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Politics & Government

Library Receives Grant From Wells Fargo for Job Center

The $5,000 grant will help the library pay for the Free2 Succeed Job Center's career adviser.

The Livermore Public Library received a much-needed donation recently from Wells Fargo Bank.

The bank's community development officer, Blanca Cetin, presented a $5,000 check to Library Board Chair Maureen Gandara Swinbank on June 27, to be used for the library's Free2 Succeed Job Center.

This is the second time the center's received funding from Wells Fargo's corporate giving program in the last 18 months, according to Susan Gallinger, director of Library Services.

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"They are very supportive of their local community," Gallinger said, adding that Cetin herself is a Livermore resident.

The Free2 Succeed Job Center offers free one-on-one career counseling sessions with part-time Career Advisor Ron Russo.

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In the sessions Russo offers career planning advice, interviewing techniques, how to use websites such as LinkedIn and skills for online job applications. He also gives participants resume suggestions with general job counseling thrown in.

Gallinger said the program began in 2008 in response to the worsening economy and job losses that many locals were experiencing. In particular, that year Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory laid off 600 employees.

"We saw a lot of those people come to the library looking for resources," Gallinger said, and for many of them it had been a long time since they last had to apply for work and were unsure how to navigate the job market's new online environment.

The library received start-up funding at the time from the Bay Area Library Information System cooperative that Livermore Library is a member of.

Since then, "we've had really good success with [the program]," she said, though demand has decreased somewhat as the economy improves.

Just last week Gallinger said one participant wrote a note to them explaining that Russo's analysis of his resume helped him secure a job as an animator at Disney.

The library began seeking outside funding as the City of Livermore faced budget cuts.

While the Wells Fargo grant only covers a portion of the center's expenses, the $5,000 helps defray costs given the library's tight budget, Gallinger said.

Russo also hosts a monthly resume writing workshop. Individual appointments may be made by calling 925-373-5500, ext. 5595.

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