A library that offers Basic Literacy service addresses the need to read and to perform other essential daily tasks.
The library provides a learning environment, specialized materials, and access to trained tutors to help people reach their personal literacy goals. The library may provide specially designed facilities and access to instructional technologies that enhance the effectiveness of tutoring efforts. Library staff, or highly trained volunteers, may be used to provide the tutoring.
The Rockingham County Public Library provides service from seven facilities: five branch libraries in Eden, Madison, Mayodan, Reidsville, and Stoneville; The Learning Place in Reidsville; and a seventh location, the Administration Building in Eden, which houses Administration, Outreach Services, Technical Services, and the Computer hub. Rockingham County has a population of 90,083 in its 572 square miles. Located in the North Carolina piedmont section, its northern border is the Virginia state line.
The 1996 census identifies 7,116 people over 25 years of age in the county having lower than an 8th grade education level. In addition, a growing number of immigrants who need ESL assistance have moved to the county.
The program is designed to serve adults and teenagers over 16 with reading, writing, and mathematical needs necessary to become literate.
- To provide assistance to adults who have need to raise their level of literacy competency, often including the competency to speak and read English.
- To cooperate with other local literacy providers.
Tutoring individuals on a one-on-one basis is provided. After interviews with a potential student, he/she is "matched" with a tutor. Tutors are solicited annually through newspaper ads. Volunteer hours are recorded and each year a Tutor Recognition celebration is held. Tokens of appreciation are given to recognize the many long hours volunteers give. 1997 saw the literacy program’s first "colossal" tutor (over 1,000 hour). Special student events are also planned from time to time.Volunteers take a twelve-hour tutor training workshop to learn different methods of teaching and to become familiar with the many kinds of materials available. Soon after the workshop a volunteer is placed with a student who has requested help. The tutor/learner team meet at one of the five library branches or at The Learning Place (the hub of the literacy program) once or twice weekly.
Bimonthly newsletters are mailed to tutors and students. The staff member responsible does a student newsletter that invites students to read, work puzzles and take part in student activities. Tutor’s newsletter include helpful teaching hints, information about new materials, and notice of activities for either students or tutors.
Both tutors and students are given opportunities to attend literacy conferences around the state. In 1995 six students attended a New Readers Conference in Greensboro. The librarian supervising the program is a member of the North Carolina Literacy Association, the North Carolina Library Association, and Laubach Literacy Action. Staff attend literacy conferences in North Carolina and Virginia; the librarian attends bi-annual Laubach Literacy conferences.
The literacy program staff consists of a full time librarian, two part-time assistants paid by the county, and two part-time grant funded positions. The librarian selects material, trains tutors, interviews and makes an assessment of students, matches students and tutors, speaks and provides other publicity, supervises the literacy staff and writes grants. The part-time staff assist in maintaining The Learning Place by taking care of clerical duties, student and tutor files, correspondence, publicity, and many other day-to-day details. Of the two grant-funded positions, one assistant was hired specifically to work closely with the ESL (English as a Second Language) tutors and students; the other one works more closely with all students, evaluating progress and satisfaction with the program.The Learning Place in Reidsville is a facility located near the Reidsville Branch Library. It provides a large meeting room separated from the collections and staff space.
Through the years the collection of materials which can be used with a student has increased from one basic reader to many choices, including workbooks, audio tapes, video tapes and computer programs. Program series come on various levels (from 0 reading level to the 9th grade) and concentrate on different learning styles so that a student can be helped no matter where he or she is in the learning process. Three libraries contain partial collections and The Learning Place has a complete and expanded collection. Many supplementary books written especially for adult new readers round out the collection, and the tutors have many reference books to further their understanding of how to teach adults who have slight to moderate learning differences. Subjects include some who are dyslexic or who have other learning disabilities, spelling difficulties, and "how to."
Adult New Readers collections are separate sections in each of the libraries making it convenient for both students and tutors to find study materials as well as supplemental books in fiction, geography, history, biographies, etc. Books are marked to indicate approximate reading levels to further aid in selection.
The Learning Place provides a computer with CD-ROM for use by tutors and students. They may also access Rockingham County Public Library’s on-line catalog as other patrons do. Computers and appropriate software for adults learning to read are also available in two branches for students to use.
The Rockingham County Public Library’s Literacy Program work closely with the Rockingham County Community College’s GED Department, providing a tutor when a student needs extra help in order to obtain a diploma. GED classes are held in one library branch and at The Learning Place. Volunteers are also supplied to the Job Resource Center as needed. Other county and state agencies refer students on a regular basis to the Learning Place. Joint efforts between Rockingham County Consolidated Schools and the literacy program include Books for Baby (a kit of information and a book is given to mothers of newborn babies in two local hospitals) and Family Reading Project (books and books on tape are taken to schools to be used by children in Title I classes and their parents). These projects were made possible through grant money.
In order to supplement county and grant funds, staff conducts fund raising activities, such as the Christmas Stocking of Literacy. With these funds a computer with a CD/ROM drive was purchased for student use in 1998. The agency is a part of the whole service program of the Rockingham County Public Library and therefore has its materials ordered, cataloged, and processed by the Technical Services Department of the library. There are delivery runs among all seven library buildings three days a week. As with the branches, photocopies and fax machines are available.
Classes to train perspective tutors are held throughout the year. Four training classes were held in 1997 and five in 1996. The total number of trained tutors currently (June 1998) is 106; these are all tutors who either are tutoring or still planning to tutor in the future.During the 1997 fiscal year, literacy staff responded to 495 reference and directional questions, circulated 2957 items, put deposit collections in 10 community agencies. They mailed bi-monthly newsletters to approximately 300 people.
Each year two special events are held: the fall Tutor Recognition dinner or reception and the spring Student/Tutor picnic.
The friendly literacy staff often helps low level or non-readers fill out application and government forms of all kinds, and reads letters or hard-to-understand communications to them.