California Library Literacy Services to Mark 40 Years of Adult Education With Pasadena Event

California Library Literacy Services (CLLS), a program of the California State Library, will commemorate four decades of empowering adults through literacy education at a reception in Pasadena on Oct. 17. The event aims to recognize the program’s impact on thousands of Californians since its inception in 1984.

“California Library Literacy Services was developed in 1984 as the first statewide library-based adult literacy program in the United States,” said Beverly Schwartzberg, Library Programs Consultant for CLLS. “Since then, library literacy programs have grown from 27 to 106 programs in California libraries and have helped more than 300,000 adult learners and their families achieve their reading, writing, digital, math, and other important goals and aspirations.”

The celebration will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center during the California Library Association Conference. Attendees will include library staff, volunteer tutors, adult learners, and key figures from the program’s history.

Former State Librarian Gary Strong, who launched CLLS in 1984, will be present alongside early staff members Al Bennett and Carole Talan. The featured speaker is Chef Curtis Aikens, a founding host of The Food Network, who learned to read at age 26 through one of the first CLLS programs at the Marin County Library.

Aikens has since authored seven books highlighting his struggles and successes. His passion for food and cooking has earned him a place in Julia Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian. He has also become an advocate and speaker for literacy.

The reception will showcase a new film and highlight a recently released book titled “A Guide to Literacy Services in California Public Libraries: A Practice of Community.” An overview of CLLS adapted from this book will be presented.

“These programs for adults and families are successful because public libraries are trusted spaces at the heart of the community,” Schwartzberg explained.

Tickets are available for $30 through Eventbrite or at the door. The event is sponsored by ProLiteracy/New Readers Press, LearningQuest — Stanislaus Literacy Centers, and many other donors and supporters.

For more information about CLLS and the anniversary reception, interested parties can contact Cathay Reta at 626-788-7877 or cllsanniversary@gmail.com.

Additional details are available at https://www.library.ca.gov/services/to-libraries/clls/.