New Americans

The Central Valley is home to a diverse population of adults and their children from countries and cultures outside the United States. To assist these New Americans with understanding and accessing community resources that can help them adjust to U.S. culture and achieve permanent citizenship, the Fresno County Public Library offers many free services and programs. New Americans are invited to contact their local branch library for further information and assistance or call (559) 600-READ (7323).

 

    • Services to New Americans

      Library Card Get a FREE library card! Discover the amazing resources and services for you. Regardless of your immigration status, you can sign up for a library card at any Library location. Use your card at any San Joaquin Valley Library System library. Current photo ID required to apply for a card. (Ex: Driver License, AB60 Driver License, Passport, and Consular ID card)
      AB60
      Online resources to study and apply for an AB60 (or standard) California Driver's License. Practice Driving Tests Free California (CA) DMV Practice Tests - Updated for 2021 (driving-tests.org)
      World Languages
      World Languages Collections Check out library materials in many languages: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Resources include books, magazines, music CDs, DVDs, and online resources.

      Branch libraries with large collections of different languages:
      • Spanish: Mendota, Central, Sanger, Parlier, Orange Cove, Sunnyside and Betty Rodriguez.
      • Chinese: Japanese and Korean: Woodward Park, Central, Sunnyside and Clovis
      • Persian: Woodward Park, Central and Clovis
      • Punjabi: Kerman, San Joaquin and Caruthers
      • Russian: Woodward Park
      • Vietnamese: Central, Woodward Park and Clovis
      Citizenship
      Citizens can vote. You can register to vote online here. Available in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Please check out our Citizenship Corners for a paper voter registration application. Learn more about Voter Registration for Fresno County.
      Aprendo Van
      The Mobile Literacy is based on the West Side of Fresno County and serves community sites such as Head Start, Home Base Head Start, Migrant Head Start, Day Care facilities in Mendota, Tranquillity, San Joaquin, Five Points, Halfway, Oro Loma, and Cantua Creek. AprendoVan staff are bilingual in English and Spanish. The goal of the AprendoVan is to assist parents and caregivers in preparing children (from before birth to age 5) for school entry and success.
      Literacy
      Literacy Services provide free reading, writing, spelling, and math tutoring to Fresno County adults who cannot read or write English. Trained volunteer tutors provide one-on-one, learner-centered assistants. Families of enrolled adults are eligible for Families for Literacy, which provides free books to children age 5 and younger. Conversation Circles are offered at branches to provide additional opportunities for Learners to practice their conversational skills.
      card
      Newspaper Source Plus has selected full text from a collection of over 1,000 regional, national, and international newspapers; also includes full text television & radio news transcripts.
      Databases Online Resources Links to useful resources like, Bookflix JobNow, Kanopy, Learning Express, LinkedIn Learning, Mango Languages, Overdrive eBooks & eAudiobooks & eMagazines, Pronunciator, Recursos en Español and more!
      Financial Literacy Financial Literacy Links to useful resources for you to learn how to manage your money, how to pay your bills, how to borrow and save money responsibly, how to avoid scams, how to invest and plan for retirement, and more!
      Adult Schools Adult Schools in Fresno County provide ESL and Citizenship class, including Adult Basic Education, Career Technical Education, GED, and High School.
      Fresno Adult School
      Caruthers Adult School
      Central Adult School
      Clovis Adult Education
      Firebaugh Adult School
      Sanger Adult School
      Selma Adult School
      Washington Unified Adult School
      The State Center Adult Education Consortium



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