passed, one thing led to another, and Bob found himself happily married and living in California. He was hired at Northrop Grumman and worked as a quality control engineer in the missile program for the next 25 years. After retiring and looking for a new adventure, Bob volunteered at the VA Hospital in Long Beach, where he discovered the joy and satisfaction of helping others.

Bob then heard about the literacy program at the Huntington Beach Library, and enrolled in tutor training. In those days, training was held at the Westminster branch, and he remembers the instructors Sue Berman and Marcia Hendriks with great fondness.

Tutoring for 30 years, Bob has built decades of memories with many, many learners ...

Bob's very first learner was a man who lived with his parents in Leisure World. After about a year, the family moved away, and later, the learner's mom sent the Literacy Director a letter of gratitude and a $20 donation for the program.

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From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Bob, for your time, your friendship and your dedication to the Literacy Volunteers of Huntington Beach and all those whose lives you have touched. Congratulations on 30 years! Best wishes for as many more!  READ MORE >>