Medical Providers Partner with Libraries
By Lyn Palme, Contra Costa County ROR
In October 2003, California Reach Out and Read (CA ROR) and the California State Library teamed up to launch 14 new ROR sites with grants of $6,275 each. Funds were awarded to public libraries willing to partner with a local medical clinic wanting to implement ROR.
Suzanne Flint, Director of CA ROR, explained that the resulting grants, "have enabled interested clinics to leverage community resources to help facilitate implementation of ROR in their local communities." Community libraries are now able to reach families who need literacy services but who may not seek out literacy help or library resources on their own. For the medical community, this new connection helps medical providers direct their families to the wealth of adult and family literacy resources available at their local libraries, while also helping to relieve the clinics from some of the administrative tasks related to providing ROR. As several of the grant recipients have stated, "this new partnership truly enhances and strengthens the tremendous benefits the ROR program provides to the children of California." All involved are looking forward to the possibility of a second year of funding to continue this exciting partnership.