For years, Decoda Literacy Solutions’ physical library helped support literacy work across British Columbia. Its shelves held books, teaching materials and specialized resources that could be borrowed, shared and used in community programs.

Now, Decoda Literacy Solutions physical library has closed, and the collection is being prepared for a new home.

The shelves may be changing, but the purpose of the collection remains the same as always. The knowledge gathered there can continue to travel to new hands and serve the communities that need it the most.

We need books because literacy work does not happen through passion alone. Practitioners need reliable materials. Community organizations need resources they can adapt. Educators, tutors and volunteers need ideas that can meet learners where they are.

Decoda’s strong resource collection can help a family literacy coordinator plan an activity for parents and children. It can support an instructor working with an adult learner. It can introduce new approaches to digital, financial, workplace or family literacy. It can also remind practitioners that they are part of a wider community of people doing similar work.

But the truth of the matter is, letting go of a familiar resource can be emotional. Books carry so much of our memories. A library can remind us of colleagues, programs, learners and communities that helped shape an organization over time.

A book unleashes its power when someone opens it. A teaching resource remains valuable when a practitioner adapts it for a new group of learners. An idea can keep moving long after it leaves its original shelf.

We know this is not the closing of one chapter. It is a thank you for every learner, practitioner, program and community the collection has supported. It is also a promise that the knowledge held on those shelves will keep moving, keep serving and keep opening doors.

Why this work needs support
Support is needed so literacy practitioners, tutors and volunteers have the tools, training and resources they need. Your gift helps Decoda support the people who support learners, strengthening literacy work across B.C. Give to literacy today.