The Downey City Library celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Adult Literacy Program last year.

The program was started by a grant from the State of California Literacy Campaign 20 years ago. The California Literacy Campaign was created in 1984 by the California State Library to provide literacy instruction to anyone.

The Adult Literacy Program is in need of volunteers who can make a six-month commitment to help adults learn how to read and write. Volunteers are needed for only one hour and a half a week.

Volunteers must complete a total of 13 hours of training. The training will be a series of workshops, which include audio-visual presentations, demonstrations, role-playing, and learning theory.

Training will take place over a period of several days and will help the volunterr teach an adult to read better, one-on-one. The tutors also have the choice to pick the time and day they wish to volunteer for the program.

The tutor will be matched with an adult learner and will meet at the library for an hour and a half once a week.

There is also ongoing support available through monthly tutor support meetings.

If you need tutoring, are over the age of 18 and understand English, there are free one-on-one tutoring sessions available and can contact the Adult Literacy Program for an assessment.

After the assessment, students will meet with a tutor once a week for an hour and a half at the library to learn how to read. The student may determine the day and time they would like to be tutored.

The hours for tutoring are:Monday -Thursday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.Friday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.Sunday: 1 p.m.- 5 p.m.

People who are interested in volunteering or being tutored can reach Claudia Dailey, Literacy Coordinator for the program at (562) 904-7360 ext. 23.

For more information about the program or to fill out a form visit www.downeylibrary.org and click on Adult Literacy.