Camarena Memorial Library To Increase Among Non-Literate
Latino Adults Selected to Pilot Spanish Literacy Course Across California
Desert Review: 7.20.2016
The Camarena Memorial Library has been selected as one of
nine libraries across California to join a pilot program – LeamosTM (Let’s
Read) @ the Library. Centro
Latino for Literacy (Centro Latino), a nonprofit organization
headquartered in Los Angeles, launched the project to bring its online literacy
course to the state’s non-literate Spanish speakers, which number 573,866
(2009-2011 ACS, PERE pooled file). The two-year pilot project is supported by a
grant awarded by the James Irvine Foundation to Centro Latino
to explore partnerships with public libraries. Greg Lucas, California State Librarian
said, “In a state which gained a Latino plurality [in 2014], it seems at a
minimum good common sense to encourage programs like Leamos. Without literacy skills
in their native language, proficiency in English becomes significantly harder,
if not impossible, to attain.”
Public libraries will incorporate the use of
Leamos™ as an effective strategy to both promote reading at its most basic
level and to effectively outreach to Spanish-speakers in their communities.
“Leamos @ the Library is the portal for non-literate Spanish speakers to close
both the basic and digital literacy gaps and to increase civic engagement,”
stated AnaMaria Ruiz, Centro Latino Board Liaison, pointing out that a key
initiative of the James Irvine Foundation is to increase civic engagement.
“Learning to read and write is ground zero. Many students have described
learning to read and write as being able to see after a lifetime of being blind
– ‘Ya tengo ojos (Now I have eyes)’”.
Library literacy staff involved with the Southern
California Library Literacy Network (SCLLN) have encountered
this need in their communities, but have lacked the resources to address
it.
Meanwhile, Centro Latino for Literacy (Centro
Latino) has been teaching basic literacy skills to Spanish speakers since 1991
and in 2004 transferred its course to an online platform to make it available
beyond its Los Angeles classrooms. Now operating as a social enterprise, Centro
Latino licenses its proprietary LeamosTM (Let's Read) Basic online course to
workforce development organizations, parent engagement groups, community
colleges, public libraries and more. In
March 2015 the James Irvine Foundation awarded a two-year grant to Centro
Latino to deepen its impact statewide; Centro Latino chose to focus this effort
on partnerships with public libraries.
They have recruited five libraries for year one of the project
(Roseville, Salinas, Santa Barbara, Riverside, and Covina), and the library systems which already partner
with Centro Latino will also participate in this project to bring the broadest
possible perspectives and learning experiences together. The five libraries currently involved
are: Azusa, Los Angeles
County-Huntington Park branch, Los Angeles City Library, Huntington Beach, and
Anaheim. Together these ten libraries will pilot using Leamos Basic as a tool
for public libraries to teach literacy skills to Spanish speakers and their
experience will be documented and guide an additional ten California libraries
to provide Spanish literacy in their communities in year two of the Irvine
grant.
SCLLN has designed this LSTA proposal as a companion piece to
leverage the James Irvine Foundation award to Centro Latino to strengthen its
focus on public libraries as a community anchor – a “zocalo” (public square)
familiar to Latin America immigrants.
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