Volunteer tutors can make a difference in their community by teaching basic skills to other adults at their branch libraries. Free library tutoring helps adult learners reach their personal goals, including building job skills, communicating more clearly and learning how to help their own children with schoolwork.

The Santa Barbara Public Library System’s Adult Literacy Program will offer a two-session, eight-hour training course for new tutors this April that will meet on Sunday, April 19 and Sunday, April 26, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Faulkner Gallery East at the Central Library, 40 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara.

Tutors are asked to make a six-month commitment to tutoring and can sign up for the training course by calling 805.564.5619 or contacting literacy@santabarbaraca.gov.

Visit the Santa Barbara Public Library System online for more information about library programs, services, hours and locations. All library programs are free and open to the public.

— Beverly Schwartzberg is an adult literacy coordinator for the Santa Barbara Public Library System