Friday, September 27, 2013

Banned Book Week: Timeline from Pen America

Manuscripts Don't Burn: a Timeline of Literary Censorship, Destruction, and Liberation
Pen America: 9.20.2013 by Dan Sheehan

To celebrate Banned Books week, PEN has compiled a timeline of the most notorious acts of censorship and how we've fought to keep books available for readers. Mouse over the timeline to move backwards and forwards and drag the slider tool below the timeline to advance more quickly.
 
Best viewed with the latest version of Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer (Safari not recommended).  READ MORE !

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

2013 Library of Congress Literacy Awards :: Reach Out & Read :: 826 National :: PlanetRead

First Winners of Library of Congress Literacy Awards Announced
News from the Library of Congress: 9.22.2013

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has chosen the winners of the 2013 Library of Congress Literacy Awards, a new program originated and sponsored by philanthropist David M. Rubenstein.

David M. Rubenstein Prize ($150,000):
Reach Out and Read, Boston, Mass.

Reach Out and Read encourages early-childhood literacy by capitalizing on the relationship between parents and their children’s pediatricians. By integrating basic literacy awareness into regular office visits, children are exposed to books and reading at the earliest age, well before they start school. Free books are distributed during the visit as well. Reach Out and Read achieves sustainability because it has integrated literacy education into a widely practiced experience (the well-baby visit).
Today, 12,000 medical providers serve 4 million annually in 5,000 clinics in all 50 states.

The American Prize ($50,000):
826 National, San Francisco, Calif.

826 National uses unique storefront offices in eight cities nationwide as bases for addressing community problems of both literacy and aliteracy. One-on-one tutoring for at-risk K-12 students is offered along with a range of free core programs, including storytelling, bookmaking, in-school writing workshops and publishing projects. 826 has offices in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor/Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C., serving more than 31,000 students and publishing more than 1,000 student books annually.

The International Prize ($50,000):
PlanetRead, Mumbai, India

PlanetRead in India is an innovative program that reinforces literacy skills, primarily through subtitles for popular musical television programming. SLS (Same Language Subtitling) was developed in India based on solid research. It is simple to implement and easy to replicate, reaching 200 million low-literacy TV viewers in India. SLS is notable as a highly motivational approach for getting low-literacy adults to read, particularly where access to books is difficult.

READ MORE !

Monday, September 23, 2013

Banned Book Week: Sep 22-28

Banned Book Week (on Twitter)
September 22-28, 2013

Office of Intellectual Freedom Top 10 List of Frequently Challenged Books in 2012:
State of America's Libraries Report 2013
Intellectual Freedom

Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   (offensive language, unsuited for age group)
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie
   (offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group)
“Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher
   (drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group)
“Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E. L. James
   (offensive language, sexually explicit)
“And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   (homosexuality, unsuited for age group)
“The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini
   (homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit)
“Looking for Alaska,” by John Green
   (offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group)
Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
(   unsuited for age group, violence)
“The Glass Castle,” by Jeannette Walls
   (offensive language, sexually explicit)
“Beloved,” by Toni Morrison
   (sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence)

Banned Books Virtual Read-Out!
For the third year in a row, readers from across the country and around the world will be able to participate virtually during Banned Books Week, Sept. 22 – 28, 2013. Participants may proclaim the importance of the freedom to read by posting videos that will be featured on a dedicated Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out YouTube channel.

Banned Book Trading Cards 2013:
by libraryasincubatorproject: Sep 22, 2013

In celebration of Banned Books Week 2013, the Library as Incubator Project presents a special weeklong series that carries on the great work that Lawrence Public Library in Kansas did last year with their Banned Book Trading Card pack. This week we are pleased to feature cards from TWO libraries’ packs: Lawrence Public Library once again, and the Chapel Hill Public Library in North Carolina.

Each day we’ll feature a gallery of the libraries’ trading cards. We encourage you to add your comments in the comment section and follow #BannedBookBattle on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on the cards and to share your stories about banned and challenged books.

Today’s featured cards are based on Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (book cover artwork by Mary Burchill) and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (book cover artwork by Clay Carmichael).

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Food Literacy Month: School Lunches

HuffPostEducation@HuffPostEdu10h

The depressing state of school lunches in America http://huff.to/1gAehJg

The Sad State Of School Lunch InThe U.S. (PHOTOS)
If you'd like to lose your appetite, take a look at this gallery of cafeteria lunches submitted by random high school students from across the country.


 
 
May 6th, 2013
This month’s Food Literacy Hero needs no introduction to more than 300 K-5 grade students in Capitol Heights Academy in Sacramento. As the school’s food services manager, Willie Williams, or Miss Willie to her students, works hard to ensure that they get nutritious lunches and snacks full of healthy fruits and vegetables.
 
December 12th, 2011
The Los Angeles Times reported that a high school in Illinois proves that with student initiative and the support of the school board, it is possible to provide lunches that are not only affordable but also made of organic and sustainable food.
 
December 12th, 2011
The Washington Post reported that the USDA proposed new standards for school lunches that included more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and less sodium. However, food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools, the salt industry, and potato growers lobbied Congress to block that legislature and instead call pizza a “vegetable.”


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Literacy Tribune Newsletter: September 2013

Literacy Tribune: September 2013
The Adult Learner Network Newsletter

UnitedLiteracy, a non-profit organization, provides resources and support to adult literacy learners in the United States. Its aim is to make literacy education accessible and worthwhile for adult learners.


Main Story: Simple Steps to Improve Your Credit Score: A good credit score has more benefits than you may think. Kristina Bergner, Simplicity Bank

A Reason to Remember: International Literacy Day

Six Years and Running: With this issue, we enter our sixth year of publishing The Literacy Tribune, a publication of United Literacy.


A History Lesson: “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.


Technology Watch: Computer Troubleshooting
By Daniel Pedroza, President & CEO of United Literacy


The Literacy Tribune is looking for adult learner writers.
Are you an adult learner ?
Do you want to write ?
Do you want to publish your writing ?


You can write about:
Your road to literacy
Your literacy organization
Literacy resources you like
You can write book reviews, poetry, short stories
You can write articles about health, finance, or technology
You can write just about anything
!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

International Literacy Day: Sep 8

Tweet Spots: International Literacy Day

Literacy Infographic 2013 - UNESCO
International Literacy Day, observed annually on September 8, focuses attention on worldwide #literacy needs | http://ow.ly/olZXS #ILD13

human rights law @humanrightslaw  5 Sep
Why is literacy a human right?
:soschildrensvillages.org.uk/about-our-char…International Literacy Day

One of our favorite pictures to celebrate #LiteracyDay :
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151697203049181&set=a.121325699180.98955.75635964180&type=1&theater … #TBT

ReadWriteThink.org   @RWTnow  5 Sep
Monday is Internationa Literacy Day.
How will you celebrate:
Find ideas and lesson plans on ReadWriteThink:http://ow.ly/ov2yJ

Tell us how you'll support local adult literacy initiatives
to commemorate International Literacy Day on Sunday, 9/8.
pic.twitter.com/pWgMUyTo1o

#InternationalLiteracyDay is this Sunday!
How has literacy impacted your life??
#literacy http://bit.ly/15J743x

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

I Love My Librarian Award: 2013

I Love My Librarian Award

Nominations for the 2013 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Awards are open through September 27.

There are more than 122,000 libraries nationwide, and librarians touch the lives of the people they serve every day. The award encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarians. How is your librarian improving the lives of the people in your school, campus or community.

Nominate a Public Librarian
Nominate a School Librarian
Nominate a College, Community College, or University Librarian

2008 Winners | 2009 Winners | 2010 Winners | 2011 Winners | 2012 Winners

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Literacy & Library Events: September 2013

National & International Literacy Events: September 2013

Sep. 6  Literacy Symposium - Univ of Arkansas
Sep. 7  LitCrawl, London UK
Sep. 8  International Literacy Day
Sep. 13  Roald Dahl Day
Sep. 14  Lit Crawl, NY NY
Sep. 15  International Dot Day
Sep. 17  Chutes & Ladders - Senators: Come Play With Us, Wash DC
Sep. 20+ New England Reading Assoc Conf - Portland ME
Sep. 21+ National Book Festival National Mall, Washington DC
Sep. 22+ BannedBook Week
Sep. 23+ National Adult Education & Family Literacy Week
Sep. 24  National Punctuation Day
Sep. 25  Curiosity Day with Curious George
Sep. 26+ Center for Health Literacy Conf - Arlington VA
Sep. 26+ Conference of the Book - Universität Regensburg, Germany


For More Literacy or Library Conferences and Events
Southern California Library Literacy Network
Calendar