Outreach Services
Project LITE (Teaching Adults To Read)
The Lorain Public Library System (LPLS) offers a Laubach adult literacy program called Project LITE or Learning Through Intensive Training and Effort. Project LITE staff members train volunteers to become tutors capable of teaching others how to read. Tutors are then matched one-on-one with students who want to learn how to read. Tutors and students devote about three hours a week to the reading program. If you would like to become a tutor or know someone who wants to learn to read, contact Project LITE at the Main Library or by email.
Adult New Readers
If you are an adult who has just learned to read, you can select from a large collection of fiction and non-fiction books that are easy to read. The books are available at the Main Library and at any LPLS Branch. Adult New Readers are written at grade one to five reading levels, and are printed in large, dark type for easier reading. You can identify an Adult New Reader by looking for the colored circle taped to the top corner of the book cover that indicates its reading level.
Services for the Visually and Physically Handicapped
Patrons who can not read print at all, or are unable to hold a book, may be eligible for "talking books," specially recorded books from the Library for the Visually and Physically Handicapped. For more information, call the Outreach Services Department at the Main Library.
Books by Mail
Books by Mail is available to residents of Lorain County who do not live in the service of another library system in Lorain County, such as Amherst, Avon Lake, Elyria, Grafton, Wellington, Oberlin or Vermilion. Those who are eligible for the service have access to magazines, books, pamphlets, pictures, maps, and audio cassettes via the U.S Postal Service. Materials are sent postage-free, in large, red zippered canvas bags. Users can request books and magazines by phone or mail, and the request normally will be filled within five days. Once you have received the materials, you have five weeks to use them before you mail them back using the pre-addressed, postage-paid card and the canvas bag.
If you would like further information about Outreach Services, contact the department at the Main Library, 351 Sixth Street in Lorain, at 244-1192 or toll free at 1-800-322-READ, ext. 444. For the hearing impaired, call 246-3323 (246-DEAF)or 1-800-538-7172.