Verizon Foundation Grant Boosts Literacy in Six Libraries

NMRLS was the recipient of a $32,500 grant to support literacy efforts in libraries last year. The results are in from the six libraries which each received $5,000. We are grateful for this practical support provided by Verizon which provided a basis on which to build new programs and provide supplementary materials to promote literacy in Hamilton-Wenham, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, and North Reading.

The Hamilton-Wenham Public Library funded two projects: Baby Bookworms and Beyond and Let's Talk: Neighbors and Literature and the purchase of literacy materials that could not have been purchased without the grant.

Baby Bookworms and Beyond is an Early Childhood Literacy Project that was designed to promote the joy of reading and language to newborns and toddlers by assisting caregivers in reading to their children and providing quality early literacy materials for tutors, teachers, parents, and children. It was built upon other programs.

Workshops were coordinated by Lisa Davis, Speech Language Pathologist and Certified Early Intervention Specialist of Cape Ann Early Intervention, and Lorraine Der, Hamilton-Wenham Public Library Children's Librarian. Large Storybooks have been routinely used at story times. Library Director, Jan Dempsey, passed out lists of materials and promoted their use at a meeting of Early Childhood Partners.

Let's Talk: Neighbors and Literature is an ESL project designed to create opportunities and provide materials for International residents in Hamilton and Wenham. These resources will improve their reading and conversational English skills in a community literary setting.

Susan Bridges, Assistant Director of Student Life Services and International Student Advisor of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spread the word to International students and their spouses. Paula Grillo, Reference Librarian at the Ipswich Public Library, contacted au pairs in the area. Read/Along Packs from Recorded Books (packs containing a print book and an unabridged audio book packaged together in a sturdy case) were purchased. The narration is recorded at an easy-to-follow pace: 10-15 percent slower than standard narrations. Patrons can borrow these packs and follow along with the print book while they listen to the story. The Library's Classics Club book group began meeting on June 6 with Jan Dempsey, Library Director, as the facilitator to read and discuss O Pioneers by Willa Cather for book discussion and practice of conversational English skills.

The Lawrence Public Library used the grant funding for language-learning materials. The city is badly in need of these materials because of the large number of people speaking, or learning to speak, English as a second language. The population is 70 percent Latino, primarily from the Dominican Republic and from Puerto Rico. The target was primarily for English learning material geared to people speaking Spanish as a first language. The library purchased ESL material from Recorded Books and Lexicon. Lexicon produces the multi-part learning tool Ingles Sin Barreras (English without Barriers) which was purchased in duplicate to make available in both main and branch libraries. Other Spanish language materials purchased were smaller book/CD kits.

The South Lawrence Branch Library also serves a large Latino population. However, in this part of the city the presence of significant numbers of Asian residents is also a factor in purchasing decisions. The Asian community is made up primarily of Vietnamese and Cambodian people. The library purchased Asian language kits, e.g., Chinese and Vietnamese, to serve a large population served by the South Lawrence Branch Library.

The Pollard Memorial Library Adult Literacy Program (PML-ALP) in Lowell used its Verizon literacy grant money to purchase new materials for our New Reader collection and to hire trained assessors to test all ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) students at the end of the fiscal year. The library used the funding to hire trained assessors for tests they conducted in May and June of 2006. Both Verizon grant funds and library literacy funds were used to order materials. These materials included books, CDs, CD-ROMs, and DVDS. The Verizon funds were particularly helpful because they allowed the library to expand its collection to offer DVDs, which has never been done before.

The Lynn Public Library's staff used Verizon Foundation funding to educate their patrons on electronic literacy to help overcome the digital divide that still exists for some patrons in the community. The library provides these users their only access to the Internet, word processing, databases, and the whole online world, which is taken for granted by many. The grant funded equipment that was essential in this important outreach effort that reached between 500-600 at targeted events and professional printing of informational materials for adults and teens expected to reach over 1,000 community members. More visits are planned.

The Reference Librarian conducted lessons to high school classes on how to search for information online. She used both the internet for illustration as well as electronic content provided by the library. She also visited the Lynn Retirees Club to present on the library's holdings and services in general and the specific uses these patrons could take advantage of electronically. Operation Bootstrap made weekly visits to use the library's computers to increase their skills. The brochure presenting quick electronic lessons was a useful tool with these groups.

A church-sponsored ESL group with two teachers visited the library with their students. The Library Media Specialist from St. Mary's Jr/Sr. High School brought groups of teachers over for demonstrations on electronic resources. The informational brochure was handed out so teachers could use them with their own students.

Younger library users have been involved in the Children's Room which has also been very active utilizing the grant meeting with students and school library media specialists at their schools. The library has distributed professionally printed information of interest to teens and met with teenage club members. More school visits are planned.

The Lynnfield Public Library used grant funds in three areas: Electronic Resource Classes; Web Site Development; and Promotion.

Electronic resource classes were held in two formats. Group classes on a variety of topics were promoted and made available to the community to explore a variety of online content available at the library, e.g., newspapers, magazines, and encyclopedias. A second approach was more successful in attracting the community-small hands-on sessions which required pre-registration. The grant helped the library put on these successful events and has led to this becoming the library's ongoing training methodology.

The library has undertaken an ambitious project for web redesign to improve community access to library services, programs, and resources from inside the library and from home and office. In addition, the site is being brought up to current web standards and new features are being added, i.e., a teen area (with a blog); a greatly enhanced children's area; a library event calendar; and staff training is planned to facilitate the staff's timely maintenance of the site.

Grant funds are also targeted at production of a library brochure highlighting electronic services available in the library or remotely. The professional quality brochure was designed to reflect the new web design and a new online search project that will enable users to locate all available electronic resources with a single search.

The Flint Memorial Library in North Reading used the grant funding for early literacy initiatives. A number of library collections directly associated with early literacy were improved, e.g., parenting, phonemic awareness/phonics, board books, early readers and book/CD combinations. Workshops for parents were held and a popular sing along program was continued. American Library Association kits for the "Every Child Ready to Read" were purchased. This kit allows the Children's Room staff to run workshops on early literacy education for parents and caregivers.

Five extremely successful programs were held, e.g., workshops for parents of infants with presenter, Sheryl White of BabyKneads, who proved to be an amazing educator and a useful resource for patrons. A popular sing along program held five times attracted over 500 attendees including parents and young children. More events are planned.

Staff chose to incorporate this music program into the Verizon grant because music, especially that which is based on nursery rhymes and finger plays, plays an integral role in early literacy development. Children exposed to music exhibit better phonemic awareness skills, which are necessary to success in reading. Of course, the sing alongs are also fun and entertaining for the children who attend.

The library purchased a variety of materials to support this early literacy initiative. During this period the library staff gained insight into doing collection development by age group that will be of benefit long into the future. In direct support of early reading, it purchased a set of seventy-two books from ABDO Publishers that focus on word families, vowel sounds and other phonemic devices. Patrons have been pleased with the books which have been used heavily. The library also added books on education, home schooling, learning disabilities and reading instruction to the parent/caregiver collection. Nearly three dozen new board books, for babies and toddlers, were purchased and a substantial number of "early readers" were added to the collection, books that are often the first titles that new readers successfully read. Media purchases in support of reading education and early literacy rounded out materials purchasing. Media is very popular among community members. These purchases will lead to continued support of early literacy at the Flint Memorial Library.