Welcome to Second Start,
the Oakland Public Library’s Adult Literacy program!

Second Start offers a confidential setting in which adults can get a free "second start" at learning. Since 1984, Second Start has been successfully matching volunteer tutors and adult students. In that time, we have provided services to over 5,000 adults, helping them with the basic skills they need to improve the quality of their lives.

"I think the Second Start program is extraordinary. We’re finding more and more that if people grow up without the ability to read, their choices and their opportunities are so limited."  — Nancy Nadel, Oakland City Council member