The American Dream starts at your library.  Morley Library has a wide variety of resources that can help you reach your dream – learning English, finding information on becoming a U.S. citizen, and a weekly English Conversation group.

What is the “The American Dream Starts @ your library” all about?

Morley Library is one of 34 libraries that have received the “The American Dream Starts @ your library” grant to help increase literacy services to adult English language learners.  The grants are funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and implemented by the American Library Association.

Morley Library will use the grant to help new immigrants learn English by adding two new computer stations to the 3^rd floor.  These stations will be dedicated to the computer software Rosetta Stone – American English.  The grant money will also go towards publicizing the library’s other materials and services for English language learners.

Public libraries have long been a cornerstone of the American dream, providing equal access to information.  It is one of the first places to which many immigrants turn for help in learning to read, write and speak English.  The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) recently found that 11 million U.S. adults (approximately one in twenty), most of whom are immigrants, have such limited English skills that they can’t read a newspaper, understand the directions for medication or help their children with schoolwork.  “The American Dream Starts @ your library” grant was founded to meet the growing demand for English language literacy services.

Last updated: 10/23/2008