Midland County's Library Director John Trischitti, better known as Mr. T, has put Midland on the map as one of the state's top libraries. In 2014, he won Texas Librarian of the year, and one of his passions is literacy. In March 2017, Trischitti gave a Ted Talk at Abilene Christian University about the larger implications of illiteracy. Nguyen and John discuss the correlation between illiteracy and lower income, poor health, and greater inequality.
<a href="http://www.midlandneedtoread.org/about/adult-literacy/" target="_blank" link-data="{"link":{"attributes":[],"linkText":"Midland Need to Read","target":"NEW","url":"http://www.midlandneedtoread.org/about/adult-literacy/","_id":"00000184-8027-d6f8-a1cf-b6271f900000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000184-8027-d6f8-a1cf-b6271f900001","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">Midland Need to Read</a> summarizes estimates on the literacy gap in Midland County based on reports from Texas literacy organizations:
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64,000 adults in Midland need English language assistance (Texas LEARNS) -
32,000 need basic literacy skills (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning) -
28,000 lack a high school diploma or equivalent (Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy & Midland Census)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-h-BhcV7DM&t=2s
