The Hi/Lo Workgroup was established to generate ideas to make our collection easier to access and more impactful for customers with literacy needs.

Meeting Date / Time: Tuesday, December 6, 2022 - 2:00pm
Meeting Location: Service Center
Attendees:
Kristine Magers (CD)
Devin McGhee (CS)
Armando Celayo (WA)
Claudia Farias-Cowling (CH)
Jessica Gonzalez (OES)
Other Members Not in Attendance: 
Emily Williams (OES) 
Ann Meeks (RE)

The group talked about what items we already have in our collection that could be useful for adults struggling with literacy or English language learners.

• Hi/Low = High Interest, Low Literacy
• Rapid Reads [1]
• BookShots [2]
• Easy English News [3]
• News For You [4] (print subscriptions start in January)
• Audiobooks and Playaways that can be bundled with print formats

Discussed how customers look for and find these materials.

• Customers go to staff for help. The catalog is not necessarily their first stop because there isn't a catch-all term for materials they're looking for.
• Not all staff know how to find these materials on shelf or in the catalog.
• Armando tries to display and shelve things in a way that will make them easier to find. Help customers help themselves. Make things more browsable.

Identified three specific audiences that this workgroup could help and talked about how we may come up with different solutions and improvements for each group.

• English-speaking adults and teens with low literacy
• English language learners
• Spanish speakers

Brainstormed potential solutions and improvements. Discussed pros and cons of each.

• Collection Services and Development
  • Add subject headings to catalog
  • Add CD or Playaway editions to hi/lo materials
  • Identify titles already in general collection that could be used by adults with low literacy
  • Create a special collection
  • Formally bundle print and audio formats
  • Add stickers to identify hi/lo materials interfiled in the collection
• Public Services
  • Informally bundle print and audio formats
  • Create displays
  • Shelve English materials near FRN
  • Educate customers on how to search for items in catalog
• Training
  • Staff training on how to search for these materials, how to promote them, etc.
  • Training for teachers and outside organizations on what materials are available and how to find/use them.
    • Targeted videos to educate on what the library offers and how to find materials (similar to teacher training for summer reading)
    • Scavenger hunts and/or sample lesson plans
• Marketing
  • Bookmarks
  • Shelf talkers
  • Flyers
• Digital
  • Create a landing page on our website
  • Create new or expand existing Tailored Skills resources
  • Ebook/Eaudio bundle in Libby

Group will work in phases, focusing on solutions and improvements we can implement relatively easily and building on previous phases. Phase one will be to create new subject headings.

Brainstormed wording for new subject headings. We want to avoid stigmatizing language and consider wording that could also appeal to people with higher literacy that just want something quick and easy to read. 

• Ultra-readable
  • Non-stigmatizing
  • Descriptive
  • Cross purpose for adults with low literacy and for those with higher literacy that want a "quick read"
• Hi/lo
  • Industry standard, familiar to professionals in literacy sphere
  • Jargon-y, not meaningful for the typical customer
  • Not necessarily stigmatizing on the surface but does point to "low literacy" when you break it out into what it stands for
• ELL or English Language Learners
  • May be subject heading we utilize in addition to subject heading we develop for hi/lo materials.
  • Could include nonfiction 400s or bilingual materials
• Language Learners

Group will continue to brainstorm ideas for subject headings and get feedback from staff. A survey will be created and sent to all staff to garner more ideas for this project in general. Final subject heading options will be included for staff to vote on as well as an open box for suggestions.

While discussing subject headings, the group talked about how hard it was to search for Spanish language materials in the catalog. “Spanish language edition” was previously used to identify materials in Spanish. Devin will investigate using it again, so there is an easier way for customers and staff to search for Spanish items in our catalog.

Action Items:

• Kristine will develop a survey and send it to the group for review.
• All participants will brainstorm wording for new subject headings and garner feedback from colleagues.
• Jessica will reach out to community partners for recommendations of materials we can add to collection or label with new subject headings.
• Jessica will also ask community partners for feedback on non-stigmatizing wording for new subject headings.
• Devin will investigate if we can begin using "Spanish language edition" again for all Spanish language materials.
• Devin will ask collection processing if adding stickers to materials is a possibility.

Next meeting scheduled for January 18th.