INDIANAPOLIS, September 8, 2025 – Indy Reads, a nonprofit focused on adult English literacy in central Indiana, is thrilled to announce that the organization has been named a 2025 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Successful Practice Honoree. The Literacy Awards Program, established by the Library of Congress in 2013, recognizes organizations in the United States and abroad that provide exemplary, innovative, sustainable, and replicable strategies to promote literacy and reading.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition by the Library of Congress for our innovative approach to expanding literacy access, education, and program sustainability for adults and children through our community bookstore,” Ruba Marshood, Indy Reads’ chief executive officer said.
“Our community bookstore has been a special part of our program model since we opened it in 2012. Here, we welcome people of all ages, all backgrounds, and all levels of the English-literacy spectrum to learn with and from one another. As a revenue stream, community space, and informal instructional space, our bookstore reflects that literacy rests on community and that community builds literacy. Our adult learners and their families are an integral part of our bookstore experience, leading events and sharing their stories and expertise while connecting with other community members who join us to learn and grow together. We are grateful to the Library of Congress for recognizing our work alongside the many other organizations enacting crucial literacy programs across the country that promote social wellbeing.”
Last program year, Indy Reads served nearly 500 adult students in its tuition-free community classrooms. In addition, nearly 25,000 people of all ages and backgrounds visited Indy Reads’ community bookstore, where we hosted 242 free community events, 14 of which were facilitated by Indy Reads’ English literacy students.
To learn more about Indy Reads’ recent selection as a 2025 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Successful Practice Honoree as well as the award itself and the other honorees, please visit the Library of Congress Newsroom.
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About Indy Reads
Indy Reads builds literacy, English language, and job readiness skills to empower adults and their families to reach their full potential. For more than 40 years, the nonprofit organization has worked toward a vision of 100% literacy for all. High literacy levels grant access to greater developmental, educational, civic, and career opportunities. Current statistics show that 1 in 6 adults in Indiana read at or below a fifth-grade level. Through its Community Classrooms and Programming, Indy Reads advances social equity through education, helping adult learners increase their English language and literacy proficiency, prepare for their High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma, and build workforce skills to improve their employability and advancement potential. Indy Reads is proudly one of few organizations that serves adults of all literacy skill levels, including the most beginning-level and beyond.