Redlands Adult Literacy Program

Redlands Adult Literacy Program contact information
Phone: 909.798.7565, ext. 4138
Email: literacy@akspl.org

Redlands Adult Literacy Program was founded and supported by the Friends.

The Friends Initiate the Redlands Adult Literacy Program:

In 2010, the Board President of the Friends of A.K. Smiley Public Library (Friends), Jerry Burgess, initiated a bold move: to re-establish the Redlands Adult Literacy Program through the Friends, headed by volunteer Board members. Jerry had witnessed the closure of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program in 2006 due to a lack of funding and the Friends Board was aware of how this closure had negatively impacted the Redlands community.

The newly formed Redlands Adult Literacy Program was warmly received by the community. As the program grew, the Friends formed an Adult Literacy Advisory Committee whose mission is to raise funds in support of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program and spread the word that adult literacy services result in better jobs and improved education for adult learners. Our community prospers when free adult literacy services are available at the library.

The Friends Support of Adult Literacy Continues Today:

Since 2014, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program has received vital support from the City of Redlands, California Library Literacy Services, and the Library Trustees. The Adult Literacy Coordinator has implemented many programs that support the reading and writing goals of adult learners. These efforts support the program’s mission statement:

To provide free, professional, and confidential tutoring in reading and writing to help adult learners in the Redlands community reach their literacy goals.

The Friends continue to provide annual support to the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. The Friends Board judiciously manages donations with the imbedded goal to ensure that adult literacy services are supported today and in the future.

Chef Curtis Aikens to Speak on
“The Power of Literacy”
April 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM

The community is invited to attend an adult literacy event at the Contemporary Club, on April 17, 2026.  Doors open at 5:30 PM.  Chef Curtis Aikens, author of five cookbooks and star of the Food Network, will share his personal story about how literacy changed his life when he learned to read at age 26.  This FREE literacy event is open to the community and is sponsored by the Redlands Adult Literacy Program and Friends of A. K. Smiley Public Library.

Aikens speaks openly about his experience and the importance of literacy.  He has said, “I tell folks, ‘If you can read, you can succeed.'”  Come to hear Chef Aikens journey from illiteracy to having a career in the TV industry, writing cookbooks, raising a beautiful family, and earning a Master’s degree in education.  This event promises to be an eye-opening experience for everyone!

My Reading Journey by Raul Becerra

“In the short period of time, a year and a half, that I have been coming to the Adult Literacy Program at The Smiley Library in Redlands. I have improved a lot. I have read about 20 books… I like to read biographies, true stories that encourage me to work harder. And now when I go out to eat, I can read the menu. I read books to my young granddaughters…”