Literacy Workshop Registration Begins : Education: Volunteers are needed to aid illiterates. No special requirements are needed, other than a desire to help and an affinity for language skills.

Registration has begun for a series of free workshops offered by the Orange County Public Library system to train community volunteers how to be literacy tutors.

Library officials hope volunteer turnout will keep pace with the increase in the number of functionally illiterate adults expected to turn to the library’s READ/Orange County program for help this year.

About 125 adults improved their reading and writing skills through the program’s offerings last year, and library literacy coordinator Scott Cheney said that number could reach 250 this year.

The workshops for volunteers include a two-hour orientation, 15 hours of training and three hours of follow-up seminars. The orientation segment will be offered in three locations in September and early October, while the extended workshop training portion will be held at two other locations.

The Garden Grove Regional Library, at 11200 Stanford Ave., will have an orientation on Sept. 14, while the Tustin Library, at 345 E. Main St., will host one Sept. 15. The program introduction at the La Habra Library, at 221 E. La Habra Blvd., will be Oct. 6. At each site, the orientations will begin at 6 p.m.

After orientation, volunteers go through the training sessions, which are held on Saturdays. The READ/Orange County headquarters at 1501 E. St. Andrews Place in Santa Ana will be the site for sessions on Sept. 18 and 25 and Oct. 6, each beginning at 9:30 a.m. The La Habra Library will also be used for the workshop training, starting at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, 16 and 23.

Cheney said there are no special requirements of volunteers other than a desire to help and an affinity for language skills. READ/Orange County officials encourage ethnic minority citizens to volunteer to assist the program in reflecting its diverse clientele, many of whom speak English as a second language, Cheney said.

Space is limited for these workshops, Cheney said, so interested volunteers should schedule early to ensure they can attend workshops near them. Registration for workshops close two days before orientation.

More dates and locations, including sites in South County, will be announced in coming weeks, he said. For more information or to register by phone, call (714) 566-3070.