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Family Learning Centers @ Sjpl Final
- 1. Creating A Successful Family Learning Center at Your Library California Library Association Conference November 1, 2009, 1:45 – 3 p.m.
- 3. Inspiration
- 4. Master Plan for Bond Program
- 8. Best Practices: Facilities / Space
- 10. Facilities – Alum Rock
- 12. Facilities – East Branch
- 18. Literacy / Early Care Collaboration
- 23. Serving Various Immigrant Groups
- 29. Questions??
Editor's Notes
- Introductions Handouts are available in the back. We’d be happy to welcome questions as we go along. Warn about the candy!
- So here’s the roadmap for today’s presentation – we’ll walk through this ‘toolkit’ for starting an FLC at your library.
- Ned: I felt that PAR was not able to meet the needs of the whole community because it basically required people to come here to King. And Jane and I had visited Queens Flushing Branch which has a literacy center, and then Gordon and Ruth went and visited and talked to them and the idea of smaller Family Learning Centers was formed. I envisioned a place where generations of the family could work together on improving literacy skills. And I wanted somehow for branch staff to become involved in literacy and thus the idea to replace a librarian position with a literacy specialist who would not only lead and train branch staff but would be part of the branch staff too and be trained on regular library stuff. and the rest is history...
- In 2000 a Bond was passed to rebuild 17 aging branches and build 3 new branches in area of city that did not have a library previously Add square footage as well as the services Unique opportunity to build the new structures to represent the functions of libraries. For instance, each new library has a teen room. And we wanted to incorporate literacy into our facilities. We already have a literacy program, at our main branch, but wanted to bring to our branches.Not tangental – part of library services. For the bond program, we identified the current and 40-year anticiapted need of each areas that each proposed library would target. Image on the left. In this stage, we argeted six libraries in the community that had a combination of factors, such as low income, high immigration, low literacy. For each building program, there is an actual program we put together for furnitrue, spaces, lighting, colors, etc. The one on the right is for the Bascom library.
- If you look at the blue areas, from 35 – 50 percent of the branch service areas have either a less than 9 th grade education or a high school education with no diploma.
- Who are we serving? The Master Plan carefully assessed census data, and provided a framework for needs assessment. Identifies gaps in service areas. SJPL Branch Demographics from Census 2000 Tully Service Area: White=24% Asian=44% Hispanic=36% Other=21% African American=4% Multi-Racial=4% Pacific Islander=1% American Indian=1%
- Primary Language: 29% Spanish, 23% Vietnamese, 4% Chinese, 16% Other and 28% English Need to make sure to provide relevant services and programs to fit the needs of the communities we serve. These data points are only for Tully; each branch produces their own community profiles and they look slightly different, but all sites have the common issue of low literacy, high immigration, and low educational levels. It’s also important to remember that first generation needs may be different from those of second generation immigrants; you can’t make gross generalizations based on ethnicities. You have to look at each data point comprehensively.
- This is a picture of a floor plan for the Tully Library. The highlighted area in Green indicates the dedicated floor space for the Family Learning Centers. In general, it’s about 900 square feet of space. In all of our FLCs, we have dedicated tables, dedicated shelving, classroom, collections and signage. Each center includes 4 dedicated computers with literacy software.
- Also just opened East Branch; two more coming in the summer.
- Note the flexible, movable furniture Close proximity of the classroom to the language children’s area
- Newest FLC. No office for coordinator on the floor ; small classroom in the back.
- HISTORY TU was first. Created own mission statement. AR was next, then HB. We had opened 3 FLCs and had tried to let them organically be build depending upon the needs of that branch community. Then we felt it was important to create a vision and mission to become more unified in our approach. Spans a spectrum of ages Not just families – individuals Collections must parallel other programs such as literacy program
- Both librarians and literacy specialists; Flexible staffing model – not just the FLC coordinator Roaming reference / customer assistance Everyone is cross-trained to offer basic information on FLCs Adult literacy program (Partners in Reading) /FLCs quarterly meetings ; sharing of best ideas Since the three FLC coordinators are a combination of librarians and literacy specialists, we bring different skills and perspectives to the table – it’s key to harness these skills and make the FLCs as strongly supported as possible. Cris is ESL certified.
- ESL books – Basic, Intermediate & Advanced Citizenship materials – Latest test questions & interview practice (B&T) GED / CAHSEE – CAHSEE has been added – responding to the current need within the immediate communities. Basic Life Skills – Understanding street signs, writing a check, opening a checking account, go to the doctors Grammar / Writing – essential learning materials for ESL students Literacy Development – Beginning readers for adult learners – Easy True Stories, More Easy True Stories, Stories in the News, etc… Major Vendors –Pearson Longman (Side by Side), New Readers Press (English No Problem), Alta Book Center, Thomson Heinle Cengage (Stand Out) & Lexicon Bilingual Resources (Ingles sin Barreras, Disney World of English, Computacion sin Barreras)
- FLC Inventory = 3,291 items Total Checkout = 29,257 Total Renewal = 19,249 FACE OUT!!! Various multimedia formats – to accommodate various learning styles. Tapes, CDs, videos, Dedicated budget - $5k a year per site – fresh, updated, and clean, relevant Non-requestable – we want a wealth of materials in the FLC site
- For the computers, you want to make sure that they’re being used for educational, FLC purposes only. You’ll want to set up passwords and secure them in some way, and staff will have to assist in monitoring the usage of these computers. Enable everything Dedicated to FLC Purchase networked software Be consistent with your adult literacy program computers
- FLCs -- extensions of PAR (Partners in Reading) in the communities --Reciprocal referral process (PAR refers to FLC and vice versa) --Provide convenient locations for tutors to meet up with their learners. --Have computers with Literacy software (Lexia Reading’s S.O.S. Strategies for Older Students) SJPL is one of the few cities that have a Early Care commission. Collaboration with Early Care – --Provided Early Literacy Training for coordinators/librarians --Enable Coordinators/Librarians to offer parenting workshops at various FLC locations, i.e. Healthy Habits, Music & Movement with Preschoolers, Making Your Home a Learning Place, Kids in the Kitchen, etc… Books & More- Bilingual bags – collection support. BRING ONE They are available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
- Glancing / Dating / Marriage model – short term one time to MOUs Change your community partners as your community changes
- Mutually beneficial partnerships – a way for the agencies to increase exposure to the services offered. Facilities – computer labs, classrooms, community rooms Advertising and promotion / recruitment of attendees Captive market – can bring customers, and also get more Vetted / established trust Mission statements align closely with those of agencies – free access for everyone At least 70% of our programs are offered through partners.
- Read a few other testimonials… First Five:
- Read a few other testimonials… First Five:
- San Jose is very diverse culturally and ethnically. In our programs, we’re careful to address the following: Different styles of learning – formal vs. informal / structured classes vs unstructured Different partners for different populations Registration Must advertise all programs as free! Free! Even if only 6 sites have these FLCs, every branch serves new Americans; each branch has a ESL Conv. Club and can duplicate programs as needed. These programs aren’t limited to FLC sites; other branches have the ESL and Citizenship collections
- Various programs are offered through the FLCs. They include:
- Overall, all our programs have increased in attendance.
- Using the same software as the literacy program is key. There’s a handout that lists all the software. These computers are not part of the reservation system. We monitor them. Different locations handle the log-ins differently. Rosetta Stone is the most popular program. AR: typing is pretty popular too.
- Glancing / Dating / Marriage model – short term one time to MOUs Change your community partners as your community changes OUT COMES – positive ripple effect Family based programming – read the quote or make the case about family based programming Various FLC programs cover the following areas: Reading readiness ESL Citizenship classes Computer training Homework assistance Parenting classes Health topics Career and work related topics Language classes Adult Literacy
- So to recap: What would we change? Incorporating furniture that encourages a family learning style – but are separated so that adult learners aren’t stigmatized Dedicated annual budget for the collection is key Meeting regularly is important to share information and ideas Coordinator office varies