Los Angeles Public Library - Building a More Literate L.A

Los Angeles Public Library
Library Foundation of Los Angeles
Annual Report 2008=2009


Building a More Literate L.A

Literacy not only is one of the library's core missions, but it's also a part of everything we do. Each year, the library presents nearly 18,000 public programs at our 73 libraries and literacy is a component of every one. Today, the library's literacy mission is more important than ever because 40 percent of fourth graders read below their grade level and more than 50 percent of the Los Angeles area's working-age population suffers from low literacy skills.

The library has also made a major commitment to adult literacy. This year, the library opened a new Adult Literacy Center in the Benjamin Franklin Branch. With the help of library foundation funding, the library now operates Adult Literacy Centers in 20 branches citywide. These centers offer one-on-one literacy tutoring, self-tutoring materials, and Web-based literacy programs accessed through our literacy Web site.

Illiteracy remains one of the most economically and socially crippling problems facing Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Public Library is committed to creating a more literate Los Angeles.

Investing in New Readers

Good reading habits are key to a lifetime of learning. That's why the library, with the help of library foundation funding, instills a love of reading in children through early literacy programs like Read to Me L.A. and nurtures that love of reading throughout their childhood with programs like the intergenerational GAB (Grandparents and Books) series and other programs that make reading fun.

But the library doesn't stop there. It offers children the tools they need to succeed in school, such as free online Live Homework Help, the summer reading club to build literacy skills between school terms, a special Kids' Path Web site with online resources just for youngsters, and even a summer reading camp for homeless children, Camp LAPL, and the popular Performing Books programs that introduce kids to books through music, song and dance.

These and the library's many other resources are available when kids need them most, after school and during school-term breaks. Our commitment to technology allows us to deliver many of the learning resources to children through their computer at home or school. READ MORE !