Author: lgayhart

OLASuperConference 2008
Poster Session: January 31, 2008

All Partners

Canadian Book Exchange Centre, Coalition francophone pour l’alphabetisation et la formation de base en Ontario, Centre de documentation sur l’education des adultes et la condition feminine, Community Literacy Collection public libraries, Deaf Literacy Initiative, First Nations Public Libraries, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Library and Archives Canada, National Adult Literacy Database, Ontario Literacy Coalition, Ontario Library Service—North, Ontario Native Literacy Coalition, Southern Ontario Library Service, and Toronto Public Library.

161 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 704
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info@alphaplus.ca

Library Closure and Continued Collection Access: the AlphaPlus Experience

Library Closure and Continued Collection Access: the AlphaPlus Experience

Abstract
As a service agency for adult basic education, the AlphaPlus Library has supported instructors and researchers in the Anglophone, Francophone, Deaf and First Nations Literacy streams in Ontario for over 15 years. A significant cut in funding necessitated the closure of the library on September 4th, 2007. Our goal and challenge was to find ways to provide continued access to as many of the 49,000+ volumes in our resource collections as possible, and to do so before November 30th, when AlphaPlus was slated to move to a new office space. Strong connections in the provincial literacy and library communities enabled AlphaPlus to successfully decentralize approximately 75% of its resource collections to libraries and literacy organizations across Ontario, and beyond.
The Process Included:
Step One: Work with Community Literacy Collection public library partners
Step Two: Decentralization Preparation
Step Three: Collection Analysis
Step Four: Collection Distribution

POOLs Collections in Conjunction with
OLS-N and SOLS

AlphaPlus partnered with OLS-N and SOLS to create rotating POOLs: small collections of literacy resources designated to meet community literacy needs. These POOLs will move between various public libraries in Ontario, allowing for the continued access of AlphaPlus literacy materials.
At AlphaPlus, these materials were grouped by topic area and shipped to OLS-N for processing. Resources were taken from the instructional, programming, and learner collections and encompass topics such as employment, writing, reading, ESL, and health literacy.
POOLs will begin distribution in the Fall of 2008. For more information, see the OLS-N website www.olsn.ca.

Literacy Resources Redistributed

Redistribution of 36,874 of 49,000 resources: over 75%

Literacy Collections in Ontario Public Libraries

Barrie, Chapleau, Cobourg, Cochrane, Cornwall, Dunnville, Georgina, Grey Highlands, Haileybury, Ignace, Iroquois Falls, Kenora, Kirkland Lake, Lambton, Markham, New Liskeard, Sault Ste. Marie, Simcoe, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay, and Timmins.