Automating Literacy: A Challenge for Libraries

by Linda Main, Char Whitaker

Overview

This volume is a how-to guide to the use of computers in library-based adult literacy programs. Since the commitment to literacy training has become an integral part of libraries' efforts to offer equal access to information, Linda Main and Char Whitaker provide a comprehensive study of the efficacious role the computer can play in achieving this objective.

The problems and successes associated with the introduction of computers into library literacy programs, as well as financial requirements, space, furbaniture, training, and the effect on other library operations are central to the study. The text also features a design for an ideal computerized literacy lab, an overview of compatible software, both existing and proposed, and a look at the rewards and challenges facing librarians, professional educators, and literacy program directors in the future. Appendixes provide country-wide information on libraries currently involved in automating literacy, main suppliers of literacy software, and consulting personnel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313275289
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/24/1991
Series:	New Directions in Information Management , #24
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

LINDA MAIN is Assistant Professor at San Jose State University, where she specializes in automated library system education. She is the author of articles in Library Software Review, Special Libraries, the Jourbanal of Information Science, and has presented several conference papers.

CHAR WHITAKER, M.A., MLS, is the acquisitions/automation librarian at College of the Desert Community College in Palm Desert, California. She has presented conference papers and authored articles on library technology.

Table of Contents

Preface
Literacy—What's Happening?
Enter the Computer into Library Literacy Programs
Implications of the Computerization of Library-based Literacy Programs
Literacy Software: Implementation for Creative Learning, Part I
Literacy Software: Implementation for Creative Learning, Part II
The "Ideal" Computerized Literacy Lab in the Library
The Process of the Future: Literacy in the Library in the Year 2000
Appendix 1: Libraries Using Computers in Adult Literacy Programs
Appendix 2: Foundations Which Support the Use of Computers in Library-Based Adult Literacy Programs
Appendix 3: Adult Literacy and Technology Project Consultants
Appendix 4: Main Suppliers of Literacy Software Suitable for Adults
Bibliography
Index