Community Learning Center, Student Advisory Council, Morning
Minutes of Meeting, Tuesday, November 19,1996
In attendance: Marie Juliette Andre, Silvana P. Batista, Madelaine Buzard, Gabriel Cadet, Paul Marseille, Rosemaire Moorehead, Douyon J. Patric, with Mina Reddy, CLC Director and with Ted Burton of Library 21
To provide access to all the people of Cambridge and to insure that we manage our resources well, Library 21 is gathering information from as many groups as possible about what the people want.
What would you like in the library?
A. Community Activity Center
- Writers lecture who live and work in Cambridge
- Discussion groups in English at Library would be a way of helping ESL improve their English speaking skills and writing skills
B. Community Information Center
- Writers, provide information about writers living in Cambridge
C. Formal Education Support Center
- Language labs for ESL
- Quiet place to study
D. Independent Learning Center
- Writers give workshops who live and work in Cambridge
- Writing courses
- Creative writing courses
- ESL classes
- Language labs
E. Popular Materials Lending Library
- Books on tape better at Central square branch
- Audio tapes better at Central square branch
- Video selection better at Central square branch
- Music tapes need more
- Learning tapes more are needed
- Books appropriate to reading level
- Brazil, books on those countries that people in Cambridge originally came from
- Haiti, books on countries people come from
- French/English dictionaries
- Bilingual books
- Newspapers from native countries
- Magazines from native countries
- Picture books for adult ESL and low level readers
- Comics for adult ESL and low level readers
- Spanish, books from English readers in
F. Preschoolers Door to Learning
- Story hours
- Reading aloud especially for bilingual children
G. Reference Library
- Trained staff sensitive to needs of ESL students
- Trained staff sensitive to needs of low level readers
H. Research Center
I. Other- important functions missing from list
- Easier to find books at Boston Public Library
- Quiet places to read and study
- Trained staff to help low level and ESL readers.
- Use of library by 1/2 of participants
- Free libraries in U.S.--thatís a great thing. Every library in U.S. is free? good
J. An Important Civic Building