Press release from Hennepin County Library.
Hennepin County Library has a vast array of homework resources for students – all free. They include “Homework Hub” and online “Homework Rescue,” links to homework resources on the www.hclib.org website’s KidLinks and TeenLinks pages, databases and recommended websites organized alphabetically and by subject, and “Ask Us” information service by phone, email, Instant Message, in person, and text.
Volunteers are still needed at the Homework Hubs, which are located in 11 Hennepin County libraries. Carolyn Allmon, an Eden Prairie resident, is beginning her second year of volunteering one afternoon a week at the Homework Hub at Hennepin County Library – Hopkins, 22-11th Ave. N. A former teacher who is semi-retired and has a consulting business, she helps students in grades 1-12 with their homework assignments.
Find out what's happening in Richfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“I started volunteering at Homework Hub because I thought it would be an opportunity to share what I’ve learned,” Allmon said. “There is great demand for help with math, especially, and other subjects, too. The kids very much want to have help and are respectful and appreciative. Parents are very understanding and appreciative, too.”
“The positive feedback from students makes it all worthwhile,” Allmon added. “I felt inspired afterward and I felt I was giving back. It’s a place where I’m really making a difference – certainly with math, because it’ sequential. If you don’t know multiplication tables, for example, you can’t do advanced math.”
Find out what's happening in Richfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
She said there is a real diversity of students, and the volunteers are from around the county – Minneapolis, Edina, Eden Prairie, and other communities. “We can basically give students individual attention, which is important because teachers are strapped for time and resources,” she added. “It’s wonderful that it’s in a library – such a wonderful thing for learning, and the kids get used to going to a library and checking out books.”
Although she has a teaching background, she hasn’t taught recently and said you don’t have to be a teacher to volunteer. “If you’re an educated person, and you know how to explain things and like to work with young people and meet Hennepin County Library’s [volunteer] requirements, give it a try. It’s not a huge time commitment. I’m grateful as a taxpayer that this is something I’m supporting. I think it’s a wonderful program.”
Homework Hubs are located in the East Lake, Franklin, Hosmer, Minneapolis Central, Nokomis, North Regional, Northeast, and Sumner libraries in Minneapolis, and in the Augsburg Park (Richfield), Brookdale (Brooklyn Center), and Hopkins libraries in suburban Hennepin County.
For more information or to volunteer, call 612-543-8539 or go online to http://www.hclib.org/pub/info/support/volunteers.cfm
Another homework resource, “Homework Rescue,” connects students with online tutors in a chat environment and is also available in Spanish. It is available from 1 to 11 p.m. daily and can be accessed from either the Library website’s TeenLinks or KidLinks pages.
Also on TeenLinks, click on Do Your Homework to link to databases and recommended websites organized by subject, plus resources such as a Research Project Calculator that helps students create a timeline to complete projects, and an online calculator for math and science homework.
KidLinks’ Homework Help button links students to databases and recommended websites organized by subject, such as biography, countries and states, current events, math, and science and health.
For older students, the Reference and Research page on www.hclib.org links to wide-ranging databases and websites on subjects such as countries and travel, history and biography, language learning, and science.
Your local librarian can help if you need assistance with homework resources in the library or online.
Have a question about homework, about the library, or about almost anything? Hennepin County Library’s “Ask Us” service welcomes questions by phone (612-543-KNOW), email, Instant Message, in person, and now text.
For more information about Hennepin County Library’s homework resources, visit or call your local library or go online to www.hclib.org
