ESL adults check out wealth of information at library

Luis Reyes of Palatine experienced something last week that most of us take for granted: He visited a library.

Reyes was one of more than 50 adults served by the Palatine Opportunity Center that took a field trip on Thursday to the Palatine Public Library.

"It's gigantic," said Reyes, through the help of an interpreter. "There is information about everything here."

Reyes and the others were all students in a non-native literacy class, or English as a Second Language for adults, offered by Harper College's Adult Education Development Department.

At the Palatine Opportunity Center, Harper provides 20 classes, but its four morning sections are taught by Harper assistant professors Jennifer Bell and Jennifer Storm. They work with adults who have had less than nine years of education in their native country.

Consequently, they teach life skills, and enough reading and writing to manage in the community. For last week's field trip, they learned about the role of the library, including how to apply for a library card, and conversational skills needed to locate or check out a book.

"Many of our students come from Mexico where they don't have a public library system as extensive as ours in the states," Bell said.

"Most come from rural towns," Storm added, "that are far from the libraries."

The group started upstairs, where they learned how to log onto computers, and saw their many features, including the "Learn to Test" program, where they could practice for the General Educational Development, or GED equivalency test.

The tour took them through the foreign language section -- that featured books for adults and children -- as well as the career center, where they can learn to print a resume and take out books to prepare for the GED.

When they walked downstairs, they discovered the children's section, complete with its play equipment and puzzles, and the adult fiction collection, including its "Easy to Read" books for adults learning to read.

Lisa Palmer, the staff member who led the tour, said that while the library operates a site at the Palatine Opportunity Center, where patrons may check out and return books, they learned on the tour that they could have items from the main library sent there, and that they also could return things there.

"I explained a lot about how they could check things out, and that they could sit and read to their children here, as long as they want," Palmer added.

Estella Gutierrez of Palatine was among the last to leave, as she lingered still trying to take it all in.

"I like everything about it," Gutierrez said. "There's so much important information here. I didn't know all that was here."

She also was thrilled to learn that there were materials to help all of her children, who range in age from a high school and middle school student, to an elementary student.

Which is just what officials had hoped would happen, that exposure to the library and its many materials, would extend to the entire family.

"Our goal is to show them all that the library has to offer," says Kathy Millin, Palatine Opportunity Center executive director. "It's a wonderful literacy moment."