WORDS AND IMAGES : Celebrate Literacy Month by Volunteering : These are hard times for libraries and schools that are struggling to make ends meet. Offer them your time and support.

September is Literacy Month. And this is a difficult time for the institutions that keep us literate--libraries and schools. They are struggling to maintain services despite deep cuts in funding.

Local schools and libraries will welcome your support. For example, the Camarillo Library, at 3100 Ponderosa Drive, needs all kinds of volunteers, including folks with strong backs to help carry books to the sorting room. Call Ralph Lovell at 482-5919. Many hands are also needed by Lori Karns to aid in the book security system conversion. Call 482-1952.

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James Dalessandro, a poet and expert on the art, craft and business of writing, will sign his mystery thriller, “Bohemian Heart,” at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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The Ojai Film Society begins its fall season of weekly films with Shakespeare’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing,” which will screen at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the Ojai Playhouse, 145 Ojai Ave. The brilliant British actors Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson star in the scintillating and exuberant 1993 adaptation, considered one of the best examples of Shakespeare on film.

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From Dream to Reality. What it takes to get published and live happily ever after is what author Geeta Kakade will describe to members and guests of Gold Coast Fiction Writers at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Carrows Restaurant, Seaward Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, Ventura. Call 498-0968.

Patricia Seeley, editor and publisher of “The Guide to Los Angeles Freelance Market,” will discuss opportunities for writers in magazines and newspapers located in the Los Angeles area at the 7:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting of the Ventura County Writers Club, Pleasant Valley Church, 1101 Ponderosa Drive, Camarillo. There is a $4 fee for a non-members. Call 647-5369.

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Jan Johnson, author of four books and 500 magazine articles, will teach a five-week class called “Get Ready, Get Set, Get Published” at the Simi Valley Adult School and Career Institute. The class, which covers fiction, nonfiction and poetry, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and continue through Oct. 12 at 3192 Los Angeles Ave. The fee is $25 for all five sessions. Call 522-3221.

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The Baseball, Sports Card & Comic Book Exchange, a trading-only event for ages 8 through 16, is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. Call 493-2179.

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Screenwriter Doran William Cannon, whose book “Authorship: The Dynamic Principles of Writing Creatively,” has just been published, will teach an all-day seminar on basic story structure Sept. 18 in the clubhouse of the Santa Barbara Polo Grounds, Carpinteria. There are special discounts for early registration and groups of two or more. A copy of Cannon’s book will be given to all attendees. Call (800) 959-6353.