At an April 10 ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Counties (NACo) presented the San Diego County Library (SDCL) with an Acts of Caring Award for the library’s L.E.A.R.N./Laubach ESL Program. The annual NACo awards recognize the top county volunteer programs in the country.

Deducing that one of the factors leading to unemployment, decreased tax revenues and increased social services was the lack of English-language reading skills among adults in their communities, San Diego County officials chose to accelerate the county’s English as a Second Language programs for the area’s growing adult immigrant population. The officials’ concern led representatives of Libraries Empower All to Read Now (L.E.A.R.N.) and the Laubach Literacy Council to establish the collaborative L.E.A.R.N./Laubach ESL Program which joins volunteer tutors with adult immigrants whose first language is not English.

In 2007, 25 newly trained tutors paired with 76 students and met an average of 3.5 hours a week at 6 participating library branches for a value of $164,696 in volunteer time. The award-winning program demonstrated that immigrants who are proficient in English can better communicate ideas, find meaningful employment, contribute to the community, and become more effective parents and lifelong learners.

Freddie Mac sponsors the Acts of Caring Awards which were presented this year during a breakfast ceremony in the Rayburn House Office Building as part of National County Government Week. A distinguished, independent panel of judges selected the winners.

“As the voice of America’s counties, NACo is pleased to honor this year’s Acts of Caring Award winners for their outstanding volunteer programs,” said NACo President Eric Coleman. “While counties are increasingly challenged each day to provide essential services to residents, the counties being honored today have gone above and beyond and deserve our high praise and appreciation.

For more information about the L.E.A.R.N./Laubach ESL Program in San Diego, please contact Nancy Saint John at (858) 694-3833 or email at nancy.saintjohn@sdcounty.ca.gov.

For more information about the NACo Act of Caring Awards, please contact Nancy Saint John at (858) 694-3833 or email at nancy.saintjohn@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Fulbright scholar Deborah Turner [Photo courtesy Deborah Turner]

Since the seminars, graduates have assumed leadership roles, from library director positions, to holding offices in library associations, to being named “Movers and Shakers.” One 1995 TIM graduate, Deborah Turner, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington Information School, was awarded a Fulbright award for the 2008-09 academic year. The Fulbright, one of the most prestigious academic awards bestowed by the Department of State, will allow Turner to live for ten months in Tampere, Finland while conducting research based upon her dissertation, “Conceptualizing Oral Documents.”

Turner says of her research, “With the advent of technologies such as podcasts, asynchronous video conferencing, and immersive worlds, acquiring information increasingly resembles having a conversation. I’m beginning to study how information made available in these new ways differs from information made available through talking face to face.”

Turner chose to research in Finland “because of the peoples’ different communication style…Finnish people are more deliberate about when they speak and when they remain silent.”

Reflecting on the 1995 TIM Seminar she enjoyed in sunny Sacramento, Turner says “the seminar helped me identify the best way to contribute to the profession, and opened up my eyes to larger questions about leadership.” Turner saw then she could best contribute to the profession by teaching library management and researching, but she never imagined her research would someday take her to Finland.

Turner’s advice for other librarians is “actively notice what energizes you during your day and explore how pursuing that can lead you to new opportunities.”

For more information about the Fulbright awards, please visit: http://www.fulbrightonline.org/.

CSL Library Programs Consultant Barbara Will receives posthumous ASCLA Cathleen Bourdon Service Award

Colleagues applaud as Barbara Will is posthumously honored with the Cathleen Bourdon Service Award at the ASCLA Awards ceremony at the American Libraries Association (ALA) conference June 29.  
[Photo courtesy Ira Bray]

Library of California Board member given Jefferson Award for Public Service