Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library has been selected as one of 20 public libraries nationwide to receive a $10,000 American Dream Literacy Initiative grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
With the funding, Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, in partnership with the Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley, will implement the Family READS (Reading and English to Achieve Dreams and Success) Program, which will focus on English as a Second Language, also known as ESL, and family literacy throughout the MFRL service area.
“Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library strives to strengthen our community by giving individuals access to information, experiences and ideas,” Library Director Karim Khan said in a release, “The American Dream Literacy Grant is a great opportunity to work with our partners at LVNRV to help the more than 3,000 people in our two counties who are looking to grow their English language skills, in a targeted program that will also address the early literacy needs of the next generation.”
“The single greatest indicator of a child’s future success is the literacy level of the parents,” said Linda Jilk, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley.
“We are really excited about this partnership with Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library and families of preschoolers who are new to the English language,” she said.
Helping parents gain the literacy and language skills is important to facilitating their children’s success in school to achieve a fully literate community is part of the mission of the Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley.
The Family READS Program will increase the English language skills of parents to achieve parenting, work, and community goals, and to fully partner in their children’s education, while also increasing the English literacy and language skills of their children. The program will begin in late March for the first of three instruction sessions.
The program’s goal is to help 10-12 families per session throughout 2018.
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library was selected through a competitive, peer-reviewed application process. Eighty-five public libraries applied for the 20 available grants, according to the ALA Public Programs Office.
Christiansburg was one of three Virginia winners.
The American Dream Literacy Initiative strives to develop tools and resources for libraries and library staff to provide effective literacy services to adult English language learners in their communities and across the country according to the library press release.
Since the program’s inception, more than 200 libraries in Dollar General communities have initiated or expanded literacy services for adult English language learners.
The grants allow libraries to augment their print and digital English as a second language (ESL) collections; increase computer access and training; provide job training; hold English language learning (ELL), general educational development (GED) and citizenship classes; and raise the visibility of services for immigrant populations.
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library serves the public of Montgomery and Floyd Counties at four locations in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Floyd and Shawsville, with a range of material, programs and services to stimulate imaginations, satisfy curiosity, inform citizens and guests, and to connect people to each other and world. Visit us on the web at www.mfrl.org.
