Literacy

Lit Banner

Director: David Hazledine

Contact Literacy/ESL (English as a Second Language)

 

History:

The Literacy Coalition began in 1988.  Since then, volunteer tutors have been working to increase the literacy level of  Fulton County adults.

Some of the previous efforts have included English as a second language and working with families to increase awareness of the need for early childhood introduction to reading.

In addition, the Literacy Coalition provided, and still does, new books to children in Fulton County Head Start, Healthy Families, WIC, and all newborns delivered at Woodlawn Hospital.

In 2016 Literacy Director Timothy Roe re-branded the Literacy Coalition as Learn: A Project, and officially became a department of the Fulton County Public Library.

 

Mission:

The vision of Learn is to create a presence of learning in the library. Tutors are considered research assistants to self-directed learners. The mission is to teach individuals how to learn, rather than what to learn.

Learning is understood as relationships in one’s life. These relationships include reading, writing, study, and basic technological skills. Learn uses a project-based philosophy and whole language approach to create this presence of learning.

It is the belief of the current director that the best teachers are those who are still learning. Learn is a community effort. Our hope is that in understanding the learning process, one can engage their community in ways that embrace compassion, simplicity, and humility.

 

Projects:

Study: Need help with subjects ranging from numbers to technology? This project defines financial literacy, computer skills, and study. Math in original Greek means, “to study.”

Read: Tutoring in a one-to-one setting for anyone who struggles with reading. Books are used as the means and end of exploring the complexity of decoding and comprehending.

Write: A project that promotes writing through journaling, inspiration, and studying lives of other writers. The mission statement for Write is, “There is no right or wrong, only write.”

Friend: Come read with a new furry friend. Our dogs are certified therapy animals. The dogs are used to assist adults and children with reading anxieties.

ESL: FREE English classes are available for ages 9 and above, at ALL levels of fluency. No matter what native language you speak, ALL are welcome at the Fulton County Public Library Literacy Department! Learn more here: https://www.fulco.lib.in.us/adult-services/literacy/esl/

For more information, check out our printable brochure.

 

Also check out this free ebook, released as part of the 2020 FCPL Summer Library Program.

Our theme this year was “Imagine Your Story”, and the book contains stories submitted by local patrons in our area.

It was compiled by Timothy Roe, Director of Project Learn, and then head of the Literacy Department at the Library.