Libraries Enlist Computer For Adult-literacy Efforts

January 15, 1991|By Jon Van.

A pilot program that would use computers based in local libraries to teach literacy skills to adults was unveiled Monday at the American Library Association`s midwinter meeting in Chicago.

A dozen libraries, including one at Triton College in River Grove, will be given equipment donated by International Business Machines Corp. to help adults learn to read and write.

The equipment, which ties a computer to a laser disc, provides video, speech and music along with conventional computer-screen displays and graphics to supplement human instruction. IBM`s ``Principle of the Alphabet Literacy System,`` or PALS, has been available for a few years and is used in about 400 school-based programs, but it hasn`t been used in library programs before.

Richard Hulser, an IBM representative coordinating the PALS program in libraries, said the company hopes to learn how well the system works in aiding libraries that already have literacy programs aimed at adults.

``We`re looking for feedback,`` Hulser said. ``We may modify PALS so it can better serve library programs, based on what we learn. We recognized that illiteracy is a major problem. All businesses, including IBM, must deal with hiring employees whose reading and writing skills need upgrading.``

Hulser said IBM views the $320,000 in software and equipment donated to the 12 libraries as ``seeds`` the company hopes will spread literacy technology to libraries across the nation.

Cindy Rabe, an adult-literacy specialist with the Rochester, Minn., public schools, said using PALS has greatly expanded her ability to teach adults whose literacy skills range from none to the fifth-grade level.

``It`s difficult for one teacher to meet the needs of 16 students in a class when each is working at a different level,`` Rabe said. ``With PALS, each student can work at his own pace.``

Typically, a student follows a 20-week course, working an hour a day, to gain literacy skills at the sixth-grade level or higher, Rabe said. Some students may complete the course in 17 weeks, while others may take longer than 20 weeks, she said.

``The key is for every student to have success at each step along the way,`` said Rabe. ``These are students who met mostly failure when they were in school. In this program, you want to emphasize successes for them.``

At the completion of the course, Rabe said, she encourages students to write resumes and fill out job-application forms.

Rhea Lawson, a literacy resource librarian for Baltimore`s Enoch Pratt Free Library, said she is looking forward to installing PALS at her library because it will provide another alternative that adults may wish to use to improve literacy skills.

``We have a one-to-one tutorial program, but this technology gives people an alternative that some may be more comfortable with,`` said Lawson. ``Also, it gives people a chance to use computers. Most people we see are poor and don`t have any other opportunity to use modern technology.

``When an employer asks a person who has used PALS if he`s ever used a computer, he can say yes, and that is a plus.``
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