A training session for literacy tutors will be held April 20 and 21 in the upstairs conference room at the Joseph Center, 10075 Levone Avenue in Truckee.

Jackie Claty, of the Nevada County Literacy Council, will conduct the event. Friday’s session, from 6 to 9 p.m., will introduce new tutors to basic concepts of how to teach adults to read.

These concepts will be broadened in the Saturday session, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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The Truckee Library has recently received many new materials to help adults improve their reading, writing and mathematics skills. For several years, the library has offered free, confidential, one-on-one tutoring to any adult who wishes to improve their skills in these areas for the purpose of job advancement, health and safety concerns, child-rearing issues, and for the pleasure that reading can bring to one’s life.

It is estimated that one in five Americans is functionally illiterate. Many who have problems reading use different methods to hide their lack of skill such as supposedly forgetting their reading glasses or asking to fill out forms at home. Lots of adults find it difficult to read traffic signs, medication instructions, or food and chemical labels; all of which can lead to tragic results.

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A recent study stated that 70 percent of prison inmates are illiterate. Not only is it impossible to find good-paying jobs in this information age with a reading handicap, but such a lack of reading skill can plunge a person into serious problems with self-esteem.

If you are interested in teaching adults to read, please call the Truckee Library at 582-7846 to sign up for the April training session. The library also welcomes those with Spanish-speaking skills to enroll in the training. The library plans to hold an ESL training program shortly after the basic literacy program as a means of serving Truckee’s Hispanic community.

Also, if you know someone who could use literacy services, please encourage them to call the library for a confidential assessment and to be matched with a tutor.