BRIEFLY : Education: Library Opens Homework Center

Students now have access to computers, printers, reference material and a stack of school supplies at the San Pedro Regional Branch Library.

The branch is the 10th Los Angeles Public Library to establish a homework center for students with funds provided by private corporations. It officially dedicated the center Monday.

“A lot of kids for one reason or another don’t have a place to do homework,” library spokesman Robert G. Reagan said. “What (the libraries) are really targeting with all these programs is giving kids who might otherwise drop out of school an alternative.”

The homework center allows students to write term papers, prepare for Scholastic Aptitude Tests, learn math and improve reading skills. CD-ROMs provide a wealth of reference data, Reagan said.

Children’s librarian Giovanna Mannino said the homework center is filled every day, even now that school is out.

“It’s actually busier in the summer,” she said. “The children are using it for the fun of using educational computer programs and developing computer skills because most of them don’t have a computer at home.”

Mannino said a trained tutor has been working 15 hours a week to help students at the San Pedro branch, 931 S. Gaffey St.

The Library Foundation of Los Angeles got funding for the San Pedro homework center from Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

The Wilmington Branch Library will open the next homework center, he said.