Seeking Volunteers! Homework Help Expanding in the Spring Term

Posted on December 11, 2018

Do you have a passion for helping K-12 students learn? Then we need you to join our team of dedicated volunteers helping students succeed in Sonoma County. 

Sonoma County Library is recruiting volunteers for Homework Help at the Rincon Valley and Sebastopol Library Branches for the January-to-May spring term.

Volunteers will assist children and teens with homework assignments and developing literacy and mathematics skills throughout the school year. Volunteers will assist students of all ages individually and in small groups on a drop-in basis. We will train you. A criminal background check (paid for by the Library) is required for volunteers 18 and up.

Bilingual, English/Spanish, volunteers, and those who can help with high school level math and science, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Take this opportunity to make homework more fun for young people, gain education and library-related experience, and have a great time! 

To apply, please contact the librarian in charge of Homework Help at your Branch:

• Sebastopol Regional Library: Rosalie Abbott (rabbott@sonomalibrary.org): (707) 823-7691
• Rincon Valley Library: Bill Coolidge (bcoolidge@sonomalibrary.org): (707) 537-0162

For additional information, please contact Cailin Yeager (cmyeager@sonomalibrary.org); (707) 763-9801 ext 0715.

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION AND ORIENTATION PROCESS

Prospective volunteers should submit their application forms to the Library offering Homework Help. Applications will be reviewed and interviews will take place to ensure a good fit between volunteers and the needs of this program. New Homework Helpers must attend a volunteer orientation and training session.

For more information, please read the Homework Helper Volunteer Profile, download a Volunteer Application Form, or contact the library branch directly.

Thank you for your interest in helping our young people succeed. 
We look forward to meeting you!

Free SAT Intensive Prep Classes at Six Locations

Posted on November 30, 2018

Sonoma County Library will offer free 5-hour SAT Intensive prep classes during January and February 2019 for high school juniors who will be taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These classes are part of Sonoma County Library’s Path to College series that supports college-bound high school students and their families. With these classes, the Library seeks to meet the needs of students through all stages of the college preparation and application process.

Registration for SAT Intensive prep classes is required and begins on Saturday, December 8, 2018. Students or parents can pick up registration forms at the six libraries where the class will be offered: Windsor Regional Library, Petaluma Regional Library, Central Santa Rosa Library, Cloverdale Regional Library, Forestville Library, and Rincon Valley Library. Registration is limited to high school juniors.

The SAT Intensive prep class includes study and review of problematic areas of all sections of the SAT including the essay. Students are provided with an individual copy of The Official SAT Prep Guide for use in the class and extended study at home. The class comprises two parts of 2½ hours each; students must attend both parts.

The course is offered at each of the following locations, dates & times:

• Windsor Regional Library:
• Tuesday, January 2  and Friday, January 4 from 10:15am – 12:45pm
• Petaluma Valley Regional Library:
• Wednesday, January 3 and Saturday, January 5 from 3 – 5:30pm
• Central Santa Rosa Library:
• Monday, February 4 and Wednesday, February 13 from 6 – 8:30pm
• Cloverdale Regional Library:
• Wednesday, February 6 and Saturday, February 9 from 2:30 – 5pm
• Forestville Library:
• Wednesdays, February 20 and February 27 from 3 – 5:30pm
• Rincon Valley Library:
• Mondays, February 25 and March 4 from 5:30 – 8pm

All workshops are led by qualified local experts and are free and open to high school students. Attendance is limited to 25 high school juniors at each location.

A majority of past SAT Intensive participants have strongly agreed that they feel better prepared for the SAT test format, directions, and scoring, and would recommend the class to a friend. One parent says, “These college talks and preparation classes are invaluable to both parents and students.  I would really appreciate if the library to provide more of these services since there is such a great need for this information.”

These classes are part of the Library's Path to College series. For more information, contact Youth Services Administrator Kathy DeWeese at 545-0831 x1513 or kdeweese@sonomalibrary.org. Read more about services and programs offered by the Library at www.sonomacounty.libcal.com and keep in touch with the library at www.sonomalibrary.org and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/sonomalibrary.

###

Petaluma Resident Honored by State Library Group

Posted on November 21, 2018

Morgan Rose Pershing, a Petaluma resident, was honored on Nov. 11 at the annual California Library Association (CLA) conference. For her service to the association and to California libraries, Pershing was named “CLA Member of the Year” for 2018.

In announcing the award, CLA listed Pershing’s many accomplishments and called her, “an outspoken advocate for all things library.”

Pershing has been a member of CLA since 2010. “It’s nice to be honored by an organization that has offered me so many opportunities,” said Pershing. “I feel so honored to be part of a helping profession and having my peers recognize me means a great deal to me.”

Pershing has been involved in CLA’s Summer Reading Council for four years, an effort that encourages people to keep reading during summer vacations. She has also been involved in adult reading services groups, serves on the advisory council for the California Center for the Book and is a professor at San Jose State University’s iSchool, which offers a Master of Library and Information Science degree.

Pershing is the Adult Services Administrator for the Sonoma County Library. Before coming to SCL, she worked in library services for 11 years, including a stint as the Community Library Manager on Catalina Island.

Sarah Vantrease, Public Services Division Manager for the Sonoma County Library, said: “Morgan’s work reaches and engages adults of all ages. She helps people learn and have fun at their library.”

Library Launches Video Game Collection

Posted on November 05, 2018

Sonoma County Library is excited to announce the launch of a new circulating video game collection. Games are becoming an increasingly important way people learn, interact, and have fun, addressing such educational needs as:

• Games make learning fun by lowering the emotional stakes of failing, and players take risks and learn through trial and error.
• Games have an infinite range of solutions, just like real life.
• In the game world, players make their own discoveries and apply what they learn to new contexts.
• When a player enters a game, they begin identifying core conditions and look for problems that must be addressed.
• Games are a mode of active engagement. They encourage experimentation and risk-taking, and they view the process of solving a problem as important as finding the answer.
• Games span across language barriers, and players do not necessarily need to speak English to participate.

According to the latest survey by the Entertainment Software Association, 67 percent of households own a device used to play video games. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the time Americans spend playing video and board games has risen 50 percent since 2003.

The Library’s Video Games collection intends to meet the needs of the gamers in our community, while providing access to high-quality educational and entertainment games. The collection has games available for two gaming platforms: Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The focus of the initial collection is video games for youth, including games rated EC (Early Childhood), E (Everyone), and E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. We plan to expand the collection to include games for teen and adult patrons in the next year. Find out which games we own, where they are located, and place your hold today: https://bit.ly/2SGMAK3

###