What's New at PA Forward®

Worms at Work: Hands on Vermicomposting Workshop by the Eastern Monroe Public Library Named 2025 PA Forward® Adult Programming Best Program

Picture: Rob Lesher, PA Forward® Program Manager, Kit , Kit Kuchinski, Eastern Monroe Public Library, and Jennifer Luksa, 2025-2026 PA […]

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PA Forward® Announces the 2025 Adult Literacy Programming Awards

Autumn Karns, Benson Memorial Library,  Rick Miller, Osterhaut Memorial Library, Karla Trout, 2025 PaLA President, Mary Jordan, Hazleton Public Library, […]

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PA Forward® Materials Appear on updated Pennsylvania Library Association Website

https://www.palibraries.org/pa-forward/

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Auditor General DeFoor visits the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to promote Financial Literacy

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor today highlighted Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s efforts to provide financial literacy education […]

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Civic and Social Literacy

How is civic and social literacy defined?

Engaging in discourse while remaining respectful of other individuals of varying opinions; understanding the importance of community engagement which allows individuals to interact with one another, in a participatory manner; invoking societal change.

Good readers make good citizens. Regular readers are more than twice as likely as non-readers to volunteer or do charity work.

Good readers make good citizens. Regular readers are more than twice as likely as non-readers to volunteer or do charity work.

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Greater civic knowledge is the leading factor in promoting the kind of active civic engagement that has proven to be emblematic of effective citizenship..

Only a quarter of Americans can name all three branches of government; nearly a third of Americans cannot name any of the three branches of government.

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Survey after survey shows that recent college graduates are alarmingly ignorant of America’s history and heritage. They cannot identify the term lengths of members of Congress, the substance of the First Amendment, or the origin of the separation of powers.

39% of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

39% of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

By the Numbers

  • Only 47% of high school seniors have mastered a minimum level of U.S. history and civics.
  • Only 23% of students performed at or above the proficient level on the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress civic assessment.
  • In the 2016 presidential election, high school graduates voted at almost twice the level (47%) than those who did not finish high school (24%). Participation continued to increase with the level of education.
  • Over 1/3 of 18- to 29-year-olds named social media as the most helpful source of information about the 2016 election. Less than half of 18- to 29-year-olds voted in the 2016 election.