Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Redlands Library :: A.K. Smiley Public Library receives grant for Adult Literacy Program

A.K. Smiley Public Library receives grant for Adult Literacy Program

The California State Library has awarded A.K. Smiley Public Library $52,000 to fund staffing for the Redlands Adult Literacy Program for the fiscal year that began July 1.

The California State Library welcomed A.K. Smiley Public Library into the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services Program (CLLS), which includes 102 library jurisdictions throughout the state.

A.K. Smiley Public Library was one of five libraries that were accepted into CLLS this year.

State Librarian Greg Lucas said Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers increased funding for literacy because they recognized the “enormous payoff in human capital that comes from investing in helping a person improve their reading skills.”

The annual $52,000 grant to A.K. Smiley Public Library will continue through June 2018, when the annual allotment may be adjusted based on the state’s literacy services funding formula.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant,” said Don McCue, director of the A.K. Smiley Public Library.

“It’s the result of diligent efforts by our literacy tutors and volunteers, particularly Trudy Waldron and Katherine Gifford, as well as the investment the Redlands City Council made in the program last year by funding the hiring of part-time adult literacy coordinator Dottie Podolak. Without that position, we would not have been eligible to apply for the grant,” McCue said.  READ MORE !

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