South Pasadena Public Library: Library Announces A New Suite Of Skill Building And Career Development Resources

Press release from the South Pasadena Public Library:

December 03, 2021

The California State Library recently announced the award of a $4.366 million American Rescue Plan Act grant to provide libraries across the state access to online job training, skill building, academic and vocational exam prep, and professional development in multiple languages and for a variety of skill levels.

Through this program—CAreer Pathways—individuals in South Pasadena can access Coursera, GetSetUp, LearningExpress, LinkedIn Learning, Northstar, and Skillshare for free until September 30, 2022. These online resources expand the digital workforce platform offerings at South Pasadena Public Library and allow patrons to visit the website or use the Library’s public internet computers to participate in online classes, take practice exams, learn new skills, and more. Access to these platforms normally comes with subscriptions and other fees, but for at least one year through ARPA funding they are all available for free to any California library user. Information about (and links to) each of the CAreer Pathways resources can be found on the Library's website: www.southpasadenaca.gov/career....

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is designed to provide much needed pandemic recovery support in the area of workforce development. ARPA funds provide free statewide availability to these online platforms through CAreer Pathways for public libraries, which allows South Pasadena Public Library to offer Coursera’s more than 5,000 online classes, Skillshare’s 35,000 videos, GetSetUp’s interactive classes, and LinkedIn Learning’s suite of courses at a savings of over $1,000 per year per user.

Public libraries are community hubs that bring people together and close the opportunity gap by connecting people to essential services and resources. The resources available at the South Pasadena Public Library such as the Job Information Collection (JIC), Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library-funded Tutor.com, the state-provided Brainfuse’s JobNow/VetNow, and now the CAreer Pathways collection, are just some ways in which libraries aid in personal economic development, build and encourage communities of lifelong learners, increase digital equity, and support the information needs of a 21st Century society.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. IMLS advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grant-making, research, and policy development.

The South Pasadena Public Library is located at 1100 Oxley Street in South Pasadena. Information about current library services are available online at www.southpasadenaca.gov/libraryabridged. The South Pasadena Public Library is open on Mondays through Thursdays 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. To be notified about service changes, sign up to receive informational emails from the library here: www.southpasadenaca.gov/librarynews.

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This press release was produced by the South Pasadena Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.