The American Dream Starts @ your library Toolkit is your reference guide for developing and expanding literacy services for English language learners.

What can you do right now to provide literacy services to adult English language learners in your library?

1. Know your library:

a. Identify who uses the library today.
b. Find out what groups aren’t coming to the library.
c. Survey library users to determine their reading preferences and their wish list of services.
d. Be sure that library collections match patron requests and community demographics.

2. Talk with your colleagues:

a. Identify frequently asked questions.
b. Discuss challenges and barriers to service delivery.
c. Brainstorm solutions and changes.
d. Promote collaboration and creativity.
e. Share success stories.

3. Reach out to your community:

a. Connect with community-based literacy programs, partnerships, and coalitions.
b. Introduce the library to businesses, faith-based organizations, community
centers, social service agencies, the media, and your city government.
c. Invite community members to your library for coffee and conversation.

4. Plan for success:

a. Develop a game plan for adding and expanding new literacy services.
b. Create a timeline.
c. Review your resources-- human, fiscal, and in-kind.
d. Recruit strong allies.
e. Take action!

This toolkit offers:


A brief primer on the origins of library literacy services to immigrant populations throughout a century of service.


An introductory guide to delivering and supporting literacy services for immigrants @ your library.


Models and examples of literacy services for adult English language learners from libraries across the country.

 
The American Dream Starts at These Libraries

The American dream starts at libraries where librarians, library staff, and volunteers are reaching out to new communities to forge a new user base and develop a new cadre of passionate library advocates. All over the United States, libraries just like yours, are developing and delivering adult literacy services for English language learners.

The following descriptions are a sampling of what libraries are doing now!

In central Illinois, PolyTalk, a volunteer network of bilingual interpreters, works with libraries by providing on demand, real-time, telephone-based interpretation. Currently, PolyTalk has more than 75 interpreters speaking 25 different languages.

In Hennepin County Library, Minnesota, telephone access is offered in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. The library system also holds English conversation circles and computer classes in these languages.

In Tennessee, the Nashville Public Library and the Frist Center for Visual Arts created Project Access. In turn, Project Access created interactive videos focusing on language skills, the visual arts, and computer literacy for English Language Learners. Project Access has an introduction by the artist and Nashville resident Red Grooms.

In Illinois, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, posted an interview with their literacy specialist that describes and showcases the library’s literacy programs for adult learners in Polish, Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Japanese.

The Queens Library in New York City, ¡Bienvenidos a Queens! has an online directory for Spanish speakers that provides community information in Spanish on health, immigration, housing, English classes, and other topics useful for new immigrants.

The Miami-Dade Public Library in Florida provides online information in Spanish about its literacy programs. Literacy classes are available for children and adult new learners. In addition, library patrons can receive one-on-one tutoring to improve their reading and writing skills.

At the Hartford Public Library in Connecticut, immigrants and refugees can use The American Place (TAP) to learn how to adjust to life in America while preserving elements of their native cultures. At TAP, patrons can find practical advice on living in the U.S., using the public library, taking ESL classes, and accessing information on becoming a citizen.

The New Immigrant Centers of the Austin Public Library System in Texas offer books and materials for learning English and preparing for U.S. citizenship, multilingual materials, and ESL and computer classes. New English learners can also participate in Talk Time, a relaxed, conversational environment with volunteer facilitators. Centers are located in 7 branches of the APL System in neighborhoods with a high concentration of immigrants.
The American Dream Starts @ your library is an initiative of the American Library Association.
This initiative is generously funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation