Literacy Program Support

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Volunteers are crucial to Literacy Program success, come to the Library and be part of this great project!

Literacy Services includes three programs:

• Adult Literacy Services
• Family Literacy Services
• ESL Services

So, you can help in any of these areas, supporting administrative, research and event tasks.

Why are Literacy Services needed?
The Need for Library Literacy Programs:

• More than 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third-grade level.
• Sixty-one percent of low-income children have no books at home.
• By age two, poor children are already behind their peers in listening, counting, and other skills essential to literacy, and by age five, a typical middle-class child recognizes 22 letters of the alphabet, compared to nine for a child from a low-income family.
• A mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her child’s academic success. Children whose parents have low literacy skills have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out.
• And yet, less than ten percent of the adults in need of reading help in the United States are receiving services.

In California
According to estimates released in 2020 by the National Center for Education Statistics, 28 percent of Californians have a literacy proficiency level that is at or below Level 1. 36 percent of Californians have a numeracy level that is at or below Level 1.

Library literacy programs use evidence-based techniques to provide one-to-one and small group tutoring and instruction. Programs are learner-driven and they support adults in setting and achieving their personal goals. They connect learners with books, programming, and other library resources. And they provide opportunities for learners to develop and use leadership skills.

Research shows that the types of adult and family literacy programs that are provided by California’s public libraries benefit adults, children, and families.