Indy Reads Writes - Indy Reads

Indy Library Board Sets Timetable for Fountain Square Branch Transition

The Indianapolis Public Library Board of Trustees has given preliminary approval to the closing of the Fountain Square Branch in May 2020, as part of the Library’s long-range plan announced in 2015 to relocate services to the new West Perry Branch, scheduled to open in mid-2021. The recommendation by the Library’s Facilities Committee on February […]

Meet Dawt: IndyGo’s Student of the Month!

Many of our students realize that reading, speaking and understanding English is important to many facets of their lives. For them, coming to Indy Reads to build their language skills is about changing their lives in ways that help their children grow and their families thrive. This month’s IndyGo Student of the Month, Dawt Sung, […]

Meet our IndyGo Student of the Month – Cleon!

Students in our Community Classrooms come from a variety of backgrounds and bring their own experiences and perspectives with them. These perspectives contribute to the diverse community environment that make our classrooms unique. This month’s IndyGo Student of the Month, Cleon Bell, brings happiness and optimism to class every week. Cleon grew up in Jamaica, […]

Meet Candace: Building a Brighter Future with Literacy!

Cyclical poverty is a burden far too many of our students have had to endure. All too often, circumstances far, far beyond our students’ control leave them without the education they need to pursue the opportunities — college, a reliable job, access to healthcare — many of us enjoy. This month’s IndyGo Student of the […]

Cooking with Confidence

One of my ongoing goals is to increase my cooking skills and eventually become a great cook. Learning how to cook is a great way to improve and maintain your health, save money, and try new dishes to challenge your taste buds and expand your palate. In college, I figured that I had to learn […]

Our IndyGo Student of the Month, Michael Cook, found his “safe haven” at Indy Reads

In our classrooms, students learn much more than the fundamentals of reading. Michael Cook, this month’s IndyGo Student of the Month, is learning how to find himself after years of dealing with drugs and addiction. He says, “It was like walking in the unknown and never finding your way out. Indy Reads is my way […]

A Taste of El Salvador

Do you know where the highest concentration of Salvadoran immigrants live in Indianapolis? If you guessed the Crooked Creek neighborhood near Michigan Road, you’re correct! I learned the answer last week at a free Lunch and Learn presentation on the country of El Salvador at the Michigan Road Library branch. The event series is a […]

My Healthy Mid-Life Crisis: How learning something new saved my sanity

When I heard the stomping, clapping, yelling, whistle-blowing, rattle-shaking crowd of hundreds, I felt as if I were going to regurgitate my heart as it attempted to thump its way up my throat with the determined futility of a toad trying to jump out of a well. My bowels were like ice and my salivary […]

Meet January’s IndyGo Student of the Month – Michelle!

For many of our students, choosing to come to Indy Reads is about much more than just learning how to read. Our students are often looking to find a better or more permanent job, increase their ability to read their own mail and pay their bills, or gain the skills to take their driver’s license […]

Silence Your Inner Critic: Write a book in 30 days

Writing the first draft of a novel is like playing with finger paints: messy, colorful and fun. Painting with our instinct, creating images of whatever we fancy without worrying what the grown-ups will say, allows us to find our voice, get to know our characters, and allow the story to unfold. While the Inner Critic […]

Meet November’s IndyGo Student of the Month: Halima

Halima came to Indy Reads after spending years and years moving from place to place. At the age of 13, she fled her home country of Algeria thanks to an arranged marriage. She was taken to France and promised an education and a brighter future, but was immediately put to work instead. Over the following […]

What is Thanksgiving, Anyway?

In my mid twenties, I attended graduate school overseas. The hardest part about being an international student was not being home for the holidays. As summer turned to autumn, I started thinking about all that I’d be missing: the rowdy family parties, the hours of reading by the fireplace at my parents’ house, and the […]

Meet October’s IndyGo Student of the Month – Bethny!

Bethny came to Indy Reads after having fled oppression and a lack of opportunities in her native Burma. Her father came to America first, and worked hard to bring Bethny and her five brothers and sisters afterward. Together, the family has struggled through learning cultural differences and being “outsiders” in the United States. Bethny made […]

Xantolo: A Harvest Celebration

Yesterday, I shared my experience attending the Día de Los Muertos event at the Eiteljorg. Today I’m sharing our conversation with Indy Reads student, Fortino Martinez, who told us about how he celebrates the holiday. Fortino is from the city of Ciudad Valles in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The city is in […]

Día de Los Muertos at the Eiteljorg

Many of us may be familiar with the sugar skulls and flower-crowned skeletons that pop up in stores around Halloween for Día de Los Muertos, but know little about the holiday itself. Last weekend, I attended the Día de Los Muertos event presented by Nopal Cultural at the Eiteljorg Museum. At the event I learned […]

More Than a Diagnosis: Discussing National Dyslexia Awareness Month

Have you ever imagined what life would be like if you couldn’t read? Everyday tasks can become seemingly impossible hurdles to overcome. Imagine trying to fill out a job application or form at a doctor’s office while struggling to read the questions on the page. What would you do? Reading difficulties can impact a wide […]

Breaking Through Writer’s Block: Reasons to Sign Up for NaNoWriMo™ Next Month

As I sat in my lit professor’s tiny office, bookshelves crammed with leather-bound, dusty books, her desk piled with essays to be marked with red ink, I waited with bated breath as she paused to respond to my brilliant idea for an independent study. I planned to write a novel. We sat looking at each […]

Meet September’s IndyGo Student of the Month: Christina!

Indianapolis native Christina attended Pike High School’s special education program. The program served many students with a wide range of special needs and taught necessary life skills such as grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and basic arithmetic. However, there were simply not enough resources to meet each student’s individual needs and literacy skills were not the […]

Volunteer Spotlight: Kathy Sunday

October 1-5 is National Tutoring Week, where education organizations across the country recognize those who help teach learners of all ages. Indy Reads classrooms are built around the support of volunteer tutors, and one of the ways we’ll be celebrating our volunteers this week with a series of volunteer spotlights. To learn more about volunteering at […]