Literacy Cannot Wait: How Libraries Have Continued to Fulfil their Mission to Promote Literacy during COVID-19

Literacy is a foundational skill. With it, doors are opened to countless other opportunities to learn and grow. Without it, people struggle to find work, to make the most of the internet, or to gain new skills. Libraries traditionally have a key role within the infrastructure of any country for promoting literacy.

From providing opportunities for pre-schoolers to maximise their exposure to language, to complementing the work of teachers in schools, to allowing adults to continue to hone their skills through access to books, and through offering a gateway to further learning for those who need it, libraries are often recognised in national literacy strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption in teaching and learning in general, including of course to literacy-promotion. Yet simply suspending work here is not an option.

Without opportunities to build these skills, people with low-literacy risk falling behind. In schools, less well-off children can see the gap between them and their more fortunate peers grow. Outside, at a time when millions more people are facing unemployment, a lack of skills will make it even more difficult to find work, or at least benefit from government programmes.

Fortunately, libraries have shown both resilience and inventiveness in finding ways to continue to support literacy throughout the populations they serve. 

https://www.ifla.org/node/93299

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