A study compared and contrasted two adult literacy programs. The first, in Monroe County, Indiana, designated as a "print-rich" environment, is called Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL); and the second, in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), designated a "print-poor" environment is called Kaugel Non-Formal Education Association (KNFEA). The two situations have several features in common: they are community-based programs, they rely upon minimally trained tutors as instructors, they have been operating continuously since their inception, they owe a debt to outside assistance, and in their contexts both are innovative. The differences between the programs, however, are more dramatic. The people of Monroe County live in a society that greatly values literacy, an environment in which everyone is surrounded by printed material, and where nonliterate people are greatly disadvantaged. The people of PNG, on the other hand, live in a society where most people have not as yet accepted literacy as a community value, where there is little stigma attached to being nonliterate, and where there are few print resources. The Monroe County program has a wealth of adult literacy education materials from which to choose; students can be taught using materials that fit their interests. The PNG program uses mostly learner-written and produced booklets for teaching students. The Monroe County program also uses learner-generated materials and finds them an effective method of instruction. What the PNG program most lacks is the print-rich environment that would encourage--even necessitate--the acquisition of literacy skills. The success of volunteer tutors in Indiana bodes well for the PNG project; training them can go a long way toward the success of their program. (The following appendixes are included in the report: (1) bibliography on the Monroe County program; (2) diagram of the space allotted to the Indiana program; (3) profiles of Indiana tutors' use of available materials; (4) letters and reports from the director of the PNG program; and (5) interview with the former director of the Monroe County Public Library about the development of the adult literacy program.) (KC)