In June 2006, President George W. Bush created the Task Force on New Americans that included Federal agencies working together in developing a series of initiatives to strengthen immigrant integration efforts. The work of the Task Force on New Americans focuses on inter-agency projects that aim to help immigrants to learn English, embrace the common core of American civic culture and become U.S. Citizens.

The Task Force on New Americans worked with several other agencies, including the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) to design and produce a new product, The Civics and Citizenship Toolkit. The Toolkit is designed for immigrants at various stages in their journey towards American citizenship. Additional information on the Toolkit can be found at: www.citizenshiptoolkit.gov. The Task Force has set aside free copies for public libraries, who can request a copy when registering at this website.

The Toolkit will also be distributed to all depository libraries at the end of July, early August. Public libraries in the FDLP will receive a copy through the FDLP and can request an additional copy from the Task Force website if they need additional copies. In addition, the Toolkit is available for sale from the GPO Online Bookstore.

The toolkit contains a variety of educational materials designed to help permanent residents learn more about the United States and prepare for the naturalization process. It includes immigration and civics publications, handbooks, and multimedia tools. Some examples are:

• Welcome to the United States - a comprehensive guide for new permanent residents;
• The Citizen's Almanac, a collection of America's most cherished speeches, poems, anthems and documents, and
• Civics and Citizenship Multimedia Presentation, an engaging and informative film series on DVD for immigrants.