Wash and Learn - Libraries Without Borders

WASH & LEARN INITIATIVE

Laundromats into Libraries

According to the Pew Research Center, over 25% of Americans adults in 2019 did not have at-home access to broadband services. For those living in households without Internet, the library is a necessity, offering free, online access. For senior citizens, the unemployed, and low-income folks, the library is a critical institution providing educational resources, employment services, refuge, books, and digital devices. Yet for many communities without resources, the barriers to accessing their local libraries are often steep and insurmountable. Many are unaware of library services and have difficulty navigating library policies; some are unable to pay library fees; others have difficulty traveling to the library; and many lack the literacy and digital skills necessary to make the best use of the library.

In response to this challenge, Libraries Without Borders US seeks to transform all 30,000+ laundromats in the United States into access points for digital learning and community development. A grassroots solution, the Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) leverages community-based organizations and resources to advance digital equity and lifelong learning while families wash, dry, and fold their laundry. WALI enables libraries to offer early childhood literacy, digital literacy programming, and information services inside laundromats.

Why the Laundromat?

Laundromats are ideal spaces to engage with busy families. Clients are often families in need of digital and educational resources, as the average user earns less than $28,000 a year. Clients return weekly to their local laundromats and wait an average of 90 minutes for their clothes to wash and dry, spending on average two and a half hours a week at the laundromat. Many laundromats are open 24/7, providing an opportunity to reach families even after the library has closed.

By meeting families at the laundromat every week, WALI makes library services accessible for low-income community members with challenging work and childcare schedules, for those unfamiliar with their local library, or for families unable to travel to the library.

LWB works in partnership with public libraries and community-based organizations to design, implement, and evaluate the Wash & Learn Initiative (WALI) in eight states and in the District of Columbia.

“I’m a mom with 3 kids and 2 jobs. I want to take a computer class at the library, but my work schedule is always changing and I can’t afford to miss a shift. This program lets me learn on my own time.”
— WALI Participant in Detroit

Literacy and Laundromats: Documented Potential

In 2018, Dr. Susan Neuman, Professor of Childhood and Literacy Education at New York University, conducted a two-phase pilot experimental study of New York laundromats equipped with the “Laundry & Literacy Kit.”

Created by the collaboration of Too Small to Fail, the LaundryCares Foundation, and Libraries Without Borders, the robust “Laundry & Literacy Kit” consists of high-quality materials designed to create playful, literacy-rich spaces for young children and families in the laundromat environment.

Findings from this evaluation demonstrate that the laundromat serves as an important incubator of early literacy development.

Children were observed engaging in 30 times more literacy activities in laundromats that include the literacy areas compared to laundromats that did not have these areas.
The librarian’s presence in the laundromat prompted children to engage in significantly more sustained literacy-related activities, compared to the control sites.
Parents were more much likely to observe their children’s literacy activities than they were to engage in them. WALI provided the parents with more opportunities to observe ideal models of interactive reading and language-rich activities; these parents were delighted with their children’s accomplishments.
Customers praised the literacy spaces and felt greater loyalty to their local laundromats. Customers even suggested such spaces demonstrated the laundromat owners’ concern and care for their community.

Read the full Impact Report: Impact Report