Non-profit Organization

history

 

"Friends of Literacy through Libraries" was formed in 1987 when budget cuts threatened a library adult literacy program. Fortunately, at that time the "Friends" convinced the County Commission of the value of the literacy program and funding was then ensured.

 

The program, which was called the "READ Campaign", trained volunteer tutors to teach illiterate adults how to read or to improve the ability of low level readers. A special set of phonics based books called the Laubach Way to Reading was also provided for tutors and students. The Laubach method is so successful with teaching adults to read, that it is used everywhere in the United States and has been translated and used in many countries all over the world.

 

A missionary named Dr. Frank Laubach developed the Each One Teach One method in the early 1930's after developing a written language for the Moro tribe in the Philippine Islands. It was based on the premise that one learned person would teach one person how to read, and when that person learned how to read, he or she would teach another person , and so on. At that time there was no money for schools, so as members of the tribe were taught, those members then had to teach each other. Dr. Laubach later formed the World Literacy Committee and visited 103 countries and worked with 314 languages.

 

In 1987 the READ Campaign for the Broward County Libraries was featured on a Cox TV Network documentary called "The Forgotten Millions". The following year it won the Trustees Award from the American Library Association. The READ Campaign was one of four programs detailed at a National Education Conference held in Washington, D.C. in 1993.

 

A few years later, the name of the READ Campaign was changed to Each One Teach One. Learning Services is the name of the program of the Broward County Library System that coordinates the Each One Teach One adult literacy program.

 

The Friends of Literacy has remained a support organization over the years, raising funds, holding conferences, banquets, in-services for the tutors, assisting and providing refreshments for tutor trainings.

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