LINCS Help

How can LINCS help you?Navigating: How to move aroundResources: What is here

You are exploring the Literacy Information aNd Communication System (LINCS), and you have indicated that you want help. The topics listed above -- Navigation and Resources -- are the divisions of this help text. Follow either of those links for help on using LINCS.

Note: All of the demonstration links that follow below will load into a pop-up window that will move to the front of your screen. You may adjust the size of this window to fit your screen, or reduce it to keep this help page in view. If you do not see this help page after a pop-up window launches, minimize or reduce the size of the pop-up window.

The System includes five primary Web sites that are color coded to tell you where you are in the system. The National LINCS site and other pages from National LINCS are red and purple. IF you have come to a page from one of the other partners -- Eastern LINCS (teal), Southern LINCS(light blue), Midwest LINCS (orange), Western/Pacific LINCS (green), or Northwest LINCS (purple) (You may go back and forth between all of the sites by clicking on the BACK and FORWARD buttons in the pop-up window after you have visited all of the regions.)

Eastern LINCS	Southern LINCS
Midwest LINCS	Western/Pacific LINCS
Northwest LINCS

Each of the five partner sites in the LINCS Network is a valuable collection of literacy related resources in its own right. As part of the LINCS Network, however, each site points you to even more great literacy resources. You can also access Regional and State LINCS pages by visiting the map of LINCS regional partners.

Each of the LINCS entry sites include navigational elements on the right side of the banner at the top of the page. SITE MAP is an alphabetical index of the resources included in the LINCS System, or the LINCS site you are in. Clicking on the word HELP brought you here; clicking on the word HOME will lead you to the homepage of the site you are on.

The bottom line of words will say HOME if you are are already on the homepage, or will tell you where you are in the site . . . such as the News & Events or the About Literacy sections of the site.

LINCSearch

Selecting the LINCSearch icon in the upper left of each banner will take you to the LINCSearch page. Choices on this page enable you to search entire LINCS network, LINCS grant database, and America's Literacy Directory.

Top Navigation Buttons

The buttons at the top of the screen in the middle of the white text space lead you to the main products of the LINCS Network. Short descriptions follow.

The LINCS Special Collections are one-stop electronic gateways to specialized information on high-quality literacy practices and materials for use in adult education and literacy programs.

The NIFL online discussion lists give literacy stakeholders the opportunity to discuss the literacy field's critical issues.

The MY LINCS feature allows users to create a profile of their interests so they can receive email updates of what is new on LINCS that will be of interest to them.

The LINCS HOT Sites award program highlights and promotes the "best" Web-based resources in and for the adult basic education and literacy community.

America's Literacy Directory Click here to find Literacy programs near you.

There are also buttons at the bottom of each Web page that will help you navigate through LINCS. These buttons are color coded and let you choose whether to go to the National Institute for Literacy's Web site, the homepage for National LINCS, any of the four regional LINCS sites, to Contact the staff responsible for the site you are on, or to learn more about LINCS.

Each site within the LINCS Network has a navigation bar on the left side of your screen, which includes the categories of Web-based resources explained below.

The purple buttons are the categories of resources, and the links within the gray bars will take you to the content pages with the kinds of resources indicated by the name. The gray bars we have displayed below contain active links and subsequent pages will load into a pop-up window.

Literacy in the News Calendar of Events What's New Archive	The resources that we have included under this category are: Literacy in the News, the National LINCS Calendar of Events, and What's New Archive.
Facts & Statistics Policy & Legislation	The resources that we have included under this category are: Facts & Statistics and Policy & Legislation.
Teacher/Tutor Student/Learner Manager/Administrator Grants & Funding Links & Directories	The resources included here are related to Grants & Funding, or are organized according to the audience -- Student/Learner, Teacher/Tutor, or Manager/Administrator -- of users who would be most interested in the materials. Many of these are learning materials, curriculum materials, or materials about program administration. Links & Directories is a miscellaneous category that includes Web pages with phone numbers and other contact information and links to other important resources that do not fit into the other categories.
About LINCS Our Partners NIFL Questions/Comments	The resources here include About LINCS, Our Partners, a link to NIFL (National Institute for Literacy), and a page for you to contact us, Questions and Comments.

Each region also has it's own resource links. The resources included here tell about the LINCS partner that maintains the page and how to contact them. Showcase spotlights the best of the new materials available on LINCS.

More Help

Each feature in LINCS has it's own specific help area. Examples include Discussion Lists, My LINCS, and Global Search Help . Context sensitive help is also available wherever you see this sign:

How can LINCS help you?

This section, presented by Midwest LINCS, allows you to explore the features of LINCS based on your role in the literacy community.

Go to How can LINCS help you? View the entire LINCS to Literacy Tutorial.