Puzzled by your iPad? Intimidated by your e-reader? If you need help using an electronic gadget, turn to Virginia Beach Public Library. The library is offering “Tech Tutors” at five locations this summer. Bring in your e-reader, tablet computer, smartphone, or other electronic device and learn to use it with hands-on help from library staff and tech-savvy teen volunteers.
“Tech Tutors is a fun class our staff created to help people understand the capabilities of their portable electronic devices,” said Marcy Sims, library director. “Many people receive e-readers and other gadgets as gifts and they’re scared to use them. Our staff and volunteers dispel their fears and demonstrate how to use the tools.”
A June 2011 report from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that the percentage of adults in the United States who own an e-reader doubled from 6 percent to 12 percent in the last six months. “With technology rapidly affecting the ways our citizens access information, connect and communicate, fostering digital literacy is especially important,” Sims said.
Tech Tutors will begin Friday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library. Staff will provide e-readers and other gadgets for people who are interested in attending the class but don’t have their own devices. The class also will be held at Great Neck, Bayside, Princess Anne and Windsor Woods area libraries through early August. Registration is not required.
In addition to programs such as Tech Tutors, Virginia Beach Public Library encourages digital literacy by offering a variety of computer and software classes and providing numerous online resources, including downloadable books and audiobooks. Find more information, including self-paced tutorials on technology, social media and software topics, using the technology education link on the library’s homepage.
For dates, times and additional information about Tech Tutors and other technology classes at your library, contact the location nearest you, or view the library’s calendar at www.VBgov.com/libraries.
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