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PA Forward and NAPL

             

Imagine a future where all Pennsylvania public, special, academic and school libraries unite in a shared vision of helping residents succeed as citizens, parents, students, employers, employees and consumers. This is the goal of The Pennsylvania Library Association’s PA Forward initiative.

PA Forward was conceived to give voice to what the library community already knows: With the right support, libraries are ideally positioned to become the community centers of information, technology and learning that will fuel educational and economic opportunity for all of our citizens.

Northampton Area Public Library participates in this initiative by offering programs and services such as Story Time, technology workshops, information literacy classes and more.  We promote the five literacies that are the backbone of PA Forward:

Basic Literacy - The ability to read, write, speak and listen with comprehension at all levels of life, career and community involvement; the functional and practical use of language in all formats. Foundational literacy education includes, but is not limited to, reading, writing, math, job application assistance, fundamental terminology and technical concepts in a field of study, learning new languages and new technologies for communication, and overall life-skill development. (more info about Basic Literacy)

Information Literacy -  The ability to express, connect with and understand communication in numerous formats; to locate, evaluate, and use effectively and ethically resources of information; to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources; to recognize when information is needed to further oneself, an objective or a project. (more info about Information Literacy)

Civic and Social Literacy -  The ability to engage in discourse while remaining respectful of other individuals of varying opinions; to understand the importance of community and engagement which allows individuals to interact with one another in a participatory manner; to invoke change in an area. (more info about Civic and Social Literacy)

Health Literacy - The ability to understand basic health information and services (including insurance and medical billing) in order to make informed decisions concerning health choices; to be able to work in partnership with medical practitioners and caregivers to provide and receive the best health care possible. (more info about Health Literacy)

Financial Literacy - The ability to make informed decisions in areas ranging from personal finance, to business management, to teaching spending and savings skills to children, to helping elders with retirement and/or estate planning. (more info about Financial Literacy)

 

Information provided by PA Forward  (www.paforward.org)