Libraries Tackle Literacy Through
Innovative, Practical Programs
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
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
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 ➤➤
Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)
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