On Sunday 2/22/2015 from 1pm to 4pm, I went to visit the Southeast Regional library. My goal was to find answer of this main question. What is the library doing for the community from the literate aspect?According to Jacksonville public library website, In addition to the Main Library there are 20 regional branches, and the Southeast Regional library is one of them.
When I first entered the library, I took a ten-minutes walk to discover the area and to see the components of the library. Depending on the ages of its visitors, the library had three different sections: The first section was for all ages, the second one was for teen, and the third was for children.During my observation, I noticed that there were few teens. The majority of the people were adults, and the number of the children was about 20. The total number of the people in the library was at least 80.
Regarding technology, the library had about 50 computers, and most of those computers were occupied by the people. Connecting to the Internet was available from all devices and from a free Wi-Fi, for the people who brought their own devices with them.
I tested the Wi-Fi and found the the download speed was 8.23, while the upload speed was 10.20.
Interested to find any programs at that branch that are related to literacy,
I asked the librarian to help me out. She referred me to the Southeast
Regional library page. at Jacksonville public library website, and in that page I found the programs that are related to literacy. Here are some of them:
"Event Type: Computer Class
Age(s): Adult
Age(s): Adult
Description:
One-on-one
help with ebooks, email, the Internet, online applications, and basic computer
instructions".
"Event Type: Computer Class
Age(s): Adult
Description:
Age(s): Adult
Description:
Learn the main parts of a computer and basic
Windows navigation. Start a program from the start menu or desktop and learn
the taskbar functions. Learn to re-size windows and create shortcuts".
"Event Type: Computer ClassAge(s): Adult
Description:
Participants will learn about more advanced MS Word functions such as bulleted and numbered lists, columns, tables, images".
"Event Type: Youth Program
Age(s): Early child
Description:
This
program is for children birth to 5 years with an adult caregiver. The program
includes stories, books, finger plays, nursery rhymes, and songs that promote language development, vocabulary building, and comprehension".
To my observation, I have noticed that most, if not all, tech literacy programs were for adults. On the other hand, most of the programs that were related to reading and writing literacies were targeting children. However, I have noticed also that the library plans, if not had ESL classes for adults. I did not find that on their website, but I found a poster that asks for volunteer to help with teaching ESL classes.
Regarding the information about the number of books at that branch and how many were checked out per day, the librarians could not provide with some answers. Ther told me that they do not work at this branch usually, and I should come back later on Tuesday to ask the manger.
Overall, I liked spending that afternoon at the Southeast Regional library, and I would like to visit again later to discover it more
Overall, I liked spending that afternoon at the Southeast Regional library, and I would like to visit again later to discover it more
