National Literacy & Library Events :: May 2016

National Literacy & Library Events: May 2016

SCLLN

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

- Local, California and National -

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the Southern California Library Literacy Network

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Get Caught Reading Month

May 01+ Choose Privacy Week

May 02+ Children's Book Week "A great nation is a reading nation"

May 02+ National Library Legislative Day Washington DC

May 02+ Virtual Library Legislative Day #VLLD16

May 02+ Teacher Appreciation Week

May 03   Teacher Day

May 04+ Health Literacy Conference Anaheim CA

May 06   Urban Librarians Conference Brooklyn Public Library

May 09+ Reading Is Fun Week - RIF

May 10+ Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium CALICO Michigan State

May 10   Autism Sensory Friendly Films CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR 7p

May 10   ClearMark Awards National Press Club Washington DC 5:30p

May 11+ BookExpo America NY NY

May 14   Autism Sensory Friendly Films CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR 10a

May 18  International Museum Day

May 20+ UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival Univ North Alabama

May 21   Readathon Day #Readathon2016

May 24   Autism Sensory Friendly Films NEIGHBORS 2 7p

May 28   Autism Sensory Friendly Films ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 10a

State Library Associations :: Conferences
African American Book Events

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

US Book Festivals

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events
Storytelling Events

Literacy – Spanning North America: Santa Clara CA :: Evergreen CO :: Maple Ridge BC :: Corpus Christi TX :: Detroit MI

Santa Clara’s Librarians and “Inspirational Women” Share What Inspires Them

Santa Clara Weekly: 3.23.2016 - 3.29.2016 By Cynthia Cheng

Sometimes those who inspire others may find their own inspiration in the very people that they help. Just ask Karen Masada, student-tutor coordinator of Santa Clara City Library's Read Santa Clara, an adult literacy program. Masada remembers feeling touched seeing one learner work on her wedding vows and another learner write her mother's obituary during their tutoring sessions. According to Shanti Bhaskaran, literary program supervisor, 114 volunteers gave over 4,100 hours of volunteering to assist in Read Santa Clara last year. Masada and Bhaskaran, nominated by library board trustee member Betsy Megas, were two of 25 women recognized by Assemblymember Kansen Chu as Inspirational Women during a March 10 ceremony at the Berryessa Community Center in San Jose.

"I was proud to sponsor this event as an opportunity to recognize the many contributions which so many women make each day to improve our state and the 25th district," says Chu.  READ MORE @

Evergreen job seekers find help from literacy programs

Two area nonprofits focus on training that gets more clients to work

Denver Post: 3.24.2016 by Josie Klemaier

A growing literacy program in the Evergreen area is about much more than just reading.

"There's such a huge stigma surrounding literacy, and of course it's when we're talking about jobs and housing that literacy is such an issue up here," said Jennie Page, the jobs program director at Evergreen Christian Outreach, or Echo.

Echo recently formed a partnership with Mountain Reads, a local nonprofit effort started two years ago by the Evergreen Rotary to help adults in the community improve their reading and reading comprehension skills. Mountain Reads volunteers tutor their clients in reading comprehension, math skills and studying to earn their GED.

Both nonprofits were seeing that their clients' struggles finding employment were linked to computer literacy, since many applications are done online and include a literacy component.

"Most of our adult learners, they want that computer experience first because they missed that piece in their education," said Diane Lange, a Mountain Reads board member.   READ MORE @

@MRPMLiteracy

For the sake of adult learning

Maple Ridge News: 3.24.2016 by Michael Hall

Rose Puszka noticed right away when her daughter was learning to read that she struggled some remembering the words and sounds.

Her son, who was talkative, had picked up reading more quickly, but her daughter was more quiet and would require some help, some more time and strategies, such as visuals – cues to tell her what was happening in the story.

It is a story Puszka is familiar with.

Visuals are one of the strategies employed by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows-Katzie Community Literacy Committee, for which Puszka is the new adult literacy coordinator.

Literacy has been her passion for years.

She moved from Leicestershire, England nine years ago. Her work there centered on literacy and family learning, as well.

She was support and education coordinator with the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C. before joining the adult literacy committee in Maple Ridge.  READ MORE @

Literacy program gets boost to continue services

Corpus Christi Caller Times: 3.26.2016 by Beatriz Alvarado

Maria Ines Moran didn't attend school until she was 32. She's made up for lost time.

It's been 11 years since she moved to the U.S. from Nicaragua and five years since she decided to pursue a GED. Moran, now 38, can proudly read and write English and knows how to multiply and divide.

The Corpus Christi ISD Adult Learning Center, where she completed three levels of English as a second language classes and is working toward earning a GED, has helped her gain independence.

"Todas tenemos hambre de mejorarnos (We are all hungry to better ourselves,)" she said of her peers at the center.

Moran is one of about 500 students who have enrolled in GED, ESL and literacy classes this year at the center. The Del Mar College Family Literacy Program is free for anyone 17 and older seeking a GED, wanting to learn English or seeking certification offered to GED and ESL students.  READ MORE @ 

@ReadingWorks

James Samuel reads his love letter to his wife

Katie Couric: 3.25.2016

Meet 56-year-old James Samuel. He's learning to read thanks to Reading Works and their literacy partners. And the one of the first things he wrote was a love letter to his wife.  #CitiesRising yhoo.it/1S9ybxf    VIDEO

Virtual Library Legislative Day Allows Library Advocates to Contact Congress from Home

Virtual Library Legislative Day allows library advocates to contact Congress from home

United for Libraries

Virtual Library Legislative Day is part of the American Library Association’s (ALA) National Library Legislative Day, held each spring in Washington, D.C.

This year, National Library Legislative Day will be May 2-3, 2016

Virtual Library Legislative Day activities will be held throughout the week of May 2-3, 2016, and will be an opportunity for all library advocates to make their voices heard on a national level.

Library advocates who cannot make it to Capitol Hill for the event can be a part of the effort by calling and/or emailing their elected officials on May 3, or any time the week of May 2-6.

United for Libraries, the ALA Washington Office, ALA's Chapter Relations Office, and the ALA Office for Library Advocacy lead Virtual Library Legislative Day.

Virtual Library Legislative Day Resources

·   Visit ALA's Legislative Action Center

·   View a video tutorial on advocating for libraries online

·   RSVP to Virtual Library Legislative Day on Facebook

·   Talking Points from the ALA Washington Office

National Library Legislative Day began in 1976. In 2003, Friends of Libraries U.S.A. began a virtual component to engage Friends of the Library groups, library advocates and supporters around the country who could not travel to Washington, D.C. for the main event. Now in its 13th consecutive year, the virtual campaign continues to support the efforts of those who attend this important day in Washington, D.C. and meet with their elected officials in person.

The White House Conference on Library and Information Services Taskforce (WHCLIST) and the ALA Washington Office are calling for nominations for the WHCLIST Award. Each year, the award is granted to a non-librarian participant in National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). The winner receives a stipend of $300 and two free nights at the NLLD hotel.

New Statesman Literacy Week 2016

New Statesman Literacy Week 2016

News Statesman: 4.18.2016 by Stephanie Boland

Welcome to the New Statesman's literacy week, discussing literature and literacy from policy to practice.

The word "literacy" means different things in different contexts. For many people, the first things that come to mind are books and reading, especially in childhood. But literacy can also mean financial or political literacy – having the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate money or your place in society.

For the New Statesman's 2016 Literacy Week, we're exploring the question of literacy from a variety of angles. We'll be looking at what it means to grow up with books, and conversely what it means when you can't read. We'll feature pieces from authors and young writers discussing the reading material which matters to them. And we'll be asking what can be done on a policy level to improve literacy, in schools and elsewhere.

Enjoy the pieces so far below!

The trials and triumphs of learning to read in a second language, by Anoosh Chakelian and Yo Zushi
Two New Statesman staffers recount how they learned to read Armenian and English, respectively.

Why we need to improve education in prisons, for the benefit of everyone
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of The Howard League, on literacy for offenders.

How a sugar company taught be to read
Stephen Bush on dyslexia and the outreach programme that made him the person he is today.

Class and literacy, from Enid Blyton to Hoggart
Stephanie Boland on growing up in libraries.

READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US: South Texas :: Kingsport TN :: Wayne Co PA :: Forsyth Co GA :: Hartford CT

South Texas Literacy Coalition announces Librarian’s Award Opportunity

The Monitor: 3.20.2016

The South Texas Literacy Coalition is actively seeking nominations for its 2016 Literacy Excellence for Librarians Award. The award is designed to recognize local librarians who go above and beyond the call of duty to promote literacy and literacy events in their libraries. Winners are selected from three librarian categories: public, school, and academic.

In the past winners have hosted on-line reading clubs, created a wonderful reading environment in the library where students come to relax in bean bag chairs to read during their lunch period, provided students with information on college access, hosted literacy fairs and family reading nights, invited celebrity readers to their library, used creative technology to inform students of current best-sellers at the students’ reading level and used technology to help students learn about research and the literacy skills needed at the college/university level.  READ MORE @

Literacy Council of Kingsport celebrating 30th anniversary

Times News: 3.20.2016 by Katherine Scoggins

It is a small, almost hidden, office on Commerce Street in Downtown Kingsport, located in a row of small storefronts and offices, down the street from the old Sobel’s. Even if you drive slowly, you might still miss it, but no worries, there’s a small sign near the door that reads “The Literacy Council of Kingsport.”

But make no mistake about it, because even though it looks small and unassuming, great and powerful things go on behind this door. Its mission is both bold and commanding: “To provide tutoring for adults and qualified children to improve their reading and writing skills and to be an advocate for literacy within the Greater Kingsport community.” Their vision “to improve lives and a stronger community through the power of literacy” tells simply what it is that they do in this small office five days a week.

Since 1986, when the Council was organized, the mission has been fairly consistent over the years, though the methods of carrying out that mission have changed dramatically. Yes, tutors still teach individuals to read, but now the focus is primarily on adults of all ages. Adults? “Yes,” says Megan Miller, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Kingsport (LCK) “because in America, 36 million adults over the age of 16 cannot read above a third-grade reading level. In Tennessee, 12 percent of adults over age 16 lack basic prose literacy levels. In Sullivan County, approximately 15,400 adults over age 16 have less than adequate literacy skills.” (Sources: 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 1992 National Adult Literacy Study.)  READ MORE @

School Board hears of video project

News Eagle: 3.21.2106 by Peter Becker, Managing Editor

Two students and their teacher were lauded by the Wallenpaupack School Board, March 14th, for a video they made to promote the work of the Wayne Pike Adult Literacy Program.

Colleen Edwards, the School District Career Coordinator, operates the Job Shadowing program which has provided many experiences for high school students. One of these is a Service Learning project, which resulted in the collaborative production of a two-minute video.

David Jackman, Video/Photography teacher, guided the process. Edwards had asked for students to become involved in the project. The Wayne Pike Adult Literacy Program, a non-profit organization, was looking for assistance in creating a short video to document its tutors and students.

Brynn Wierbowski, a sophomore, volunteered, and was aided by fellow student, Zach Kiesendahl. They worked closely with Laurie A. Guzda, who is a board member on the Adult Literacy Program. The video, which was shown to the School Board, features Guzda speaking passionately about the work that the organization does, its importance and a little background to show how it came to be.  READ MORE @

@LiteracyForsyth

New collection at Forsyth libraries to target adults learning to read

Forsyth News: 3.23.2016 by Kayla Robins

Libraries in Forsyth County soon will have books available for checkout that target adults who are learning to read.

The adult emerging readers collection was made possible by a $2,500 donation to the Forsyth County Public Library from Literacy Forsyth, according to Anna Lyle, director of the four-branch library system.

The donation, which was unanimously approved during Monday’s library board meeting, initially calls for 166 items with catalog tags specifying the collection.

Of the total $1,500 was made in memory of the late Kathy Jolly, a longtime community activist who helped start Literacy Forsyth, which is a nonprofit that promotes adult education and language classes for adults learning English.  READ MORE @

@LitVolHartford 

Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford: Helping people read and more

FOX 61: 3.23.2016

Right here in Hartford, 73 percent of adults are reading at or below a sixth grade reading level.  That’s about 92,000 people.  Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford is hoping to help those who can’t read, write or even speak English.  VIDEO

Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2015 :: ALA

Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2015

American Library Association: April 2016

Top ten frequently challenged books of 2015 has been released as part of the 2016 State of America's Library Report.

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is typically observed during the last week of September of each year. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event!

BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2016: September 25-October 1.

The top ten most frequently challenged books of 2015 are:

1.Looking for Alaska, by John Green

 Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

2.Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James

 Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).

3.I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

 Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.

4.Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin

 Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).

5.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

 Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).

6.The Holy Bible

 Reasons: Religious viewpoint.

7.Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel

 Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).

8.Habibi, by Craig Thompson

 Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

9.Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter

 Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.

10.Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan

 Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”).