White House bestows national medal to Waukegan library

Carmen Patlan was 7 when she emigrated from Mexico to the United States with her family. Diana Alvey was also just a child, 3, when she came to the United States from Mexico.

Upon arriving neither could speak English, which is why they both understand the hardships that non-native speakers face after settling in a new country.

"Once I started first grade, I needed to [speak English]," Alvey, of Lindenhurst said. "For the first three to four months I came home crying every day. I didn't go to the bathroom all day long at school because I didn't know how to ask [in English]. The food, the living conditions, the climate – everything was different."

Today, both women help other native Spanish speakers to learn English as a second language and navigate an otherwise unfamiliar system of programs at Waukegan Public Library.

Patlan, community engagement and outreach manager for Waukegan Public Library, and Alvey, volunteer teacher of conversational ESL, are also two of five library representativeswho met first lady Michelle Obama during a celebration May 8 in Washington D.C. to accept the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

Alvey and others agreed they will always cherish being welcomed in the White House.

"All the good qualities I imagined [Michelle Obama] had, she had times 1,000," Alvey said in one of the library's tutoring rooms the day after the awards ceremony. "It felt like she felt it was an honor to meet us. She was very gracious. I was trying not to cry. I could feel her looking at me and she said, 'Are you OK?' I said, 'I'm so proud.' And, she said, 'You have every right to be.'

"I was so overwhelmed."

The Institute of Museum and Library Services selected the Waukegan library as one of 10 recipients of this year's National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The award is the nation's highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, according to the IMLS. The National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families and communities. Later this year, StoryCorps – a national nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans – will visit Waukegan Public Library to document stories from the community.

The library's Path to Literacy and Learning – which encompasses computer, tutoring and homework help; the Early Learning Center; the Promotoras Ambassador Program; Conversational English as a Second Language; partnerships with other agencies and educational institutions, including College of Lake County; and more – has anchored the library as a hub of learning and opportunity.

Early learning

On a recent May evening in the Early Learning Center, toddlers explore the components of a farm. A large colored button emits a "Moo" at the Sound Barn station, while a play garden nearby teaches youth the names and shapes of different vegetables.

The hands-on learning center, in the children's department, shuts down for two weeks a year to reopen with a new theme.

"It's a nod to Lake County's agricultural past while looking to the future," said Elizabeth Stearns, assistant director of community services, about this year's farm theme.

But a large part of getting children into the library is getting their parents into the library, Patlan said.

"They have the children who are the future," Patlan said. "Many parents I work with have limited knowledge of what exists and how important it is for parents to be the first teacher. Many assume [learning starts at school]."

Stearns said the library helps parents understand the expectations of the school system and how their child should be prepared even before starting kindergarten.

A key initiative of the library's Path to Literacy and Learning is the Promotoras Ambassador Program, which engages parents, among others, in the community.

The program equips promotoras, or ambassadors, to engage residents and educate them as to what is available at the library. Patlan trains promotoras, who are dispersed throughout the community armed with surveys.

"The goal is to be relevant," Patlan said. "How do we know what [residents'] needs are if we don't ask them?"

She said promotoras, who are community members themselves, are able to build trust with those residents who might not otherwise feel comfortable sharing their contact information with others.

"We are an engagement team," she said. "Where do individuals congregate? We have ambassadors that go to churches, beauty shops, grocery stores, banks… flyers are [dispersed in] schools."

English as a second language

The Promotoras Ambassador Program, through finding out what community members wanted to learn and have access to, led to the creation of conversational ESL classes.

That's important, library officials say, because Waukegan has a Hispanic population that is three times higher than the state average, with 55 percent of residents speaking a language other than English at home. Twenty percent percent do not speak English and another 25 percent are not fluent. Because of language barriers, half of Waukegan's high school freshmen have fifth- or sixth-grade reading and math levels. A third drop out of school – more than double the state average.

When the conversational ESL class at the library launched last year, 255 people participated and 179 went on to take traditional ESL and GED classes.

The library's ESL classes differ from typical ESL classes because of how they are implemented, Patlan said.

Classes are based on what those learning English as a second language want to talk about.

"They might want to know vocabulary that will help them talk to their student's teacher, or their doctor," Patlan said, adding that ESL students want to learn what many native speakers might take for granted, including asking for a promotion at work, or even having the vocabulary to understand what type of benefits one receives at his or her job.

Patlan said some participants come from rural parts of Mexico, or other Latino countries where community sources, such as the library, simply don't exist.

"When they hear library, they think 'librería,' which is book store. We're saying 'This is your biblioteca.' They're not used to services that are free," Patlan said.

The library is also the first in the state to connect with the Latino Literary Center in Los Angeles, Calif., said Patlan. The partnership addresses the barrier those Spanish speakers face who are illiterate in their native language by teaching them to read in write in Spanish. Patlan said becoming literate in one's native language makes learning to read and write in a new language, such as English, much easier.

"If you don't have command of your own language, how can you learn to read and write in a second language?" she said.

Susan Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, said the library stands out because it "is modifying and adapting programs to ensure educational opportunities and literacy for all residents and community members."

Alvey said program participants know staff and volunteers want them to succeed, which inspires them to do their best.

"Students know we're invested in them and we are going to lock arms and walk that path with them," Alvey said.

Waukegan Public Library also offers literacy programming for native English speakers, as well as other programs. To learn more about Waukegan Public Library, call 847-623-2041 or visit www.waukeganpl.org. To learn more about the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service winners,visit www.imls.gov/medals.