Homework Centers Link Kids to Net

By JULIE TAMAKI

Sept. 5, 1998 12 AM PT

Youngsters will not only be able to get help with homework, but they will also be able to polish their computer and research skills at three Ojai Valley SchooLinks Homework Centers.

Sponsored by the Ojai Valley Library Foundation, the homework centers are open at Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Oak View libraries from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The centers serve first-graders up to high school students.

Ojai and Meiners Oaks libraries’ centers will be in full swing when the new school year begins Tuesday. Meanwhile, the center at Oak View Library resumed service Aug. 3.

This year all three centers will offer “Electric Library,” an online reference source that indexes an array of magazines, encyclopedias and other literature.

The service will help students who need to find information for a report by providing them with a list of potential sources and will allow them access to hundreds of images, articles and radio transcripts.

In addition to using Electric Library, students can find help with homework from volunteers at all three centers. At Ojai Library, for example, three to five volunteers are typically on hand to assist the 20 or so students who use the homework center on a given day.

“The students who use the homework centers tend to turn in more homework assignments because they are able to complete them,” SchooLinks Coordinator Lisa Meeker said. “The accuracy of the homework also goes up.”

Meeker said the centers are designed to help youngsters become familiar with the libraries in hopes of increasing their ability to find reference materials and conduct Internet searches.

She estimated that last year the centers received nearly 2,800 student visits and help from 40 volunteers.

Students using the homework centers at the Ojai and Meiners Oaks libraries may receive free transportation to and from the libraries on the Ojai Trolley, courtesy of the city of Ojai.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer should call 289-0368 or 649-4607 to preregister for a orientation meeting on Friday.