Libraries Tackle Literacy Through Innovative, Practical Programs ▬ Library Journal

Libraries Tackle Literacy Through Innovative, Practical Programs

Library Journal: 

9.09.2020 by Amy Rea

From youth to adults, newcomers to lifelong locals,library literacy programs that work flex to achieve what matters to each patron

About one fifth of American adults are functionally illiterate. In “How Serious is America’s Literacy Problem?” we defined the scope of the crisis and why it matters—because it leads to worse outcomes in everything from health to finances to employment. In “Mapping the American Literacy Ecosystem,” we outlined the many other governmental, charitable, and even for-profit entities addressing the issue, so that public libraries can find possible partners and funders and avoid duplicating effort. In this installment, we spoke to four U.S. public library systems to learn how they are addressing literacy issues through innovative programs, and what other libraries can replicate, adapt, and build on.

PRACTICAL LIFE LITERACY  

For new immigrants learning English as a Second Language (ESL), what they need to learn is inextricably tied to what they need to make a new life for themselves in America. Lindsay Southworth is program manager of the Edible Alphabet program at the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP), which is designed to combine literacy education with food and cooking.

“The Edible Alphabet started in 2015 at FLP out of the Culinary Literacy Center,” says Southworth. “It was the first kitchen classroom in a library in the United States. We wanted to promote literacy through learning about food and cooking.

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EVERYDAY SKILLS EVERY DAY

Martha Toscano, adult education and literacy coordinator for the El Paso Public Library System in Texas, also points to the need for ESL services. “We’re part of a huge metroplex on the Mexican border,” she says. “There’s lots of migration. Lack of English is a challenge.”

=Having a large population struggling with English has led to a customized ESL program that’s different from those traditionally found in schools or as part of community education. “Ours is more about making a living in the United States, more life skills–oriented,” she says. “Not so much about conjugating verbs, but being able to talk to their child’s teacher or to the doctor, go to the grocery store, fill out a form. So often terms that are common to English speakers aren’t to the immigrants. They’ll have a form with a line for DOB [date of birth], and they don’t know what that means.”

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SCALING UP

Natalie Cole is assistant bureau chief for California State Libraries, which provides state funds to promote adult and family literacy in libraries throughout the state. She emphasizes that English Language Learners are far from the only adults who need help with learning to read and write more proficiently; her program is “not an ESL program, although California’s public libraries also provide ESL services,” she says. “This provides help for people who need to improve their literacy.” Learners are matched largely with one-on-one volunteer tutors (although in some areas, in very small groups). “There are 105 library jurisdictions, and more than 900 branch libraries,” Cole says. “There are a lot of outlets where the tutors work. We support more than 15,000 adult learners and their families.”

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MEASURING SUCCESS

Toscano notes, “As for outcomes and successes, we don’t test, except for oral tests. We don’t keep student records, as we’re not a formal educational agency. We gauge success in terms of enrollment and interest, word of mouth referrals, and the people who come back to show us their approved citizenship papers.”

The Edible Alphabet does an oral assessment at the end of each course, looking for improvement in language fluidity, vocabulary, and proficiency. But there’s another form of literacy staff members want to develop and measure: “We also do a library survey: Do you know what a library card is, do you have one, do you use it?”

In California, Cole says the libraries use outcome-based assessments. “We log each learner’s goals, we log their progress, we log when the goal is met. Obviously some goals will take more time than others. Some learners will complete a goal, then set a new, more difficult goal, while others graduate out of the program. We look every year at how many set goals, what that goal was, and how many were achieved. In 2019, 82 percent of learners achieved their goals. It’s a testament to the one-on-one relationship they have with their tutors.”

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FUNDING LITERACY PROGRAMMING

Funding for literacy programs largely comes through library funds, grants, and donations.

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GETTING STARTED

“Don’t reinvent the wheel,” says Davey. “Do research on what’s out there. We got a lot of help from the Chandler Public Library, and they got help from Phoenix. They were so generous with their time and the work they’d already done. We’re not teachers, but they worked with kindergarten teachers to develop their program, so we benefited from that.”

Flexibility is another key factor. “Allow your program to change if it needs to,” Davey adds.  READ MORE ➤➤

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Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 10

Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old

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