Page 4 October 5, 2017 TORRANCE TRIBUNE
TerriAnn from front page
I have books at my fingertips without having
to carry them around. I have a whole library
to choose from and they are less expensive,
and they automatically track where I left off
and it has a lighting feature so I can read
in the dark! It also seems that I read faster.”
Although Nadia says she does like using the
electronic format, she did tell me that she
prefers reading a magazine and newspaper
in the good, old-fashioned paper form. “It’s
just not the same,” she said.
I ran into a few young adults who were
quite definite on their preferences. Bridgett
Lynn Luevanos, age 26, told me, “I like to
read regular paper books. I like novels and
if I can, I like to read them all in one day.
And I was born in 1990, so I feel as if I was
in that time where I grew up with technology
in my life but I appreciate having it as
well. Sometimes I want to switch to Kindle
just for the environment so we don’t use so
many trees.”
Teshee Stamps, age 26, said, “I prefer a
physical book--but I do like electronic books
for convenience, but I do prefer a physical
book.” Virna Cortez, age 28, said, “I prefer
a paperback for a physical book, but I am
starting to really enjoy audio books. Turn
your car into a university.” Bree Lee, age 26,
told me, “When I read, I read audio books
and I love audio books ’cuz when I’m driving
it’s like an education when I am driving
and I just love to listen to it. I read a lot of
personal development books. Those are my
favorite, but I also enjoy the physical copy
to be able to touch it and feel it…and if I
do need to jot it down, I will use a pen and
paper ’cuz there is something about that
magic. That’s how I do it.”
College English Professor Joel Brunkala
said, “I say a book in print with pages. I
never read a whole book electronically. It
is entirely that thing--of having a book.
That is why I like it, plus, you can’t see it
[an electronic book]. It’s not there. To me,
it’s not a book anymore. It’s too much of a
disconnection.”
Ten-year-old, Madison Jane told me, “Well,
I prefer a regular book--not on a Kindle. I
like it better because it’s nice to get active
and go to the store instead. It gives you some
action. Also sometimes if you rent the book,
it goes away and you won’t have it and you
have to download it again. So it is easier to
have the book.”
Then I called my daughter, Michele, and
was going to ask her what she prefers--and
oddly enough, I interrupted her reading
a novel on her cell phone while she was
waiting in line for gas at Costco. She told
me, “Almost all the books I check out from
the LA Public Library are eBooks. I usually
have two or three books on my phone
at a time, and they’re easy to carry in one
handheld device.”
Well, it seems old-fashioned books with
a cover and real pages still win over the
electronic screens, in spite of the advantages
of newer technology.
The Torrance Public Library has its own
Library App (library.torranceca.gov) and if
you are a Torrance library cardholder, you
have access to all the books, movies, music
and more from the library. eBooks and
eAudiobooks are available at the Torrance
Library. In addition, the Torrance Library
offers BookMyne, which allows you
to perform basic catalogue and account functions.
Children’s story time, novel discussion
groups, and reading programs will keep you
busy all year round. Along with free study
rooms, an active volunteer program, and
mobile libraries like Words on Wheels, Torrance
libraries offer a myriad of opportunities
for reading. The library offers a world of
exciting exploration for learning about nearly
everything right in our own backyard. In
addition to the main Katy Geissert Library,
five branch libraries are scattered all around
Torrance for easy access and opportunities
for roaming the stacks.
Dana Vinke, Torrance Principal Librarian
Operations, told me the print circulation in
the Torrance libraries is still very strong,
although he thinks electronic use will
continue to grow and feels very few have
migrated to electronic only. We talked about
the pros and cons of paper versus electronic
reading and it proved both interesting and
thought-provoking. A book provides a physical
reminder to read and usually books are
the choice on holiday by the sea. I mean,
dropping a paper book into the water or
sand is much less a disaster than dropping
an electronic device. And, I suppose there is
something about a paper book that fulfills a
tactile need.
As for me, I prefer books with pages
because I make notes, underline, star, fold
and highlight in most of my books--but
when it comes to recipes, I prefer my iPad.
I love looking up recipes online and then
following the recipe, which sometimes has
a video demo.
South Bay resident Ronnie added, “Well, I
guess you can’t carry your girlfriend’s books
home from school anymore…guess you have
to carry her Kindle!” Well I am not so sure
about that quite yet, but the choices are vast.
Whether you read a book with paper pages,
or use your fingers to swipe the pages on a
device, may I suggest you keep reading no
matter what you prefer. It seems both paper
and electronic books are here to stay. •
Annie Baumeister.
Riley Buss Drexel, age 25.
Bridgett Lynn Luevanos, age 26.
Future-of-Work from front page
organizations in the L.A.-Orange County
metropolitan area.
A highlight of Tuesday’s forum was the
report, which pairs data about college grads
with data about business needs. Businesses
and schools, including local community
colleges and four-year universities, have an
opportunity to get out ahead of a skills gap
that would make the region less competitive
in coming years, the event organizers said
ahead of its release. The findings by the
L.A.-based Center for a Competitive Workforce
may “expose opportunities to teach
new skills and facilitate more partnerships
between business and colleges.”
Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Inglewood,
was among local leaders who spoke
and gave workforce development insights
at Tuesday’s forum. The future-of-work
report was released as part of the forum.
Jobs economists gave their predictions on
what job skills will be most in demand.
Whether young adults will have the talents
and skills when they graduate is a question
that El Camino College administrators will
want to consider.
The LinkedIn snapshot of what is happening
currently in the job market could hold
clues as to what the labor economists will
say. The most recent (August) skills snapshot
from LinkedIn noted the Los Angeles’
workforce looks lopsided with creative and
technical talents sought by the entertainment
and media arts businesses. LinkedIn did not
disclose how many of its members live and
work in the region, or why it concluded that
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L.A. has a glut of creative talent--both in
front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
It found an abundance of members listed on
their profiles:
• TV and video production; theater and
drama, music production and radio broadcasting.
• Fashion clothing, social media marketing,
graphics computer design, and photography.
• The lone non-entertainment field listed
was real estate and home buying, which
include flipping houses.
The social media site is used by 138 million
people and 20,000 companies that recruit and
hire LinkedIn members. “This gives us unique
and valuable insights into the U.S. workplace
trend,” according to LinkedIn that analyzes
20 metro markets each month to identify
skills gaps, migration of workers to different
cities, and who’s hiring. The company
says its reports offer snapshots that can be
valuable when considering a career move.
“Whether you’re employed and wondering
if hiring is improving in your industry, exploring
new skills to learn to make yourself
more attractive to employers, or considering
a move and curious which cities your skills
most,” according to LinkedIn.
Based on LinkedIn member profiles and
job listings on the site, skills missing in the
local workforce are:
• IT Infrastructure and management, and
Microsoft Windows systems.
• Healthcare management and nursing.
• Education and teaching.
• Human resources and HR benefits and
compensation.
• Sales, business development and relationship
management.
• Lean manufacturing and quality management.
The bright lights of the local entertainment
and media arts industries are attracting jobseekers
from New York, Chicago and Boston
and adding to the oversupply of creative
talent here, LinkedIn found. People leaving
the Los Angeles area to look for work elsewhere
most often head for San Francisco,
Las Vegas or Seattle.
JP Morgan Chase sounded the alarm, too,
about a middle-skill talent gap in greater
Los Angeles. The financial service company
predicted the L.A. County economy will
grow by 12 percent in the next decade. That
expansion is expected to create one million
middle-skill jobs paying close to $30 per
hour. Healthcare is expected to be the top
job creator, along with global trade and
logistics being so close to the Port of Los
Angeles and LAX. •
“Happiness is not something
you postpone for the future; it is
something you design for the present.”
– Jim Rohn