Program areas at PLS
Early literacy and reading readiness the annual pls summer reading program reaches readers and patrons of all ages across the three-county Library System. More than 33,000 children, teens and adults participated in approximately 900 total programs during the summer. Touring programs by professional artists, musicians and storytellers filled our libraries to capacity. Partners for summer reading included the Oklahoma arts council, the anne & henry zarrow foundation, the Pioneer Library System foundation, hitachi computers of america, inc., and the kirkpatrick foundation. To address the growing need for stem (science technology engineering and math) we introduced programs and circulated stem kits for tween and teen patrons focusing on everything from circuit boards to sewing machines. The award-winning growing like a read early literacy program distributed booklets to all new parents in our three county-system to promote the importance of reading to babies.
Small business, workforce development and personal finance we marketed classes, collections and training kits to support small businesses and enhanced workforce development through computer literacy classes, resume preparation and training. Volunteer tutors assisted more than 220 adults with low reading and/or poor english skills through one- on-one tutoring, literacy classes and the administration of a tanf life skills program in pottawatomie county. We implemented citizenship corners via the Oklahoma department of libraries and the u.s. immigration service in our large branch libraries to assist patrons desiring to become u.s. citizens. The fiscally fit boot camp series, in partnership with consumer credit counseling service (cccs) of central Oklahoma, continue under a second year of a two-year grant from finra investor education program.
Reading of literature we held our ninth annual pls big read program featuring a wizard of earthsea in partnership with the Oklahoma humanities council, the norman arts council, the anne & henry zarrow foundation, norman public schools, Oklahoma baptist university, the university of Oklahoma, and other local community partners. Approximately 2000 books were distributed to constituents to participate in this system-wide celebration of the reading literature. We created arts curriculum for public schools and hosted pulitzer prize-winning author michael chabon to deliver highly-anticipated keynote speeches in our two largest Library communities of shawnee and norman.