Literacy season kicks off following Edmonton Public Library fair
By Lacey Morris
EDMONTON — Literacy season is in full swing following the Edmonton Public Library’s first ever Literacy Fair, held at the Woodcroft branch.
“EPL has been promoting literacy since we’ve been in existence,” said Kim Bewick, community librarian at the Woodcroft branch at 13420 114 Ave., and organizer of the fair, which was held Sept. 22.
- Caroline Land, literacy services librarian for the Edmonton Public Library, shows a little girl that reading can be fun at the first annual Literacy Fair at the Woodcroft branch library, 13420 114 Ave, on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. Photograph by Lacey Morris.
Advocating Literacy
Through a variety of programs offered, from story time for young children, to summer reading programs for pre-teens and book clubs for mature readers, the EPL has been advocating family, youth and adult literacy since as long as it has existed.
EPL has also collaborated with various other community-oriented literacy organizations to launch projects, programs and events that will help people understand the importance of reading and writing from a young age.
Centre for Family Literacy
One of those groups is the Centre for Family Literacy, formally known at PROSPECTS, which has been around for three decades. Debbie Severinson, program co-ordinator at the centre, said that since the organization was founded, it has aided over 16,000 people in learning how to read and write.
“ Our vision is a healthy, literate society where all are able to contribute and succeed,” she said.
Like the EPL, the Centre for Family Literacy offers an array of programs aimed at educating people about the importance of literacy from a young age through adulthood. At the Woodcroft Literacy Fair, the centre highlighted just a few of the programs it offers:
- “Books for Babies”
- “Learn Together-Grow Together”
- “Adult Tutoring”
- “Financial Literacy”
“Literacy opens a lot of doors for people, and when they’re struggling with literacy they have another barrier to achieving their goals in life,” Severinson said. And that is where the centre plays its part in bettering the community.
Affiliates
Three other community-based groups are affiliated with the EPL in promoting literacy:
The fair featured representatives from each of the organizations, who provided information on the unique programs that are offered and instructions on how to register.
Literacy Support
The event was a great way for people to find out what sorts of literacy programs and services are available to them. “Sometimes that’s hard — especially for people who are knew to an area — to track down what kinds of things are available, what sort of support there is for people who are struggling with literacy,” Bewick said.
The Woodcroft, and all branches of the EPL, would like to see to it that members of the community are receiving the assistance they need to be successful at reading, writing and participating in community affairs.
“As the community librarian in this branch, I work with all the organizations and agencies in this area to do my best to make sure that the library is meeting the needs of the people in our area,” Bewick said.
Wonderful message and story, Lacey. Great, concise, and informative. Really useful links too :)
I’m glad that this article will be of use to people in the community. I, myself, am also a huge advocate of early-age literacy and I think this kind of programming really needs to be taken note of. Thanks for reading and commenting. :)