City hires new youth librarian
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Melissa Elliott, the new youth services librarian at the Moorpark Library, wants to attract more young people to the library.

"I have lots of plans to engage the children and teens of Moorpark in all kinds of activities," said Elliott, who began to work full time in her new position two weeks ago.

Elliott was a movie title designer for 18 years and before than worked as a graphic artist for magazine publishing companies.

She decided to change her career in midlife because of how much she enjoyed spending time at the library, working with people and books. "I've always been an avid reader and a regular patron of libraries, so it seemed like a natural progression," she said.

Elliott's already hard at work fine tuning existing programs and creating new ones for young library patrons. She hopes to increase attendance at weekly story time for preschoolers, on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.

The library will also host regular family story time programs the third Sunday of each month from 3 to 4 p.m. beginning Oct. 21, said Elliott, who's aim is to entertain the whole family with this activity.

Teenagers will also have opportunities to get involved in library activities, either as volunteers or through participation in programs such as Teen Read Week, which will take place from Oct. 14 to Oct. 20.

The new youth librarian is also working to create programs for middle school and grade school students, such as writing workshops, art and reading clubs and movie night.

Elliot said she's especially pleased to be starting her new career in Moorpark as the library reinvents itself as a city institution.

Since the city took over the library from the Ventura County Library District in January, it's been adding new library materials and expanding computer access for patrons.

Now that school is back in session, Elliott said, students who need assistance with homework can take advantage of Brainfuse, a free online tutoring program.

Using a library card and going through the website at moorparklibrary.org students can access Brainfuse from 1 to 10 p.m. daily, either from home or at the library.

Students can use the tutoring program either to build skills or to get live homework help in English or Spanish from credentialed tutors. Brainfuse is tailored to grade levels using California grade standards.