A Columbia-based nonprofit that focuses on teaching adult literacy hopes to partner with the Lexington County Library system.

Columbia-based Turning Pages, founded in 1968, has returned to its original roots and solely focuses on teaching adults how to read. In January, the organization appointed Lisa Cole as its executive director, solidifying the position of the leader who helped the organization through COVID-19 and had served in an interim capacity since August 2022.

The partnership it is now pursuing with Lexington County would allow the group’s tutors to reserve a room at any library without a library card. Richland County’s libraries already have a similar partnership with the nonprofit. 

“We're really excited about anything that library systems can offer,” Cole said. “And the library seems really excited to be partnered with us too.”

The partnership will become official in six to eight weeks.

Kelly Poole, director of the Lexington County Public Library System, told the Chronicle that the system is dedicated to providing and promoting resources for lifelong learning.

“Almost 25% of adults in South Carolina have challenges reading, this includes navigating and understanding their financial, legal and medical information,” Poole said. “The Library staff often become interpreters for those who are having trouble finding and understanding information.”

“We are very excited to renew our partnership with Turning Pages because everyone should have the ability to read and understand matters that concern them,” she added.

According to Cole, the organization, which currently has about 50 trained tutors and about 22 active learners throughout the counties of Lexington and Richland, went through some “deep trauma” when COVID hit, adding that it almost destroyed the nonprofit. She said that after the pandemic, the board decided that a strategic plan was what they needed to revitalize the organization.

Cole said that comparing the organization to its pre-COVID era is like comparing apples and oranges, as the nonprofit has changed the programs they offer. According to Cole, the organization has turned back back to its original mission of only teaching adults to read.

She said that during the years surrounding 2010 they offered a full scope of literary services, including ESL programs, math and GED tutoring, digital literacy, computer classes and more. The director added that they cut off those services as they did not have the funding to sustain them post-COVID.

“It gave us a streamlined focus so we're not pulled in a million different directions,” Cole said.

According to Cole, the organization spent 10 years in a decline after the Great Recession hit, with its budget going from $250,000 a year to just $25,000. When the pandemic struck, the nonprofit was operating on only $6,000 per year.

The director said that the funding has begun to increase again, with last year seeing $16,000 and the number doubling to $32,000 for 2024.

Cole said the organization receives no government funding, adding that this means the nonprofit doesn’t have a source of stable funding. She said that a majority of its money comes from grants, corporate entities and individual donations.

The director said that going back to the original mission has also helped streamline marketing and advertising efforts, adding that instead of paragraphs talking about what Turning Pages does, it can use five words and people will immediately understand it.

The marketing aspect also ties into some of the challenges that the nonprofit faces, with funding and spreading their mission being the two that stand out.

Kara Cieri, board chair for the organization, said that sometimes using traditional advertising routes proves tough since the group’s target audience are adults who lack literacy skills, telling the Chronicle that in the last year it has put a big focus on advertising through radio.

Other ways Cieri said Turning Pages get learners are through word of mouth and referrals. 

Cole said a big source of referrals is through libraries. She explained that there is a lot of shame and stigma around not being able to read, saying that people won’t often reach out if they are at a lower level of literacy.

Communicating those challenges and needs to the community helps bring in people who want to be instructors or otherwise help the organization.

“I fully believe that if you put your message out of who you are, you will attract the people that want to be part of that,” Cole said.

The work, she added, is as important as ever.

“There's still people out there who cannot read it. It's still an ongoing problem, it hasn't been solved and when people can't read it impacts generations,” Cole said. “It impacts their ability to create a better life. It impacts their ability to do little things like homework with their children, apply for job applications somewhere. It impacts their ability to if they're religious to go to church and just read their Bible, it's something that matters to them in their soul.”