Senate Committee Boosts Funding for IMLS LSTA via District Dispatch

Senate boosts funding for IMLS, LSTA thanks to ALA grassroots

District Dispatch: 9.08.2017 by Kevin Maher

Congress delivered good news for library funding after returning from its August recess this week. Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an increase of $4 million in funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), all of which would go to the formula-based Grants to States program.

Following months of intensive Hill lobbying by ALA Washington Office staff and the emails, phone calls and visits to Congress by ALA advocates, these gains are a win for libraries. According to a key Senate staffer, ALA’s ongoing grassroots campaign to save direct library funding launched last March – and the significant increase in the number of Senators and Representatives signing “Dear Appropriator” letters this year that it produced – played a major role in the gains for IMLS and Grants to States in the Senate Committee’s bill.

The Senate Committee’s bill, approved by the Labor-HHS Subcommittee on Wednesday, would boost IMLS funding to $235 million. Grants to States would receive $160 million. The bill also includes increased funding in FY 2018 for a number of other library-related programs.

NEXT

Full Senate Approval

Reconcile with House legislation at FY2017’s level of $231 million

Avoid Trump Administration proposal to eliminate IMLS and federal library funding

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Be ready to participate in one last grassroots push this fall when your voice is most needed to maintain – and possibly increase – library funding.  READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Kanawha Co WV :: Hartford CT :: DuPage Co IL

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.

Kanawha literacy group training ESL tutors for free

WV Gazette Mail: 8.12.2017

To help with the increased demand of English as a Second Language students, the Literacy Volunteers of Kanawha County is offering training for tutors.

“We’ve been around for more than 30 years,” said Susan Leffler, vice president of the board. “We teach reading, writing and skills to teach literacy. We seem to be having an influx of immigrants reaching out to us interested in ESL.”

Leffler said the program has about 24 students, with roughly half of them ESL students, and they anticipate more will come.

Tutors in the program work one-on-one with their students. There are, however, occasional exceptions for couples or families, Leffler said.

“We try to meet the individual needs of our students,” she said. “Usually it’s one-on-one. We meet people in a public space with a private space, like the library.”  READ MORE @

Adult Literacy Program Finds New Life In Hartford Public Library

Courant Community: 8.14.2017 by Vinny Vella

The last thing Mark Purcell wanted to do was go back on his word. Not to anyone, but especially not to adults who fought to overcome stigma and self-doubt.

"Two years ago, at the YMCA, we promised people a program," Purcell, the program facilitator for Read To Succeed, said last week. "And unlike other groups in this state, when we make a promise, we're going to fulfill it."

Read To Succeed, an adult-literacy program with three decades of history, lost its home in June 2016 when it was shuttered by the Greater Hartford YMCA during its move out of the XL Center. Today, it thrives, having migrated under the fold of the Hartford Public Library.

Following the migration, the program set up shop in the downtown library branch. Construction from the incoming University of Connecticut campus displaced the program a second time after a few months.

They've found a permanent home in the library's Mark Twain branch in Asylum Hill, operating three days a week, along with the branch itself.  READ MORE @

@LiteracyDuPage 

Literacy DuPage

NCTV 17: 8.14.2017

Literacy DuPage is dedicated to equipping those adults who cannot understand, speak, read, or write English with the language skills they need. They provide volunteer tutors with the materials, techniques, and confidence they need to sit side-by-side with adults who want to learn English in DuPage County.

Tutors do not need any prior experience teaching; nor do they need to speak another language. Literacy DuPage will match tutors with an adult who wants to learn English and the learner and tutor then decide on a convenient meeting time and place – often at the local library or at a learner’s place of employment.  WATCH

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Vicksburg MI :: Atlanta GA :: St Clair Co AL

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.

Library Partners to Create Community Literacy Center

South County News: 8.04.2017 by Eric Hansen

Vicksburg District Library is working with South County Community Services (SCCS) and the Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC) to develop an Adult Literacy Center in southern Kalamazoo County.

@KzooLiteracy

Linda Adams from the Library, Danna Downing of Community Services, and Michael Evans of the Literacy Council are collaborating to create a program that provides a range of tutoring services such as assistance with reading comprehension, training with computers, and assistance with studying for the GED. The program relies on volunteers, presenting an opportunity for Vicksburg residents to give back to the community. This is exceptionally important due to the number of people in Kalamazoo County who struggle with reading comprehension issues.

Evans, executive director of the Literacy Council, has explained that “in Kalamazoo County more than 25,000 people, or 13 percent of adults, cannot read a simple story to a child, an intersection on a map, a prescription label or total purchases from an order form.”  READ MORE @

@LAIAtlanta 

Literacy Action helps low-literates learn computer skills

MDJ Online: 8.11.2017 by Bill Baldowski

There are about 800,000 low-literate adults in metro Atlanta alone, said Kate Boyer, interim executive director of Literacy Action of Atlanta.

These individuals struggle daily with math, reading and digital skills but her organization is attempting to put low literacy on the endangered list, especially in helping these individuals learn to operate successfully in the computer-dependent world.

“It is our goal to provide adult learners the opportunity to improve their literacy, numbers and digital skills in order to reach their highest potential,” Boyer said.

Although its classes are usually well attended, the one program that is drawing as much attention as Literacy Action’s successful GED program is its set of computer and digital classes.

Nicole Hooper, now a student life manager with Literacy Action, previously taught computer and digital classes when she was its digital inclusion fellow. Hooper said the program has received great comments from participants.

“This program is designed to increase the digital skills of our students and create more digital inclusion opportunities for them,” she said.  READ MORE @

I already have plenty of books

News Aegis: 8.10.2017 by Rita Aiken Moritz

August has much to offer in Pell City, but perhaps the greatest thing our fair city has to offer is the Adult Reading Program at the Pell City Library. June and July had reading programs for children and teens respectively. But August is devoted to the adults and I can’t help but get excited when I see adults reading. There are prizes for adults who read the most books, so there is some good-natured competition. But in my opinion, anyone who signs up for the contest is a winner just because they have made their world a little bigger by reading.

Literacy Council

West Alabama

However, that August Adult Reading Program also brings to mind the number of Alabamians who can’t read. The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) has estimated the illiteracy rate in the United States to be approximately 15 percent. However, according to the Literacy Council of West Alabama, that rate in Alabama is closer to 25 percent or one in four people.

@literacy_update

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Both the Pell City Library and the St. Clair County Literacy Council have programs available to help those who are unable to read. Those programs include one-on-one tutoring, group classes and ESL classes and there is no charge for those programs.  READ MORE @

Postal Service to Dedicate The Snowy Day Forever Stamps

Postal Service to Dedicate The Snowy Day Forever Stamps

USPS: 9.05.2017

First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony for The Snowy Day Forever Stamps that are based on a children’s book by Ezra Jack Keats. The event is free and open to the public. #SnowyDayStamps.

Oct. 4 @ 10:30 a.m.

Brooklyn Public Library Central Library

10 Grand Army Plaza

Brooklyn, NY 11238

The Snowy Day

The U.S. Postal Service showcases Ezra Jack Keats’ most beloved story, The Snowy Day. Written and illustrated by the celebrated children’s author, it was one of the first prominent 20th-century picture books centered on an African-American child. Each of the four new stamps in this 20-stamp booklet features a different illustration of main character Peter exploring and playing in his neighborhood while wearing his iconic red snowsuit. The images include Peter forming a snowball; sliding down a mountain of snow; making a snow angel; and leaving footprints in the snow. Art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps.

The stamps may be pre-ordered in early Sept. for delivery shortly after the Oct. 4 issuance.

One Million Americans for Libraries :: EveryLibrary

One Million Americans For Libraries

Join the movement! Help us find one million Americans who love libraries on Facebook.

EveryLibrary: 9.05.2017

For our 5th Anniversary we want to be able to reach even more Americans with a pro-library message. That’s why we’re announcing our One Million Americans For Libraries Campaign today!

Join us on Facebook and invite your friends to help us find one million Americans for libraries.

We’re so excited about the work that libraries are doing to help communities across the country. From storytimes to job placement assistance to helping people start new businesses, learn skills, and get ahead in life, librarians are really making a huge difference. We want to do everything we can to promote the importance of libraries to everyone in the country, and, with your help, we can do it through our Facebook page.

Starting on September 5th through November 7th (Election Day) we are going to campaign to reach one million Americans who love their public libraries and we want to get you involved in changing the landscape of library advocacy in the United States.

We created this event page so you can get involved in this campaign and make a huge difference for libraries across the country. Starting September 5th we are going to share great content for your walls, badges and images, stories and news, and share ways that you can get more involved. For now, please invite your friends to get involved here!

We do this work because we believe that libraries are critical to communities and that Americans rely on their libraries for important programs and services. We believe that libraries are the cornerstone of American society and that they truly make our country stronger.

This is crucial because we are seeing more politicians trying to defund and deny Americans access to their libraries. You probably seen libraries close in Douglas County, Oregon. Many of you helped us fight back when they tried to close the libraries in Mary Esther Florida. We were able to push back when the mayor tried to defund the libraries in Miami-Dade and we have fought against unjust legislation against libraries like the Michigan Gag-Order bill. And, of course, with your support we are able to work on dozens of local library campaigns and elections every year to help libraries win over 250 million dollars in annual funding.

None of this was possible without your support and the support of people just like you. The more people we can reach when there is a crisis, the more we can fight against these kinds of threats. I know that many of you believe in libraries but we know there are millions of Americans who also believe in libraries who we haven’t spoken to yet. The next time there is a crisis we want to be able to reach them to take action. The quickest and easiest way to reach millions of Americans for libraries is through our Facebook page.

That’s why we're asking you to help us reach one million Americans for libraries by liking and sharing our Facebook page on September 5th through November 7th and I’m also going ask you to take a just a few minutes and use the invite feature to invite your friends to like our page too.

We also want to hear from you about what we can do to reach this big huge goal!  READ MORE @

Copy and paste this into Facebook messenger

and send it to your friends.

There are people in the United States who are fighting to deny you access to your local public library. That’s why I just joined EveryLibrary’s campaign to find one million Americans who love libraries. I want to show my support for libraries in the United States and I’m challenging you to join me by liking the EveryLibrary Facebook page and sharing this message.

It’s easy to share by holding your finger down on this message and at the bottom it will say “forward.” Touch that and then click on the names of your friends in your list and it will send it to them. Show that you support libraries by liking the EveryLibrary Facebook page at facebook.com/everylibrary.   

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Fremont OH :: Kalamazoo MI :: Lee Co AL

Literacy: Spanning the U.S.

ABLE aspires to expand outreach to more adults

Advertiser Tribune: 8.09.2017 by Nicole Walby

The ABLE program — offered through Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers — is to refocus to reach more adults in need of educational resources.

ABLE, also known as Adult Basic and Literacy Education program, is being re-branded to the Aspire program. The ABLE program was established more than 50 years ago. Through the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the program’s name is being changed to provide a greater outreach and a fresh appeal to adults’ desires for personal and professional success, according to Gail Browning, Aspire coordinator.

“We are more than the GED,” Browning said. “We want to be able to help our clients understand and succeed in their programs.”

The program also is to carry the tag line of “Learn more. Earn more.”

This focus, she said, will help their clients find and understand a specific career path that is best suited for them.

The program still is to feature courses in math, reading, writing, high school equivalency prep, college prep test, workforce readiness, English-as-a-second-language classes and distance learning.  READ MORE @

@KzooLiteracy

Literacy is Not a Given for Everyone

South County News: 8.04.2017 by Sue Moore

It’s amazing in this day of Twitter, Facebook and widespread web usage that there are many adults who can’t read. It is estimated 13 percent of the population in Kalamazoo County have a hidden reading problem, leading to trouble passing a driver’s license test or even finding their way using a road map. So many other issues for non-readers include filling out medical and job application forms and reading instructions, ballots – and even when shopping.

What it takes to help people who have been hiding this disability for many years are some dedicated tutors who can help turn someone’s life around, says Michael Evans, head of the Kalamazoo Literacy Council.

A Vicksburg area resident who has been tutoring for 10 years, Liz Polasek, has words of encouragement for those who might like to give tutoring a try. “It gives me personal satisfaction to help students taking the opportunity to gain skills that will improve their lives in untold ways. I do it because I have the time, and with the support of the Literacy Council resources I can play a part in helping someone else gain skills to that make such a difference,” she says.

“Whenever a student discovers a word in print that has special meaning to them, completes a lesson or passes a test, I share in that success. Each student has a personal goal that the tutor helps them to work toward, with lots of intermediate goals and celebrations,” Polasek says.  READ MORE @

@LeeCoLit

Lee County Literacy Coalition names new directors, starts reading campaign

Auburn Villager: 8.10.2017

The Lee County Literacy Coalition — a nonprofit United Way organization provides free literacy tutoring to adult learners — has welcomed two new directors.

Stacie Money has joined the organization as the administrative director and Tina Tatum is the new program director.

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Adult illiteracy is a problem that affects people in more ways that most people realize. Reading is necessary for all the things you do on a daily basis without any extra thought — shopping, reading road signs, banking, taking medicine, finding a phone number, passing a driver’s license test, trying a new recipe and so much more.

Adult illiteracy can also be embarrassing, and asking for help is extremely difficult. The goal of the new directors is to reach more people in the community through programs that can benefit them and span topics like financial literacy ad driver’s license courses, among others.  READ MORE @

2017 International Literacy Prizes :: UNESCO

Literacy in a digital world at heart of International Literacy Day, 8 September 2017

2017 International Literacy Prizes

UNESCO: 8.30.2017

This year’s UNESCO International Literacy Prizes will be awarded to laureates from Canada, Colombia, Jordan, Pakistan and South Africa on the occasion of International Literacy Day, celebrated on 8 September. This year’s Literacy Prizes and celebration will focus on literacy in a digital world.

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This year’s event will bring together stakeholders and decision-makers from different parts of the world to examine how digital technology can help close the literacy gap and gain better understanding of the skills needed in today’s societies. This is particularly important considering that 750 million illiterate people around the world, 63% of whom are women, still lack basic reading and writing skills. This population includes 102 million young people (aged 15-24), of whom 57% are female, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

“Digital technologies permeate all spheres of our lives, fundamentally shaping how we live, work, learn and socialize,” says UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in her message for the Day. She emphasizes the importance of rethinking and improving skills required to take part in the digital world: “These new technologies are opening vast new opportunities to improve our lives and connect globally—but they can also marginalize those who lack the essential skills, like literacy, needed to navigate them.”

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The two awards of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize dedicated to mother-tongue literacy education and training, sponsored by the Republic of Korea, will be given to:

@Concordia

Centre for the Study of Learning & Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University (Canada), for the Using Educational Technology to Develop Essential Educational Competencies in Sub-Saharan Africa project, which develops and distributes its material internationally free of charge.

@welovereading

We Love Reading (Jordan), a programme with a virtual community that offers online read-aloud trainings for parents,  mobilizes volunteers to read aloud in community spaces to children and provides age-appropriate material through a digital library.

The three awards of the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, supported by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and rewarding work that benefits rural populations and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women, will be given to:

AdulTICoProgram of the Secretariat of Information and Communications Technologies of the city of Armenia (Colombia), for teaching digital competencies to seniors.

@TCFPak 

The Citizens Foundation (Pakistan) for its Aagahi Literacy Programme for Women and Out-of-School Girls, which conducts digital educational needs assessments and provides teaching services to support the education of younger girls and older women.

@FunDzaClub 

FunDza (South Africa) for its readers and writers project to develop a culture of reading and writing for pleasure through an online platform that provides reading courses and writing competitions as well as connecting readers and writers. READ MORE @