ALL Access: Adult Education and Digital Literacy for Workforce Development in Public Libraries

In November 2013, a collaboration between libraries and adult education, assistive technology, digital literacy, and workforce development organizations came to fruition when a 2-year, $500,000 National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services was given. From this, Adult Lifelong Learning (ALL) Access was born. ALL Access is aimed at leveraging libraries by integrating adult education and workforce services to meet the diverse needs of adult patrons. ALL Access is becoming a ubiquitous term, and services will continue to grow. The steering committee will continue to meet, share, lead, and add more members. With 48 libraries in 70 locations in Rhode Island, their small size enables interlibrary cooperation, networking, and collaboration on a statewide level. They hope to create an integrated network of learning spaces in libraries that are connected with workforce development and adult education lifelong learning services for adults.