Volume #2 Issue #5, NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 1998

Administrative Software Simplifies Record Keeping for Literacy Programs

Four years ago Stefan Podgrabinski volunteered to create a database for a literacy program in Alberta. After many hours of intensive design and programming, Stefan and the Prospects Literacy Association applied for and received a grant from the National Literacy Secretariat, in partnership with Alberta Advanced Education and Career Development, to complete the project and make the program available to all literacy programs in Alberta. Lit-Link has been in use in the province for some time now, but Stefan, with the help of Catherine Sanders and Alan Baxter, has continued to modify and add to the program until it has finally reached the stage where the second version (v.1.1) is now ready for release.

The Lit-Link Launch Pad

During its continued stages of development, Stefan and several other education and software professionals formed an organization called the OM Corporation, with the intention of making its information, software and services available free or at minimal cost to eligible and interested groups, especially not-for-profit groups. All of the members are professionals who consistently perform volunteer work in the community. According to Stefan, who is executive director of OM, "The collective members of a corporation must operate from a place of vision and due concern for its community and the environment." Other members of OM became involved with the software development, and LitLink has gone from its original "People" module to a comprehensive set of integrative management tools which cover everything from matching tutors with students to maintaining accounts or keeping track of books in a library.

The following is a report from Maureen Sanders Executive Director of Prospects Literacy Association. This group is Using Version 1.0 of Lit-Link.

We contracted Stefan to "finish" the database after he had worked on it for a year or more as a volunteer. We received an NLS grant to develop the People module and to make it available for all literacy programs in Alberta. Of course Stefan, being the creative person he is, ended up developing 21 inter-connecting databases which took much longer than the original plan might have. In the end I decided that we had to bring closure to the project and distribute the modules that were complete, and this happened almost a year ago. I know that he is now close to completing the rest of the modules and we look forward to getting an update. (Editor's note: this update is complete and ready for distribution.)

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