Weymouth’s Libraries and Teen Center Partner up to Provide New Online Learning Resource

The Weymouth Public Libraries have teamed up with the Weymouth Teen Center to provide children, teens and adults with access to an online resource called the LearningExpress Library.  This innovative platform provides library patrons with no-cost materials to help them achieve an array of life goals, including career development, college preparation, GED preparation, remedial education, and U.S. citizenship.  Over 1,000 practice tests and interactive skill-building tutorials are available, along with more than 200 eBook titles.  What’s more, the LearningExpress Library can be accessed anytime, anywhere through a convenient link on the Weymouth Public Libraries website.

Free subscriptions to the LearningExpress Library were made possible by collaboration with the Weymouth Teen Center.  Having received a $50,000 grant from the Commonwealth to provide job skills training and remedial education services, the Weymouth Teen Center reached out to the Town’s libraries to become partners in a Youth Workforce Development Program.  The choice of partners was a natural one as public libraries, upholding the value of equal access, have become extensions of the nation’s education and career development systems.  In 2009 alone, more than 32 million Americans (an estimated 4.9 million of whom were between 14 and 18 years of age) used a library computer for educational activities, such as doing their homework, participating in online courses, and searching for GED and higher education programs.  Also in 2009, about 30 million Americans used a library computer to help address career and employment needs, with some 3.7 million people reporting to have found work with the help of their local library. 

As partners, the Weymouth Public Libraries and Weymouth Teen Center plan to utilize the LearningExpress Library to promote remedial education as well as college and career preparation among Weymouth youths.  Plans are underway for library staff to provide instruction for Teen Center patrons on using the online resource to help them achieve goals in school, on the job, and in life.  As these teens connect with their local library, they’re likely to retain stronger connections as adults and become lifelong library users and supporters. 

The LearningExpress Library is only the latest in a number of electronic resources offered by the Weymouth Public Libraries.  Similar services include the eBook collection known as Override and the no-cost collection of digital magazines called Zino.  By providing an increasing variety of remote-access resources, the Weymouth Public Libraries are working to tear down walls and make more materials available to users anyplace, anytime.  Beneficiaries of these services include students, job seekers, seniors, and newcomers to the country, to name just a few.