Innovative Programming and Literacy Services for Immigrants: Bridging the Gap to Build a Stronger Alberta. The Edmonton Public Library Experience

Transcription

1 1 Innovative Programming and Literacy Services for Immigrants: Bridging the Gap to Build a Stronger Alberta The Edmonton Public Library Experience Submitted to: the Margaret Law Foundation Date: March 29, 2010 Requested Project Budget: $10,000 Project Start Date: May 3, 2020 Project End Date: October 8, 2010 Applicants: Anneliese Dalmoro, Fang Liu, Gillian Connors Community Librarians Stanley A. Milner Branch 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, AB T5J 2V4

2 2 Table of Contents Cover Page 1 Cover Letter 3 Executive Summary 4 Statement of Purpose 4-7 Goal 4 Objectives 5-7 Organization Overview 8-9 History 8 Mission 8 Values 8 Target Audience 9 Statement of Need 10 Project Description 11 Project Promotion 11 Project Sustainability 11 Evaluation Budget 12 Timeline 13 References 14

3 3 March 29, 2010 Ms. Margaret Law, Executive Director The Margaret Law Foundation 42 Main Street, Edmonton, AB T4J OH1 RE: Innovative Programming and Literacy Services for Immigrants: Bridging the Information Gap to Build a Stronger Alberta. The Edmonton Public Library Experience Dear Ms. Law, The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) has dedicated its efforts to building informed communities since 1913, and we are still working on it. As the trend of immigration continues to grow with immigrants presently constituting around 20% of the overall population in Edmonton, their information seeking behavior and information needs become a central issue for the information professionals in this city. Barriers such as language limitations and cultural differences make it harder for this community to easily access and obtain the necessary information and resources to succeed. The objective of our project is to provide a series of pragmatic workshops and classes to address some of the urgent information needs of immigrants, and to introduce to them EPL as the most useful and convenient information source for residents in Edmonton. This will benefit the province by creating a strong and informed society that embodies inclusiveness and equality. EPL has conducted several computer literacy and ESL workshops in the last few years, and has brought many immigrants into the library, and some of them becoming frequent and regular clientele. As a result, we have been motivated to enlarge the project size and include more people into our program, to make EPL the information center of choice and to allow our immigrant community to become a more involved and better informed populace. Our proposal, therefore, requests $10,000 in funding to cover the costs of workshop instructors, personnel, guest speakers, promotional materials, workshop development, and in the creation and maintenance of a website and blog. We appreciate the Margaret Law's Foundation taking an interest in improving the access and availability of information for disadvantaged user groups such as the immigrant community in Edmonton. We look forward to partnering with you to launch our series of pragmatic workshops to meet the information needs of Edmonton immigrants that will enable them to successfully transition into Canadian society. Sincerely, Anneliese Dalmoro, Fang Liu, and Gillian Connors, Community Librarians Stanley A. Milner Branch 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square Edmonton, AB T5J 2V4

4 4 Executive summary: Project Title: Innovative Programming and Literacy Services for Immigrants: Bridging the Information Gap to Build a Stronger Alberta. The Edmonton Public Library Experience Edmonton Public Library Purpose of Grant: The Edmonton Public Library is seeking a grant to expand the current ESL and employment series workshops and to add new programs on community involvement, citizenship and computer and information literacy for the adult immigrant population. The goal is to facilitate the immigrants transition to a new environment, by helping them find information sources and enabling them to improve language skills, create social networks, and pursue careers. Through this project, individuals will develop the ability to locate and use information in an efficient and effective way and constitute a better informed society and a prosperous province. The $10,000 funding is requested for staff training as well as expanding and designing programs. Purpose Statement: Goal: Consistent with EPL's mission "to connect the people of Edmonton to the knowledge and cultures of the world," the goal of this project is to provide Edmonton adult immigrants access to information with inclusiveness and equality, meeting their information needs and improving their quality of life. We will accomplish this goal by offering skill based workshops that will provide them with tools to effectively adjust to and succeed in this new environment. Through each of our workshops we aim to fulfill and meet EPL's values. Our workshops on citizenship and community involvement will address the library's values of teamwork, cooperation, respect and recognition, while our workshop on computer and information literacy will address our values of innovation, learning and education. The language acquisition workshop upholds our value of open communication and our job placement workshop directly provides immigrants with skills to create and sustain a new life in Canada.

5 5 Objectives: Objective 1: What will Disseminate information about the project How will it Webpage and blog on the EPL website; posters, brochures and announcements at EPL branches; presentations at immigration organizations (partners). Who will do it? Community librarians and EPL supporting staff For how many? The immigrant community in Edmonton consists of approximately 189, 775 people. With what outcome or benefit? Target group will be notified about information sources & workshops available at EPL. Objective 2: What will Expand the current English as a second Language program How will it Create new language courses addressed to immigrants from diverse cultural backgrounds; hold conversation groups; develop a Book Club program in which participants are encouraged to share their experiences and perceptions about books they have read. Who will do it? For how many? Certified ESL instructors contracted for this purpose; in partnership with other organizations. All participants enrolled in the workshop. With what outcome or benefit? Improve immigrants English language communication skills; enable them to locate information sources that help them deal with daily language challenges.

6 6 Objective 3: What will Computer and information literacy workshops How will it Expand existing computer courses; combining computer skills with access to information sources. Who will do it? For how many? External instructors All participants enrolled in the workshop. With what outcome or benefit? Enable immigrants to become confident in the use of computers and to exploit the internet for information on housing, employment and social activities. Objective 4: What will Citizenship and community involvement workshops How will it In partnership Community with other librarians and immigrant volunteers or organizations guest speakers and by recruiting, guest speakers as instructors. Oversee and asses effect of workshop Who will do it? For how many? All participants enrolled in the workshop. With what outcome or benefit? Enhance social connections and involvement; assist them in accomplishing smooth transitions to the new environment. Objective 5: What will Expand Employment Series Workshops for Immigrants How will it Resume review, cover letter writing, job searching skills, and career placement will be some of the topics covered Who will do it? For how many? External instructors All participants enrolled in the workshop. With what outcome or benefit? Enable immigrants to effectively search and find a job.

7 7 Objective 6: What will Partnership with two other immigrant organizations How will it Who will do it? Enhance visibility Community by pursuing librarians and mutually partner staffing. beneficial partnerships with other immigrants targeted organizations; establish collaborative agreements with service providers. For how many? All immigrant groups With what outcome or benefit? Improve immigrant s quality of life by providing a great variety of learning and involvement options. Objective 7: What will Continue project after term of grant funding. How will it Using evaluation results and dissemination activities; holding informational meetings with stakeholders. Who will do it? For how many? Project coordinators Approach all stakeholders for appropriate support. With what outcome or benefit? Enhanced activities and workshops continue after term of grant with possibility to expand to children and young adult immigrant groups. The major outcome will be perceived in the increase of an informed populace, which will have positive impacts in Edmonton and in Alberta by creating and maintaining strong social connections within the communities, improving the chance to enlarge the work force and thus, enhancing the province economy as a whole.

8 8 Organizational Overview: History: The Edmonton Public Library started in 1913 and is now the second most visited place in Edmonton. In 2006, more than 11 million visits were made to the Edmonton Public Library, more than 9.5 million items were borrowed and almost 150,000 people attended one of the 4,700 programs offered. Currently, EPL has 16 facilities with a 17th branch slated to open in northeast Edmonton by The Edmonton Public Library is known for its innovation. It was the first library in North America to operate out of a street car; the first public library in Canada to use a computerized circulation system; the first public library to convert its catalogue to CD; one of first to provide online access to the catalogue; the first large urban library in Canada to implement self-check radio frequency identification technology in all its branches; and the first Alberta library to hire an Aboriginal Services librarian. EPL has a strong commitment to literacy and to improve people's lives in Edmonton. With several community partnerships, the Edmonton Public Library seeks to serve a diverse population and provide up-to-date training for its staff. Mission: The Edmonton Public Library connects the people of Edmonton to the knowledge and cultures of the world. Values: The Edmonton Public Library supports the Canadian Library Association s statements on intellectual freedom, both for traditional collections and for electronic media. The primary value of the Edmonton Public Library is to provide quality public service to the people of Edmonton. High value is placed on open communication, teamwork and cooperation, respect and recognition, education and learning, and innovation, within a quality working environment which results in excellent customer service. Community served: It currently serves a population of more than 782,439 through 17 physical branches and the EPL website. Impact in the Community: Overall, Edmontonians give high ratings to the importance of the Edmonton Public Library to life in Edmonton. A recent survey of the public revealed that Edmontonians rated the public library as either important or very important in the following categories: 97 per cent: Quality of life in Edmonton, 96 per cent: Helping citizens be informed, 98 per cent: Helping adults and children improve their literacy and reading skills, 98 per cent: Supporting life-long learning.

9 9 Library Programs: Programs consistently reflect the literacy, reading, learning, and self-education support roles of the Library. The Library has a greater capacity to tailor services, collections and programs to meet community needs, including those of low-income families and individuals, persons with disabilities, the Aboriginal community, and immigrant and visible minority populations. Programs are specially designed to meet the diversity of its community and they are continuously refreshed, revitalized and evaluated. The Community Development approach to library services involves community consultation to determine specific needs, followed by the development of library services or programs to meet those needs. 1 Target Audience: The target population for our EPL branch covers a large community with people ranging from places all over the globe. According to information gathered from Statistics Canada 189, 775 people out of the total 1,100, 600, people living in Edmonton (these numbers are gathered from 2006 census data and has slightly increased in 2010), were born outside of Canada. Of this population 68,315 people were born in Europe, and 83, 850 were born in Asia and the Middle East. Our target audience is focused on these adult immigrants as well as those from other cultural backgrounds, with programs geared toward the adult population. 1 All information within this Organization Overview is from the EPL website.

10 10 Statement of Need: According to Statistics Canada, of all the people immigrating to Canada, Edmonton has the 6th largest share of newcomers arriving and settling in. Not surprising because the city of Edmonton has a multicultural community that welcomes many cultural groups. For immigrants, the transition into a new environment can come with many challenges which make adjusting difficult. New immigrants are constantly challenged with several types of barriers that can affect their lives in terms of accessing information in a new country. These barriers in accessing information have a strong impact in how new immigrants cope with issues that make their experience successful or not. Some of the barriers immigrants face when moving to new country include limited language skills; unfamiliarity with the culture and customs of their new environment; and lack of social connection. Language has been shown to be one of the main barriers for immigrants, contributing to social isolation and emotional loneliness. Having access to programs carefully designed to help them improve the language is crucial in giving new immigrants the confidence they need to start a new life in Canada. Another difficulty in accessing information is the lack of involvement in social activities. It is important to promote group activities in order to enable these people to start social networking, since one of the primary means of accessing information is through involvement in the local community. At the same time, it is also a way to avoid loneliness and ease the home-sick feelings that new immigrants usually experience. The Edmonton Public Library already has programs designed for the immigrant community such as the Employment Workshop Series. However, a larger audience would be able to benefit from this workshop if it were expanded so it could be offered at more branches including the central branch. In addition, some English language learning programs are successfully offered such as the English Conversation Group. External research reveals that enhancing these types of programs and offering more opportunities to engage in social events is one of the keys to improve the access and use of information in an effective way. To improve and expand our current workshops and increase our target audience the Edmonton Public Library will establish partnerships with other organizations with a similar dedication to offering support and services for immigrants in Edmonton including the Edmonton Immigrant Services Association (EISA) and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN).

11 11 Project Description: This is a project designed to help new immigrants smoothly transition and integrate into Canadian society by providing them with the skills to enable them to effectively adjust and succeed in this new environment. This will be accomplished through expanding our current workshop on job placement and English language acquisition and by developing new workshops on citizenship, community involvement, and computer and information literacy. Project Promotion: We will promote and advertise our project, Innovative Programming and Literacy for Immigrants through the following ways: - The creation of a webpage and a blog on the EPL website to inform Edmonton immigrants about our new programs and workshops at EPL and to provide them with opportunities to connect with their peers and local Canadians - The distribution of posters, brochures and announcements within the EPL branches - Presentations offered by community librarians and EPL staff at immigration organizations such as Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN), and Edmonton Immigrant Services Association (EISA), and cultural centers throughout the city Project Sustainability: To sustain this project between workshops sessions we will create a website and a blog that are regularly updated with information on resources for new immigrants such as cultural organizations and events, volunteer and other community involvement opportunities, and job opportunities. The blog will provide a way for new immigrants to stay in touch with each other outside of the workshops. To further promote our workshops and sustain our project we will host special events for immigrants where guest speakers will present on their experience integrating into Canadian culture including job placement, housing, community involvement, citizenship, etc. We will also host dinners to help foster partnerships between local Canadian residents who are willing to engage in English conversation groups and recent immigrants to Edmonton. Evaluation: Evaluation is a necessary and valuable resource in our program development because it identifies which project activities are not producing the expected results allowing us to make the necessary changes and adjustments to bring these activities back on course. Regular evaluation will also provide us with information concerning the amount of public awareness of information sources available, the public knowledge of job and

12 12 community involvement related issues, the levels of English language skills, as well as the effectiveness of each of the workshops as perceived by the staff and attendees. Evaluations will be performed at the end of each workshop in which both the attendees and library staff will each be given a separate survey to fill out to assess the effectiveness and overall success of the program. The results of both surveys will then be tallied, and summarized into a program evaluation report that will be sent to the Margaret Law Foundation and the library stakeholders at the end of each quarter. Budget: The following chart covers the general budget for the project, Innovative Programming and Literacy Services for Immigrants including the costs for staffing, supplies, capital purchases and other major expenditures: Operating costs Amount in dollars ($) Supplies: Advertising Posters and materials brochures Translations Workshop materials Paper, pens, handouts, folders, photocopying expenses Food supplies for workshop and 2, guest speaker sessions Staffing: Workshop leaders (for 12 workshops) 1, Web designer (Include creating and maintaining) Consultants & professional fees: Guest speakers (Include honorarium for all the 12 guest speakers, hotel and travel fee for 2 guest speakers from outside Edmonton) 3, Software for data analysis: Total expenses: 10,000.00

13 13 Timeline: This chart below is a tentative timeline of all our key activities in the development and launch of our workshops. The timelines for subsequent years will be determined following the completion and evaluation of our pilot year. Activities: May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Convene meeting with library administrators 3-8 Recruit volunteers and technicians 9-15 Contact immigrant associations and decide on 9- details of cooperation 31 Contact possible workshop leaders and guest 9- speakers 31 Create a web page and a blog on EPL website 1-8 Maintain and update the web page and blog Design and prepare promoting brochures, 1-8 posters, etc. Start promoting 1-30 Start workshops and classes Conduct surveys Collect data and write report 1-8

14 14 References Edmonton Public Library. Corporate Profile. (Accessed March 22, 2010). Edmonton Public Library. The Edmonton Public Library: Serving Edmontonions from (Accessed from March 25, 2010). Statistics Canada. Immigrant population by place of birth, by census metropolitan area (2006 Census) Census of Population. (Accessed March 22, 2010) Statistics Canada. Population by immigrant status and period of immigration, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations - 20% sample data. recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-557/t403- eng.cfm?lang=e&t=403&gh=6&gf=48&g5=0&sc=1&s=0&o=a (Accessed March 26, 2010). Statistics Canada. Population of census metropolitan areas (2006 census boundaries). (Accessed March 28, 2010). Sources Consulted Anderson, Cynthia Write grants, get money. Columbus, Ohio: Linworth Books. Browning, Beverly Perfect phrases for writing grant proposals: Hundreds of ready-to-use phrases to present your organization, explain your cause, and get the funding you need. New York: McGraw Hill. Gerding, Stephanie K. and Pamela H. MacKellar Grants for libraries: a how-todo-it manual for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Hall, Mary and Susan Howlett Getting funded: The complete guide to writing grant proposals. 4 th ed. Portland, OR: Portland State University Extended Studies Continuing Education Press. Kurzweil Education Systems Sample Grant Proposal. (Accessed March 22, 2010). New, Cheryl C. and James A. Quick How to write a grant proposal. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.