Student Access to Libraries - An Update

Recently LPQ responded to the concerns of a teacher in the literacy community regarding the difficulty some literacy students have in gaining access to public libraries which do not serve the municipality in which they live.

LPQ consulted the Quebec Library Association and was advised that one very effective measure is for literacy organizations to approach libraries in their respective municipalities and make a formal request that libraries be more accessible to students, regardless of where they live.

Following our initial inquiries, the QLA has recently notified us that all librarians have been sensitized to the issue. They have decided that libraries will make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

The difficulty, they feel, in trying to establish a formal general rule across municipalities is that the QLA feels that municipalities not support such a policy.

WORD-Wide Web Theatre Tickets

With the current theatre season well underway, the Quebec Drama Federation and LPQ continue to promote our joint project.

Tickets for performances at the Centaur Theatre were awarded to students at:

• PSBGM
• Literacy Unlimited
• C.S. Sault St. Louis
• McGill Students for Literacy
• Y.W.C.A. - Words for Women
• Laurenval Volunteer Literacy Council

Tickets for performances at the Concordia Department of Theatre were awarded to:

• Concordia Students for Literacy

Theatre companies have strengthened their support this season by providing a greater number of tickets. As a result, we still have a number of pairs of tickets available for:

• February performances of A Winter's Tale at the Centaur
• March performances of After Easter and April performances of Into the Woods at Concordia.

If you would like to receive tickets for your students, please contact the LPQ office in writing and vouchers will be sent to you. Priority will be given to groups who have not yet received tickets.

Letters of thanks sent to LPQ from students who have received tickets are convincing evidence that this project is one which has had many positive outcomes.

LPQ Publicity Awareness Folders to Be Updated

Last year LPQ produced a publicity awareness folder and made it available for groups to use for special presentations such as fundraising, publicity and community awareness events.

The package, a professionally-designed folder, has a place on the flap for a card-size insert with the name of each organization. The inside cover provides information on the coalition. Inside are four individual inserts which includes a definition, facts about literacy in Quebec and the rest of Canada, and short descriptions of literacy as a social issue. One page is reserved for information about each organization.

Following the release of the Canadian IALS Report and to keep information current, LPQ will be updating the insert which provides facts and statistics about literacy.

Folders are available for purchase by organizations at a cost of $5.50 per folder. Revised versions will be available in the new year. Call or write the LPQ office for more information.

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