Literacy and illiteracy are cultural; the need to read, to write, and to compute comes from values placed on these functions by the cultural or social group in which one lives. They are also intergenerational. This intergenerational factor should be turned around so that parents transmit literacy to children. Illiteracy is also costly to society because of welfare and unemployment costs and low productivity of a population with low functional competence. The Adult Literacy Initiative launched by the President in 1983 calls on the Nation to support eight major initiatives in adult literacy--a national awareness campaign, the National Adult Literacy Project, governor-established adult literacy councils, assignment of Work-Study Program college students to adult tutoring, volunteer tutors, a national network of services to persons with disabilities, a Federal Employee Literacy Training Program, and private/public sector partnerships in literacy action programs. Seven major providers of adult literacy training or basic education are the state-administered adult education program, library system, voluntary sector, community-based providers, business and industry, prison system, and the military. Anyone can get involved in local school and library programs and local literacy councils, contact volunteer programs, or get data on needs and recruit tutors to meet them. (YLB)