2005-2007 Grant Recipients
Adult literacy efforts in a fourteen counties across the state will be getting help from the New York State Library, announced New York State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries Janet M. Welch. 15 grants totaling $400,000 will be awarded to programs serving 55 libraries in the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years.
"Adult literacy grants seek to make the library part of the network that helps underemployed and unemployed workers with their literacy needs," said Mrs. Welch. "They also cultivate community collaboration on literacy efforts and encourage adult students and their families to use library resources in their educational development.
Grant projects will support adults who read below a sixth-grade level, or who are ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students. They will reach out to populations as diverse as rural migrant workers in agricultural and racetrack jobs, adult students of English with learning disabilities, and parents with low literacy skills. Community groups and agencies will promote and support the projects that reach out to their clientele.
Many of this year's programs work to integrate technology into adult literacy programs, and train adult literacy providers and students to effectively use available technology. Assorted aspects of adult literacy will be addressed, including health literacy, citizenship preparation, workplace skills, expanding access to cultural activities, and writing skills, at levels ranging from beginning literacy for non-English speakers to GED preparation.
"Within the limits of a $200,000 per year statewide program, these libraries are able to target those populations they consider most at-risk, with innovative high-impact programs that integrate community sponsors into the vital work of supporting literacy for all New Yorkers," said Anne Simon, the State Library's Adult and Family Literacy Specialist.
Please contact Anne E. Simon, the State Library's Adult and Family Literacy Specialist, at (518) 486-2194 for more information on the Adult Literacy Library Services Grant Program.
The following is a list of the public libraries and public library systems that received Adult Literacy Service Grant awards:
Brooklyn Public Library (Kings County) $38,075 - Equipped for the Present, a New Instructional Approach of BPL's Learning Centers
The Library will augment group literacy instruction with life skills, health literacy and work readiness skills. Successful students will be referred to pre-GED and GED programs, advanced job training programs and job placement. The New York City Literacy Assistance Center's Health Literacy Initiative and Brooklyn's Workforce 1 Career Center will collaborate with the library in the health literacy and work readiness skills programs.
Dormann Library, Bath (Steuben) $30,274 - In the Know
Partnering with the Savonna Free Library and Literacy Volunteers of America-Steuben County Chapter, the Library will increase online and on-site literacy resources for adults with low literacy levels. The Library will offer group workshops to supplement the existing one-on-one tutoring program, and will support the existing program by adding multi-media tools and equipment, recruiting and training tutors, and holding literacy fairs.
Hempstead Public Library (Nassau) $40,000 - English Road to Citizenship
Citizenship preparation will be added to literacy services for non-English speaking residents. The Library will acquire print and non-print materials, offer classes and promote the new services available. Collaborating with the Library on this project are the Hispanic Counseling Center, CASA, and Our Lady of Loretto Roman Catholic Church.
James Prendergast Library Association, Jamestown (Chautauqua) $19,994 (05-06 only) - Spotlight on Literacy
The Library in collaboration with Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, the Learning Disabilities Association of Western New York and Even Start will continue to develop collections and services for low-income adult learners and their families. Additional material will be acquired and programming expanded. Advertising will be increased to promote the materials and services established in Year One.
Liverpool Public Library (Onondaga) $21,338 - Literacy and the Arts: a Lifelong Learning Project
Art, music and literature plus access to local cultural opportunities will be incorporated into the literacy curriculum for adult learners in pre-GED, GED and English for Speakers of Other Languages at the Liverpool Public Library. Project partners with the Library are the Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES, the Syracuse Symphony, Syracuse Stage, Everson Museum, and the Friends of the Central Library, OCPL.
Monroe County Public Library System, Rochester (Monroe) $40,000 - Workforce Preparation: Helping Those with Literacy Needs Aspire to Achieve
The System and its members in collaboration with Monroe County literacy providers will provide library materials and Literacy/Workplace skills classes for adults with low literacy levels. The project will be marketed to small businesses that have employees with literacy needs and to unemployed and underemployed workers with low literacy skills.
The New York Public Library, The Branch Libraries (New York) $39,203 - Piloting Technology Assisted ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Instruction at Seward Park Branch.
The Library in conjunction with the Riverside Language Program will integrate traditional classroom instruction with technology-based instruction in English for foreign-born adults with limited English speaking skills. The project, established at the Seward Park Branch Library, will focus on developing and implementing a curriculum for beginning and intermediate ESOL students using new software to support classroom instruction.
Olean Public Library (Cattaraugus) $13,163 (2005-06 only) - Family Reading Allowed
Building on the project's first year activities to enable more adults with low literacy levels to read to and with their children, the Library, in partnership with Cattaraugus and Wyoming Counties Project Head Start and Literacy Volunteers of Cattaraugus County, will expand the project throughout the county with new partners and locations.
Poughkeepsie Public Library District (Dutchess) $12,000 (2006-07 only) - Learn to Earn
This project will assist people without a high school diploma to earn their GED diploma, help them learn skills that will enable them get and maintain employment, introduce them to career education and job opportunities in the community, and introduce them to library resources related to GED, job skills and careers as well as general recreational and information resources.
Queens Borough Public Library (Queens) $39,346 - Adult Basic Education Classes and Writing Workshops
Elmhurst, Flushing and Peninsula Branch libraries will offer Adult Basic education classes to students to improve literacy levels and prepare them for pre-GED or GED level work. These students will also be able to participate in a six week theme based writing workshop where students will draft, edit, and revise a paper that will be presented at the final sessions.
Southern Adirondack Library System (Saratoga) $26,441 - Discovering Abundant Teaching Approaches
Together with Literacy Volunteers of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, the System will develop and test a Best Practices curriculum using electronic resources to provide low reading level high interest resources for adult students. Tutors will be trained to locate and use the appropriate materials and library staff will receive training to support the tutors and students using the materials.
Uniondale Public Library (Nassau) $29,905 - Multimedia Learning Center
The Library will create a multimedia adult learning center and offer pre-GED tutoring and GED preparation in collaboration with Literacy Volunteers of America, Nassau County, Inc. and Nassau BOCES. The new learning center will provide equipment, software, print and non-print materials to further basic English skills and enable students to prepare for their GED exams. The Library will also provide library tours to familiarize students with the facilities, collections, programs and services.
William K. Sanford Town Library, Colonie (Albany) $14,800 (2006-07 only)- Project LINC (Literacy for Immigrant Neighbors in Colonie)
To help the increasing number of non-English-speaking patrons, and to alleviate the scarcity of trained tutors in both Albany and Schenectady counties, the Wm. K. Sanford Town Library in partnership with Literacy Volunteers of America-Mohawk/Hudson, Inc., will initiate a community-wide tutor recruitment and training effort. The library will also revise and improve its collection of materials for English language learners.
Wood Library Association, Canandaigua (Ontario) $24,217 - Literacy at the Race Track
Racetrack Chaplaincy of the Finger Lakes, Literacy Volunteers of Ontario County, Finger Lakes Community College's Office of Adult Basic Education, and the Pioneer Library System, working with Wood Library, will provide literacy resources and materials to improve literacy services for Spanish-speaking workers at the Finger Lakes Racetrack. Students will be given access to an on-site collection of literacy materials, support technology, and classroom materials, and introduced to the library resources available to them. In the second year, similar services will be extended to Spanish-speaking residents and migrants in the towns of Gorham and Seneca, through the Gorham Public Library.
Yonkers Public Library (Westchester) $11,244 (2005-06 only) - Tools for Life: Computer-Assisted Instruction for Learning-Disabled Adults
The Literacy Volunteers of Westchester County will expand the tools and materials available at the Neighborhood Learning Center at the Riverfront branch to support adult students of English with learning disabilities. Hardware and software will be added to the existing systems and new training will help teachers and tutors integrate these resources into their instruction. The Lower Hudson Valley Regional Technology Center and the Westchester Literacy and Learning Alliance will provide consulting and promotion support.