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Literacy: Spanning the US

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Literacy Inside And Out: Tompkins Library Program Will Bring Books Behind Bars

Ithaca Voice: 7.18.2019 by Devon Magliozzi

The book collection at the Tompkins County Jail is, as one county librarian put it, not very expansive. It rolls around on a single cart, offering a small collection of titles for those in custody to choose from. A new partnership between the Tompkins County Public Library and the county jail aims to stock more books behind bars and to add titles that jail inmates and educators have requested.

The Literacy Inside and Out initiative will use an outreach grant provided by the Finger Lakes Library System to get new reading material to people in local custody and to add resources at the library for those who are reentering the community after serving their sentence.  READ MORE >>

@LAPublicLibrary

Spring Spotlight on Adult Literacy

LAPL Literacy Blog: 2.06.2019 by Megan Katz, Librarian, Office of Education and Literacy

Looking for a way to contribute to your community? Consider becoming an adult literacy volunteer with the Los Angeles Public Library! Statistics show that an estimated 33% of the adult residents of Los Angeles lack basic prose literacy skills. This means that, at best, they may be “able to locate easily identifiable information in short, commonplace prose text, but nothing more advanced” (National Center forEducation Statistics, 2003). Of course, many of these people cannot read at all.

Los Angeles Public Library tutor Luisa Latham says of her students: As a result of being illiterate, these individuals have felt isolated and alienated and not able to function fully within their communities… [They] have expressed to me their fear and hesitancy around any experience where they would be asked to read—to fill out a job application, to vote, to do so many things that we take for granted and that they cannot participate in. You can help alleviate literacy inequality by becoming a volunteer. We have many different opportunities, including teaching classes, working one-on-one with a student, and more.

Tutor Claire Chandler decided to use her time to help others, “When I retired, I thought about volunteer opportunities and about how to work toward changes I would like to see in the world. Even though I had no experience teaching anyone how to read, I applied to be a tutor at the Adult Literacy Program.”

Adult literacy volunteers change lives, but the most inspiring thing about volunteering may be what you will gain from it. Tutor Lorena Lordanic tells us, “Tutoring Carmen this past year has benefited my life in so many ways. Not only do I get to think of innovative ways to help her reach her goals, but Carmen also inspires me to continue learning.” READ MORE >>

@ftbendliteracy

The Literacy Council Of Fort Bend County Piloting A Family Summer Reading Camp 

Katy News: 7.25.2019

The Literacy Council of Fort Bend County is piloting a Family Summer Reading Camp where they are inviting members of the community, including esteemed community volunteers and  local authors, to read and actively engage with children and their parents over the summer.

According to Literacy Council Program Director Alisha Procter, “the purpose of the Family Summer Reading Camp is twofold, first, to help show parents how to teach critical reading comprehension skills which are important to teaching children to read and two, improving their reading comprehension skills as adult learners.”  READ MORE >>

@cambridgepl

ESOL Program Expands At Cambridge Libraries As Need Grows

Cambridge Wicked Local: 7.24.2019 by Marylu Bautista

The English for Speakers of Other Languages classes at Cambridge Public Libraries are about more than just learning English. They offer students an opportunity to connect with their diverse Cambridge and greater Boston neighbors.

On a spring morning, in the basement of the Central Square Public Library, teacher Monica Klien greeted her classroom with a cheerful “good morning” and reminded everyone to sit next to a person who spoke a different language than they did. A group of students who all spoke Chinese rearranged themselves throughout the classroom and took out their name tags.

Surrounded by a range of international flags on the ceiling, the students sat on fold-up chairs with plastic tables in a semi-circle facing Klien and the chalkboard. Among the 15 students, there was a Brazilian woman, an Italian man, a Chinese woman and a Peruvian man, just to name a few. The students were only allowed to speak English, especially during their small in-group conversations, which was a highlight of the class for some students.

Juan Quispe Cabanillas, a neurology researcher from Peru, was a first-timer at Klien’s class but quickly realized the important social aspect of the class.

“The class is a means of coexistence with people from different countries, and at the same time, it is free, which makes it easier for people to get together. I think the class is necessary as a meeting point,” Cabanillas said in Spanish, as he was packing his notes up.  READ MORE >>