An ethnographic study of the "Literacy in the Community" project examined what ordinary people read and write in their everyday lives, how they make sense of literacy, and how it fits into the rest of their daily activities, focusing on literacy in the home. Subjects, 20 adults from Lancashire, England, between the ages of 20 and 30 years who had left school as early as possible and who left school with minimal qualifications, underwent detailed interviews concerning the part literacy plays in their lives. Additional data consisted of ethnographic case studies of individual households, observation of neighborhood uses of literacy, and the collection of recorded data on access points for literacy. Preliminary findings suggest categories of significant topics necessary for a complete view of literacy: (1) literacy practices; (2) social practices; (3) roles people take; (4) networks of support; (5) the value of literacy; (6) literacy and change; and (7) how everyday processes of learning are revealed in the home. These categories are illustrated with examples from the data gathered in the study. (RS)