For Immediate Release:
August 27, 2012
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF.— The Santa Clara County Library District is now offering to its patrons JobScout, an online social media platform that teaches people Internet skills and helps them find jobs online. The program is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the library’s website at www.sccl.org
“We are pleased library patrons can enhance their list of digital resources with our library services,” said Lana Malloy, Library District Joint Powers Authority Chair. “Santa Clara County Library District is providing a much needed digital tool for the unemployed to improve their job seeking efforts.”
As California’s unemployment numbers teeter around 11 percent of the state’s population and Santa Clara County’s unemployment rate remains at almost 9 percent, facilitating digital literacy and Internet proficiency is increasingly critical for jobseekers hoping to gain employment. JobScout users can apply their newly acquired skills to meet basic requirements and demands of today’s technological market.
“Looking for a job can be overwhelming in such a competitive and challenging climate,” said County of Santa Clara Supervisor Mike Wasserman. “We want to provide our residents support to develop invaluable computer and internet skills through services and tools within their reach, so they can apply what they learn to enhance their job search experience and results.”
Through its use of social gaming and web standards, JobScout is a safe and accessible entry point for users to educate themselves with digital literacy skills, making it easy to compile lists of jobs. An interactive journey through the essential skills and processes of the job search includes a custom résumè builder and built-in job search function. Users earn badges for completing lessons, from Internet browsers to creating social network profiles which they can use effectively while job hunting.
“Research indicates that about 1 in 5 Californians lack the essential Internet skills needed to find a job in today’s market,” said Nancy Howe, Acting Santa Clara County Librarian. “We want our library patrons to feel empowered with basic digital literacy skills in self-paced online activities focused on Internet competencies, and also to have the opportunity to interact and network with other users on and offline.”
About the Santa Clara County Library District
Established by the County Board of Supervisors in 1914, the Santa Clara County Library District serves residents of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and the unincorporated area of Santa Clara County. It also includes two bookmobiles and an online library. In 2010, the Library loaned over 12 million items to 3.8 million visitors.
The Santa Clara County Library District collection includes 1.8 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, ebooks and extensive online resources that users can access from home or work.
Santa Clara County Library District is one of the top 100 libraries in the United States. For eleven years, it has ranked as one of the best in the nation for its size by Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings, which uses 15 different benchmark measures such as collections, circulation, visits and customer service. Also recognized as one of America’s 2010 Star Libraries by Library Journal and with more than 3.8 million visits each year, Santa Clara County Library is one of the most-used public resources in the region. Visit Santa Clara County Library District online at www.sccl.org
Media Contact: Gwendolyn Mitchell/Marina Hinestrosa, Office of Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119; Gail Mason, Santa Clara County Library (408) 293-2326, ext. 3020
