Indy Reads is one of the 2025 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Successful Practice Honorees.
Located in Fountain Square, Indy Reads is a community-centered nonprofit and bookstore dedicated to adult English literacy in Central Indiana. The Literacy Awards Program, which was established by the Library of Congress in 2013, recognizes organizations across the U.S. and abroad — like Indy Reads — who provide “exemplary, innovative, sustainable and replicable strategies to promote literacy and reading,” according to a press release.
“We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition by the Library of Congress for our innovative approach to expanding literacy access, education, and program sustainability for adults and children through our community bookstore,” Ruba Marshood, Indy Reads’ chief executive officer, said in a statement.
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The community bookstore has been a crucial part of Indy Reads’ program model since it first opened in 2012, Marshood said. People of all ages, backgrounds and levels of the English-literacy spectrum are welcome to learn with and from one another at Indy Reads.
“As a revenue stream, community space, and informal instructional space, our bookstore reflects that literacy rests on community and that community builds literacy,” Marshood said in a statement. “Our adult learners and their families are an integral part of our bookstore experience, leading events and sharing their stories and expertise while connecting with other community members who join us to learn and grow together. We are grateful to the Library of Congress for recognizing our work alongside the many other organizations enacting crucial literacy programs across the country that promote social wellbeing.”
In 2024, Indy Reads served approximately 500 adult students through its tuition-free community classrooms. Additionally, Indy Reads’ community bookstore saw nearly 25,000 guests of all ages and backgrounds through its 242 free community events — 14 of which were facilitated by Indy Reads’ English literacy students, according to a press release.
For more information about Indy Reads and other 2025 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Successful Practice Honorees, visit the Library of Congress Newsroom.
To learn more about Indy Reads’ upcoming programming, visit indyreads.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe has a bachelor's in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and has previously worked for Indy Maven, The Lantern, and CityScene Media Group. In her free time, Chloe enjoys live theatre, reading, baking and keeping her plants alive.
