American Library Association (ALA Office of Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services)

The American Library Association, with members of the new Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network, including the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, National Center for Families Learning, ProLiteracy, and World Education, will design adult and family literacy support centers for libraries nationwide. Although literacy is directly connected to better health outcomes, reductions in recidivism for returning citizens, and better language and learning outcomes for children whose parents and caregivers have higher literacy, access to literacy skills and services remains a pervasive challenge across the country. The grant will develop and pilot models for library adult and family literacy support centers with library partners including Charleston County Public Library, Chicago Public Library, and the Delaware Library Consortium. The project will produce a comprehensive, interactive toolkit for community literacy-building and train-the-trainer materials for replication in libraries nationwide.