Book Deserts :: Breaking Down Barriers To Reading East Of The Anacostia via WAMU

Breaking Down Barriers To Reading East Of The Anacostia

WAMU: 12.06.2018 by Sasha-Ann Simons

Unite For Literacy Book Desert Map

When Derrick Young and his wife Ramunda opened MahoganyBooks on Good Hope Road Southeast last year, it was the first bookstore to open in the neighborhood in decades.

“In this community, it’s been 20-plus years since a bookstore has been here,” Young says.

The bookstore, which focuses on African American literature, is one of several attempts to increase reading and literacy east of the Anacostia River.

A 2016 study published in New York University’s Urban Education Journal labels these neighborhoods as book deserts: areas where printed books and other reading material are hard to obtain, and particularly where there is limited access to transportation.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 21 percent of adults in the nation’s capital struggle with illiteracy. Residents of Wards 5, 7 and 8 have among the highest functioning illiteracy rates in the District. These adults struggle to do things like read to their children or fill out job applications.

The Role Of Libraries

Richard Reyes-Gavilan, the executive director of the D.C. Public Library system (DCPL) says that accessibility isn’t the only issue. While circulation totals for both physical and digital books in DCPL have increased to their highest level overall, participation remains poor among both adults and children in Wards 7 and 8.

“How do you go from access to being a lover of reading? That’s what the library tries to figure out every single day,” says Reyes-Gavilan.

DCPL has started some new initiatives to help foster a love of reading from early childhood.

Two years ago, DCPL launched its Books From Birth program, which mails all enrolled kids in D.C. a free book every month until they turn five. Children receive books that are appropriate for their age. There are no income restrictions to qualify for the program.  LISTEN 04:15

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Athens-Clarke Co GA :: Denver CO :: Kenosha WI :: Tulare Co CA

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

Athens Clarke Library

Athens Regional Library Association Funds Culinary and ESL Classes with Grant

Red And Black: 12.05.2018 by Anika Chaturvedi

Entering a library usually offers the smell of old books, but on Nov. 5, the aroma of basil wafted into the air upon entering one room of the Athens-Clarke County Library.

This delicious smell was courtesy of the American Dream Literacy Initiative Grant awarded to the Athens Regional Library Association earlier this year.

Although the six-week culinary and English as a Second Language program has ended, it’s just the beginning of the journey.

“This the first series that we’re doing, and it is something we are planning to roll out to our other library branches in some format in the future,” Eades said.

The six-week program, which ran from Monday, Oct. 22 through Monday, Nov. 19, had the goals of improving participants’ English skills and providing affordable recipes.

The $10,000 grant from the American Library Association and Dollar General Literacy Foundation funded a mobile cart and other cooking equipment.

“It’s cooking skills but it’s also  [English as a Second Language],” said Rhiannon Eades, the public information officer of the Athens Regional Library System. “We’re using a curriculum called the Edible Alphabet program developed by the Free Library in Philadelphia.”  READ MORE >>

@denverlibrary

Denver Public Libraries Are Helping Immigrants Become Citizens

A unique program in the Mile High City seeks to integrate the city's growing immigrant and refugee population into its 75 neighborhoods—and the country as a whole.

PS Magazine: 12.06.2018 by Jennifer Oldhamdec

On a recent wintry night outside west Denver's Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales Branch Library, green-card holder Ricardo Flores proved that he knows more about how the United States government works than many people who were born here.

Flores, who emigrated from Mexico six years ago, studied for weeks for a 100-question civics test that will accompany his December 5th interview to become a naturalized American citizen. At the library, he aced a mock exam conducted by English instructor Joanne Kuemmerlin.

"How many amendments does the Constitution have?" Kuemmerlin asked. Flores answered: "27." And, she queried: "If both the president and the vice president can no longer serve, who becomes president?" His response: "The speaker of the House."

"I want to become a citizen so I can qualify for more jobs," said Flores, a 33-year-old heavy-equipment operator who also practiced reading and writing sentences in English with Kuemmerlin.

Held in a facility ringed by multi-colored aluminum bands, which symbolize the neighborhood's diversity, the practice session was part of a unique Denver Public Library program that seeks to integrate the city's growing immigrant and refugee population into its 75 neighborhoods—and the country as a whole.

About 16 percent of the Mile High City's 700,000 or so residents hail from outside the U.S., and speak more than 140 languages or dialects. This is the target audience for the library's Plaza program, offered at 10 of the library's 26 branches. The 12-year-old initiative offers free citizenship, English, and art classes—as well as child care, homework help, and job search and legal resources—to largely Latino and Asian populations on the city's north and west sides and African and Middle Eastern communities to the south and east. Forty-four hours of programming in 15 languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Kurdish, are offered weekly, on alternating days, at participating facilities.

═════════►

From Los Angeles to Houston to New York City, librarians are looking to Denver's Plaza program for inspiration as they seek to provide a safe, non-political space to help immigrants and refugees figure out how best to integrate into the U.S.  READ MORE >>

@KenoshaLiteracy

Literacy Students Express Themselves At Event

Kenosha News: 12.08.2018 by Christine A Verstraete

Adult learners celebrated their reading progress and shared their written personal stories with the release Saturday of the 17th annual Kenosha Literacy Council Student Anthology.

The celebratory event, held at the Woman’s Club of Kenosha, featured guests, family and friends cheering on the students who read their written stories aloud.

This year’s anthology, centering on the themes “Happiness,” “Traditions and Celebrations” and “Beauty All Around,” features stories and essays from 57 authors representing 16 countries.

“This year we had the most participation we’ve ever had,” said KLC Executive Director Cheryl Hernandez. “That makes it kind of fun and exciting this year.”

For the students and the dozens of volunteers who help them, the event and the publication are even more exciting.

Take 60-year-old Nigerian student Bernardine Nwogu, who came to the United States a year ago. She enrolled in the literacy class not long after her arrival — her first time ever attending school in her life.

“My mother learned me,” she said. “She didn’t write in (her) language. My story, I wanted to write it. When I came here, I was very scared. Now, I’m happy.”

It is this kind of determination that makes adult learners like Nwogu and others such a joy to teach, volunteers said.  READ MORE >>

@TulareCountyLib

London Library Marks Two Years of Literacy

Hanford Sentinel: 12.12.2018 by Laura Brown

For Robert Isquierdo, Jr., another dream came true on Dec. 8. It was the second anniversary of the opening of the small Tulare County Library Branch in London he helped come to fruition.

“This is my dream to come read to you,” he told the children, parents and special visitors to the one-room library in the heart of the rural community.

It took years of fundraising and coordinating with the property owners, volunteers, local politicians, community members and the county’s library system to make the facility a reality. Documentaries have been made, interviews were written and the grand opening finally took place October 2016. During all that hubbub, Isquierdo, who happens to be an English teacher at Hanford’s Sierra Pacific High School, never got a chance to do one of the things that he does best: read.

For the second anniversary celebration, a documentary filmed by Johnny Soto for The Big Tell Film Contest was shown, Tulare County librarian Darla Wegener spoke about other plans for the small town and Isquierdo finally had a chance to read a favorite book with library-goers that day.

As he read “What I Do Best” by Allia Zobel Nolan, Isquierdo said he hopes the children take the message of the book to heart and make something positive happen in their own lives.  READ MORE >>

National Literacy & Library Events :: January 2019

National Literacy & Library Events :: January 2019

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

Events-National & International Events

Events-International: Language Magazine

Braille Literacy Month

Jan. 05      Hawaii International Conference on Education Honolulu HI

Jan. 09      Poetry at Work Day

Jan. 18      Thesaurus Day

Jan. 23      Handwriting Day

Jan. 23      National Reading Day

Jan. 24      International Day of Education UNESCO
Jan. 25      Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Jan. 27      Family Literacy Day - Canada

Jan. 27      Future of Education Technology Conference Orlando FL

Jan. 28      Literacy Week Florida!

Jan. 29      ATIA Conference & Exhibition Orlando FL

Jan. 30      Mentoring Summit Washington DC

State Library Associations :: Conferences

African American Book Events

Book Fairs by State Library of Congress

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events

College Children’s & Young Adult Literature Conferences Festivals

Everfest Book Festival Calendar

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

Storytelling Events

US Book Festivals

Literacy No Longer Means Knowing How To Read, Write: Audio Visual Era via India Today

Literacy no longer means knowing how to read, write: Audio visual era

Have you ever wondered why reading and writing is such a big deal in school?

India Today: 11.27.2018 by Syed Sultan Ahmed, MD and Chief Learner at LXL Ideas

The first thing that is taught in a school to any kid that starts schooling is to read and to write.

From that day on, for the next two decades, students go through a rigmarole revolving reading and writing -- tests, exams, assignments, and so on.

The very term 'literacy' means our ability to read and write.

Have you ever wondered why reading and writing is such a big deal in school?

One of the answers to this question lies in the fact that for almost a 1,000 years, knowledge resided in books: if one was to gain knowledge, they had to read, and if one had to propagate this knowledge, they had to write.

Up until a few years ago, the biggest difference between a literate and illiterate person was that the knowledge was accessible only those who knew how to read and write.

But the reality of the world we live in today is that more knowledge, information and news is created and shared through audio-visual (AV) mediums.

The era of audio-visual learning

■ The very definition of literacy is being questioned: you don't necessarily have to read in order to gain knowledge, and you don't need to necessarily write to share knowledge

■ In fact, not many people realize that we are presently living in a knowledge revolution

■ If reading and writing meant literacy in a world of books, ever wondered what is the new meaning of literacy in the audio-video era?

■ It is a known fact that kids don't like to read and write as much as the generations before them

■ Kids are increasingly consuming content through the AV medium and in the recent past, they have shown great appetite to create abundant AV content

READ MORE >>

Why Do So Many People Love Print on Paper? Because it’s great for learning and retention … without health issues! via Two Sides

Why Do So Many People Love Print on Paper?

Because it’s great for learning and retention … without health issues!

(3 of 3)

Two Sides: 9.27.2018

Two Sides North America has released the third of three engaging new infographics on Why do so many people love print on paper?

3 of 3

The series of infographics highlights the most impactful results from U.S. consumer surveys conducted between 2015 and 2018 by Toluna, a global polling firm, and Two Sides North America.

The new infographic focuses on the fact that the majority of Americans agree that print on paper is preferred for learning and retention, especially when it comes to complicated materials. “We were also surprised by the strong response of the 18 to 24 year old group – 69% of which said it was important to “switch off” and enjoy printed books and magazines, and 62% being concerned about the health effects of increased screen time,” says Phil Riebel, President Two Sides North America.

The infographic is designed to bust key myths about the switch from paper to digital. The key facts below are highlighted:

☛ 88% believe they understand, retain or use information better when they read print.

☛ 80% have a clear preference for reading complicated materials in print in contrast to 13% for computer screens and 3% for smartphones.

☛ 68% believe that books are more likely to encourage learning and the development of other skills than using screens.

☛ 67% think it’s important to “switch off” and enjoy printed books and magazines, including 69% of 18-24 year olds.

☛ 62% of 18-24 year olds are concerned the overuse of electronic devices could be damaging to their health.

Why Do So Many People Love Print on Paper? Because it’s safe, secure, sustainable … and trusted! (1 of 3)

Why Do So Many People Love Print on Paper? Because it’s enjoyable, relaxing … and practical! (2 of 3)  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Jacksonville NC :: Tuscaloosa AL :: Jackson Hole WY

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

Literacy Council Board Recognized For “Selfless Giving”

Onslow Literacy

Council

JD News: 12.05.2018 by Carolyn Alford

None of the Onslow Literacy Council board members want to be recognized for the volunteer work they do to provide free, confidential literacy training for adults in the county.

“That is exactly why they should be recognized, the selfless giving,” said president Nivedita Mittal, who nominated the board members as Lightkeepers through United Way’s Golden Rule awards and Lightkeepers program that “recognizes and celebrates unsung heroes of Onslow’s caring community.”

Board members Curtis Hildt, Donna Poulsen, Dennis Aschbrenner, Sally Goodman, Joan Pawloski, Bob Turlington, Howard Funk, Robert Roupe, Lisa Davis, Carolyn Alford, and Dandi Alexander have done much more than board member duties this year with a new director and now no director. They have kept the organization stable, filled in for everything, plugged all the holes, managed the office, updated the website and computerized records, conducted volunteer orientation, tutor training and some even tutor to keep the organization on mission, Mittal said. Board members have also gone above and beyond establishing governance, fundraising and finance committees and updating the bylaws. Board members have served on the committees with other community volunteers, sometimes more than one. They have partnered with other businesses and nonprofits to collect books for Onslow County schools after Hurricane Florence, organized fundraisers and the annual meeting, sold tickets and hams.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Council

of West Alabama

Service Group Turns Newsstands Into Libraries

Crimson White: 12.03.2018 by Desi Gillespie

On the rainy morning of Alabama’s SEC Championship game Saturday, Honors Action, a program within the UA Honors College, organized a service project behind Nott Hall. As part of the Honors College Assembly, the association is one of several groups that focuses on community service.

The Literacy Council of West Alabama partnered with the Honors College to paint old newsstands donated by The Tuscaloosa News. These new “take one, leave one” book stands became part of the effort to encourage reading from a young age.

“We originally did two [book stands] as a partnership with First Friends, and then the Literacy Council for West Alabama suddenly wanted two more, so we’re giving it a go,” said Ben Rogers, a junior majoring in chemistry and student director of civic engagement for the Honors College Assembly. “Any time that you can encourage children to read and to get into the great habit of reading, that’s a good effort.”

The Literacy Council of West Alabama estimates one in four Alabamians is functionally illiterate, which means they lack the basic skills for reading, writing and mathematics. The organization also cites the U.S. Department of Education in saying 60 percent of American children are reading below the level of proficiency.  READ MORE >>

Jackson Hole’s

Language Exchange

Speaking Their Language

Exchange offers English- and Spanish-speakers a chance to talk.

JH News & Guide: 12.05.2018 by Allie Gross

McKenzie McBride sets the timer and places her phone on the table: It’s time for 30 minutes of Spanish.

“What do you do for Christmas?” the California native asks her Mexican language partner, Neyvi Loaeza, in Spanish, sitting beside her in a library study room.

“Normally we get together with my family — my uncles and aunts, cousins, and make Mexican food,” Loaeza says in Spanish. “Sometimes tamales, sometimes pozole, something like that.”

McBride and Loaeza will chat casually like this until the timer dings to indicate it’s time to switch to 30 minutes of speaking in English.

It’s their third or fourth time meeting as part of Jackson Hole’s Language Exchange program, which pairs English- and Spanish-speaking partners for a chance to practice their non-native language.

“I think both of us are pretty shy, especially in the language that we’re learning,” said McBride, 24, who works at Teton Literacy Center. “So this is an opportunity where it’s a safe space that we can both practice and be comfortable.”

The program began in 2012 at Central Wyoming College, but Teton County Library and the Teton Literacy Center signed on in 2015.  READ MORE >>

Adult Education Programs Can Offer Hope For A Better Life :: Now They Face Budget Cuts via News Observer

Adult Education Programs Can Offer Hope For A Better Life.

National Skills Coalition

Now They Face Budget Cuts

News Observer: 12.10.2018 by Danielle Chemtob

Faye Alston reached into her mailbox at Kingswood Apartments in Chapel Hill and pulled out an envelope.

It contained the last piece of what she’d been working toward for seven years — her GED math test results.

She opened the letter, looked at her score and burst into tears. It was a 400. She needed a 410 to pass.

Alston, now 58, had taken the test 13 times, and her resolve was wearing down.

“I would just wait for the paper and just pray,” she said.

Every time, she was within reach of a passing score, but just missed the mark. She’d passed every other subject on the first try.

“After a while, I would get so aggravated with math that I would just have to leave it alone for a while and just do the next subject,” Alston said.

After receiving her score, she confessed during her regular tutoring session at Orange Literacy Center that she wasn’t sure she could continue.

“I am so tired of this 400,” she told her tutor, Patrick. “I just don’t think that I can do it anymore.”

But he told her not to give up. She had one more shot: Less than three months later, she could take the test again, and if she didn’t pass, she’d have to start her GED over again.

According to nonprofit ProLiteracy America, 36 million adults cannot write, read or do math above a third-grade level.

Literacy centers across North Carolina help adults such as Alston improve their skills in reading, writing, mathematics and other subjects. They offer courses in basic adult education, GED, English for Speakers of Other Languages, citizenship and family literacy.

But adult literacy programs, which already struggle to find funding, are at even more risk after the federal government issued new guidance on how states should administer funds for adult education. In North Carolina, the changes left five community colleges and six nonprofit organizations, including the Durham Literacy Center, without federal funding.  READ MORE >>

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Hancock Co OH :: DuPage Co IL :: Houston Co AL :: Mesa Co CO

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.     

Literacy Coalition

Hancock County

Literacy Coalition of Hancock County Teaches Parents Interactive Reading Skills

Hometown Stations: 44.29.2018

A Hancock County organization is helping parents make the most of story time with their young children.

The Literacy Coalition of Hancock County has put out a series of short videos aimed at teaching parents ways to make reading a more interactive and educational experience for children. The videos tackle topics ranging from behavior to asking questions and reading between the words.

They say any exposure to reading is good but often can be more meaningful for their young minds.  Parent Partner Videos

@LiteracyDuPage

Literacy DuPage Video

NCTV 17: 11.30.2018

Since 1972, Literacy DuPage volunteers have been teaching basic—but life-changing—communication skills to adults who want to learn English.

Tutors sit side-by-side with adults who cannot understand, speak, read, or write English. These volunteers are given the materials, techniques, and confidence they need to help adults bust through language barriers and experience a whole new world of communication and connection—in DuPage County.

Each tutor is matched with an adult who wants to learn English. Learner and tutor decide on a convenient meeting time and place—often at the local library.

From there, the instruction is entirely customized. The learner chooses specific goals—understand street signs, decipher prescription labels, read mail, tell bedtime stories,apply fora job—and the tutor offers practical instruction in response. This highly personalized approach gets results, builds relationships, and strengthens communities.

More than 100,000 DuPage County residents need help improving their English skills. Every year, Literacy DuPage serves more than 500 adult learners in more than 30 communities throughout DuPage County but the waiting list includes 300 more people who hope to be matched with a tutor.  WATCH 09:12

@DHCLibrary

Library Provides Inmates With Books, Opportunities To Improve

Dothan Eagle: 11.24.2018 by Peggy Ussery

Popular books are easily identified at the Houston County Jail’s library. Paper spines are worn and sometimes reinforced with a label removed from a deodorant bottle – an inmate’s attempt to protect a book with what they have on hand.

Pretty much anything by Joyce Meyer is hard to keep on the shelves for long. Self-help books are also in high demand as are religious books. And then there’s “Mary, Mary” by James Patterson. It’s pretty much always checked out.

“Our desire is that these books are going not just to help them spend their time, but as they spend their time reading, help make them better and be productive…,” said Houston County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Joey Holland.

Holland is in charge of the jail’s library – a small room near the jail’s main entrance with shelves lined with fiction and non-fiction books available for inmates to check out every two weeks.

Of the 1,400 titles in the library’s collection, there are books by John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, and Danielle Steel. There’s a little Shakespeare and some Mark Twain. Biographies are popular, especially those on Johnny Cash. And there are self-help books on parenting, relationships, and co-dependency.

Holland reached out to the Dothan-Houston County Library System for guidance. There, he found the Friends of the Library, a group of willing volunteers, some of them retired librarians more than happy to put their skills to work.  READ MORE >>

@mesacountylib

Mesa County Libraries Offer Options To Complete High School Education
Business Times: 12.04.2018

Mesa County Libraries now offer two options for Mesa County residents to complete their high school education: a GED preparation program and Career Online High School.

Enrollment is under way for a new preparation program for students who want to earn their General Education Diploma. Assessments are set for Dec. 10 and 11 for enrollment in classes starting in January. Students who complete the Career Online High School program receive a high school diploma.

“Mesa County Libraries are thrilled to offer two options for community residents who need to complete their high school education,” said James Price, head of literacy services for Mesa County Libraries. “According to census data, about 10 percent of adults in Mesa County do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent. We urge interested residents to take advantage of these programs through the library.”

Both programs are offered to local residents at no charge, although GED students are responsible for fees associated with subject tests at the end of instruction.

Mesa County Libraries offers the GED preparation program through an Adult Education and Family Literacy Act grant.  READ MORE >>