Adult%20Literacy%20@%20your%20Library:%20Developing%20Collections%20and%20Services

1
Adult Literacy _at_ your Library Developing
Collections and Services
2
OLA Adult Literacy _at_ Your Library
3
Adult Literacy _at_ TPL

• One on one tutoring in 9 library branches
• Adult literacy collections in 53 branches

4
Adult Literacy

• Reading enhances quality of life
• Nearly half of Canadians have some difficulty
  with reading materials encountered in everyday
  life.

5
Literacy Challenges

• This is what 22 of the population see when they
  look at a cautionary label

6
Common Independence Goals

• To fill in forms and applications
• To shop for groceries
• To use the calendar and tell time
• To do banking
• To read and write lists, notes and messages
• To count money
• To read and write recipes
• To prepare for the drivers test
• To read and write letters

7
Goal To fill in forms and applications

• Know common abbreviations
• Be familiar with dates (word number form)
• Memorize all basic personal information
• Be able to write personal work history
• Be able to follow instructions
• Use the dictionary to define unfamiliar words
• Create a personal signature

8
Common Workforce Goals

• To read job specific workplace documents
• To fill out workplace forms e.g. shipper/receiver
• To write notes, lists, messages e.g. security
  guard
• To read WHMIS labels documents e.g. factory
  worker
• To count money and make change e.g. cashier
• To read and write recipes e.g. food/hotel services

9
Further Education Goals

• GED program
• Community college
• Certification training e.g. personal support
  worker, building trades, auto repair

10
Goal To prepare for the Personal Support Workers
course

• To read and write the parts of the body
• To read medication labels
• Know common medication/instruction vocabulary
• To tell time and count hours for dosage
• Know dosage amounts e.g. ½ , capful, drop, tbsp
• To read a thermometer
• Know Canadas Food Guide
• Read nutrition labels and charts
• Write notes and messages

11
Literacy Collections

• Display resources at tutor trainings and PD days
• Compile bibliographies www.torontopubliclibrary.ca
  
• Deliver resource presentations
• Offer deposit collections to community programs
• Deliver book talks Golden Oak Book Club

12
Golden Oak Book Club

• www.accessola.com/goldenoak
• Books selected by a committee of literacy
  practitioners and librarians
• Discussion guides for each book available by
  joining the book club
• Learners can share their comments online or by
  mail
• Author tours funded by the Canada Council
• Book sets funded by Canada Post

13
Library Training

• Visit literacy classes and introduce the library
• Offer library tours/training
• Offer computer training
• Teach practitioners/tutors how to teach library
  skills Toronto Public Librarys Guide to
  Getting Good Information
• Make sure library staff is aware of adult
  literacy needs and issues - try the Literacy
  Awareness Presentation available on the
  Ottawa-Carleton Coalition for Literacy website

14
Partnerships

• Promote local literacy programs through
  flyers/displays at the library
• Offer free library space e.g. Learners Learning
  Together Conference
• Support the Golden Oak Book Club by purchasing
  and displaying the books, offering book talks,
  booking an author reading

15
Key Messages

• Consult with community
• Take the library out to the community
• Offer relevant training
• Build partnerships

16
Linking Literacy and Libraries
17
Libraries, literacy, and community development

• Literacy is increasingly being identified as a
  community development need
• Libraries are responding by

• dovetailing service goals with identified
  community development needs
• developing programs, collections and outreach
  services

18
AlphaPlus

• SOLS and OLS-Norths counterpart in Ontarios
  adult literacy community
• Non-profit service agency funded by the Ministry
  of Training, Colleges and Universities and the
  National Literacy Secretariat

19
AlphaPlus Services

• Library services
• Information services
• Lending library of over 25,000 titles
• Index to Web Resources
• 1000 annotated Web links related to adult
  literacy research and practice
• Help desk technical support
• Literacy field consulting services

20
AlphaPlus Projects

• AlphaRoute (on-line learning environment)
• Developing a Research Culture in Ontario
• Workforce Resources for the Field
• Linking Literacy and Libraries

AlphaPlus undertakes research and development
projects that support and advance provincial and
federal literacy initiatives
21
Linking Literacy and Libraries

• NLS funded project, now in its 3rd year
• Phase I Feasibility
• Explored how library/literacy partnerships could
  enhance community literacy service delivery
  across Ontario
• Identified two AlphaPlus service areas that could
  support and encourage libraries to develop
  literacy outreach services
• Collections
• Collection development

22
Linking Literacy and Libraries

• Phase II
• At national, provincial and grassroots levels,
  developed and increased
• Community awareness adult literacy services
• partnership development
• Golden Oak Book Club for new adult readers
• workshop presentations
• journal articles
• Community accessibility to adult literacy
  resources
• Community Literacy Collections 4 collections

23
Community Literacy Collections

• Circulating collections of AlphaPlus adult
  literacy resources
• Hosted by community partners and housed in
  library
• 50 to 200 volumes
• 1 year loan
• Collection content based on identified community
  needs

• Reading, writing, math
• Life skills
• Family literacy
• Employment readiness
• First Nations or French language focus

24
Linking Literacy and Libraries

• Phase III consolidation and growth
• Building upon Phase II accomplishments
• Partnership development

• Francophone communities incorporated
• 10 new CLC established
• Golden Oak Books Across Ontario
• Movement for Canadian Literacy Literacy.ca
  article

25
Linking Literacy and Libraries

• Partnership development contd
• exploring partnership opportunities with SOLS and
  OLS-North
• Collection development
• Reading the World article in ACCESSola
• Consortia development

26
Timmins Community Experience
27
Discovering Literacy in Timmins

• Meeting the local literacy agencies
• Meeting AlphaPlus
• Provision of services / collection management
  the Catch 22

28
Linking Literacy and Libraries in Timmins

• Community Literacy Collections
• How to apply
• Project coordination
• Finding community partners

29
Linking Literacy and Libraries in Timmins

• Community Literacy Collections
• Developing a community profile
• Signing the contract
• Processing the collection
• Meeting the press

30
Meeting the Press
31
How am I doing?

• Formal evaluation
• Partner / community response

32
One Year Later

• Easy English / Français simple

33
One year later

• Whats working ?
• What are the challenges?

34
Whats next?
35
Whats next?

• Continuing the CLC collection
• OLS-North
• Maintaining community literacy partnership ties
• extend partnership base

36
Library/Literacy partnerships

• Increase community awareness of literacy
  resources and services
• Increase knowledge and awareness of literacy
  issues
• Enable libraries to connect with a traditionally
  hard to reach population within the community
• Encourage lifelong learning in your community
• Enable collection development through resource
  evaluation and community use