Public libraries support
and promote literacy

The existence of an informed and literate population is essential to Canada's economic strength as we enter the 21st century. An illiterate and uninformed workforce cannot meet the needs of workplaces that depend on the knowledge and skills of their workers for success in the marketplace. Literacy is an essential component in Canada's economic prosperity.

• the International Adult Literacy Survey studied comparable literacy profiles across national, linguistic, and cultural boundaries. "The results demonstrated a strong plausible link between literacy and a country's economic potential" (Statistics Canada, 1996, p. 9)

• an examination of international economic figures make it clear that a country's financial and social well-being can be directly and positively correlated with the level of literacy found in its general population. Higher income countries generally have lower adult illiteracy rates. (World Development Report, 1995, Workers in an integrating world 1995, p.162)

Despite the critical need for a literate population, there is evidence that our literacy rate is troubling.

• data from 1995 reveals that 22% of Canadians 16 and over "have serious difficulty dealing with printed materials" and another 24 to 26% "can deal only with material that is simple and clearly laid out... They read, but not well" (Statistics Canada, 1996, p.2)

• some 38% of Canadians aged 16 to 69 "do not meet everyday reading demands"; a similar proportion "have not mastered the skills needed to deal with everyday numeracy operations" (Economic Council of Canada, 1992, p.8)

Low literacy skills lead to serious social and economic costs since those who cannot read cannot participate fully in Canadian society or the workforce.

• "The cost of... illiteracy to Canada's businesses is estimated to be over $1.6 billion annually. Costs include accident and safety-related matters as well as in-house costs due to lost productivity, excessive supervisory time, poor product quality, difficulties in training illiterate workers or problems related to employee morale. Costs to business outside the workplace include loss of consumption in the marketplace because people cannot understand or gain access to information about a company's products. The cost to Canadian society as a whole is estimated to be up to $10 billion or more annually." (Cultural Partnerships Branch, 1996, p. 14)

A significant rate of low-literacy is a national problem that impairs Canada's ability to be an economically and socially healthy nation.

Public libraries play an active role in national efforts to increase the literacy skills of Canadians. They do this by supporting cradle-to-the-grave literacy through library collections, materials, programs and partnering efforts.

• The majority of libraries offer preschool story-time programs, school visits and summer reading clubs, all of which foster a love of reading, as studies have demonstrated that the earlier children are exposed to reading, the better their literacy skills are in later life.

• a joint Alpha Ontario and OLA study found that 75% of libraries collect print materials for new adult readers, 82% provide space for tutoring and 77% maintain information on literacy providers. (Ontario Libraries and Community Information Branch, 1994, p. 15)

• libraries help to ensure that seniors, who may be housebound, have continued opportunities to read. An Ontario study found that all of the libraries surveyed had a home book-delivery service, all except one had deposit collections, (mostly in segregated seniors' facilities, and all had collections of large print books (Wilkinson and Allen, 1988, p. 7)

Public libraries, along with other educational organizations, provide a wealth of resources and services that advance the literacy skills of Canadians young and old.

• Cutbacks to public libraries "will lead to an increase in illiteracy which translates to a poor prognosis for Canadian culture" (Canadian Publishers' Council, 1996, p.1)

• Public libraries help to ensure Canadians form a "labour force capable of competing in a changing world... a key step to economic growth and improvement of the human condition" (Statistics Canada, 1996, p.1)