IMLS Report: State Library Funding Still Suffering :: California :: Last - $1.05 per capita

IMLS Report: State Library Funding Still Suffering

Library Journal: 1.23.2018 by Lisa Peet

State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA) across the country have largely still not recovered from the major decreases in revenue and staffing they experienced during the economic recession, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) biennial State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA) Survey, conducted in FY16.

California :: Long-Term Decline

SLAA Survey 2016 | p 9

“The SLAA report shows how many of the nation’s libraries continue to be financially challenged by the effects of the recession as they strive to maintain valued community services,” IMLS director Kathryn K. Matthew told LJ.

The report, the eighth such cooperative effort of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), IMLS, and American Institutes for Research, offers a look at long-term trends across the country, as well as contrasting the ways that different agencies have responded to decreases in funding as their public-facing work has grown. It tracks three sets of indicators: revenues and expenditures; workforce; and services provided.

Over the past 12 years SLAA revenues declined by over a fifth, with expenditures falling by 22 percent, according to the report. SLAAs rebounded slightly in 2014 but that didn’t last—as of FY16, both metrics are at their lowest levels since 2004. Revenues and expenditures of funds through the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) decreased by 20 percent from 2004­–16.

In FY16, SLAA revenues totaled more than $1 billion across federal, state, and other revenue sources; 82 percent from states and 15 percent from federal sources. Expenditures came in at only slightly less, with two-thirds spent on financial assistance to libraries and a third going to operations.  READ MORE >>

California :: Last @ $1.05 per capita

SLAA Survey 2016 | p 14

Only 17 Percent of Parents Believe Reading is Top Priority During the Summer

New Survey: Only 17 Percent of Parents Believe Reading is Top Priority During the Summer; Kids Spend Nearly Triple the Time Playing Video Games or Watching TV

Reading Is Fundamental Press Release: 6.18.2014

Macy’s and Reading Is Fundamental Launch Be Book Smart Campaign June 18 to Support Children’s Literacy

WASHINGTON – (June 18, 2014) – Despite research that indicates the importance of summer reading in preventing children from losing literacy skills, only 17 percent of parents say reading is a top summer priority, according to a new survey from Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Macy’s. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, also finds that children spend nearly three times as many hours weekly watching TV or playing video games as they do reading in the summer. More than 1,000 parents with children ages 5-11 completed the survey online in April.

Results of the survey are made public as Macy’s and RIF launch the 11th annual Be Book Smart campaign to support children’s literacy. Be Book Smart begins June 18, and invites customers nationwide to give $3 at any Macy’s register in-store, to help provide a book for a child and get $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. Macy’s will donate 100 percent of every $3 to RIF. The campaign ends July 13.

“Many families think of reading as eating your vegetables—good for you but not necessarily a treat. Reading is the best vacation. It takes you places you never dreamed you would visit, and summer especially is a time when kids can immerse themselves in the topics they like best,” said Carol H. Rasco, CEO of Reading Is Fundamental. “Thanks to our partnership with Macy’s, we are bringing more books to children who need them most and starting them on a journey to a lifelong love of reading.”

More than 60 percent of parents in the survey said they do not believe their child loses reading skills over the summer. However, existing research shows that summer learning loss is a major problem, particularly for low-income children who can lose up to three months of reading skills because of limited access to books and learning opportunities while out of school. The key to helping children maintain and even improve their literacy skills over the summer is providing access to quality books that they can choose based on personal interests.

Full survey results are highlighted in an executive summary by Harris Poll. Key findings include:

• On average, parents say their child spends 17.4 hours/week watching TV or playing video games, 16.7 hours/week playing outside and only 5.9 hours/week reading.

• Parents who consider reading to be extremely or very important are twice as likely to have a child who reads every day.

• Children who were involved in a reading program last summer were up to two times more likely to read every day. Yet, over half of parents said their child did not participate in a reading program at all last summer.

• Last summer, children who read because they wanted to were twice as likely to read than children who read because they had to.

• Despite the proliferation of e-books and digital formats, 83 percent of parents said their child preferred print books for summer reading, compared to 7 percent preferring tablets and 4 percent preferring e-readers

READ MORE !

Centro Latino for Literacy - L.A. Has Work to Do on Literacy

L.A. Has Work to Do on Literacy
LA Business Journal: February 25 – March 3, 2013, p. 75
Op-Ed written by Mari Riddle
(president and chief executive of Centro Latino for Literacy)
on Centro Latino for Literacy Website - Media

In recent national speeches, President Obama has outlined a series of principles on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. While immigration remains a key issue in a global city like Los Angeles, the current local elections and its victors will steward our vibrant city in this highly competitive, complex and interconnected world.

To remain competitive, we – as elected officials, business executives and non-profit leaders – must focus our efforts to maintain and produce an educated and skilled workforce not only in the formal economy, but also in the informal economy. By the informal economy, I’m referring to unregulated and unreported economic activity.

According to a 2005 Economic Roundtable report, “Hopeful Workers, Marginal Jobs: L.A.’s Off-the-Books Labor Force,” an estimated 16 percent of the city’s workforce is employed in the informal economy. This represents $3.6 billion in annual payroll, if we assume an annualized wage of $12,000. At the Los Angeles County level, this annual payroll amount rises to $8 billion.

For many individuals who experience lack of upward mobility in the formal economy due to lack of human capital, English proficiency and basic literacy skills, the informal economy remains a viable option for them to pursue economic opportunities. While informal workers lack basic governmental regulations and protections in the workplace, they also fail to report income during tax season.

To help integrate these informal workers into the mainstream, we first need to address the high rate of nonliteracy among many of these individuals, particularly among Spanish speaking adults. In the county, for instance, the U.S. census’ 2011 American Community Survey finds that more than 220,000 adult Spanish speakers are functionally nonliterate in either Spanish or English. By increasing literacy among these individuals, we will increase the level of human capital and economic productivity in our local economy.  READ MORE !

America’s Most Literate Cities: 2009

America’s Most Literate Cities: 2009
Central Connecticut State University: December 22, 2009

Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, is the author of this study. Research for this edition of AMLC was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Public Policy and Social Research at CCSU. Overall Ranking and Rankings by Category.

Seattle is ranked the most literate city.
San Francisco is the highest ranked CA city @ 12.

California cities dominate the Bottom 20.
56 San Jose, CA
58 Riverside, CA
62 Los Angeles, CA
63 Long Beach, CA
65 Fresno, CA
66 Glendale, AZ
67 Santa Ana, CA
68 Mesa, AZ
69 Anaheim, CA
70 Arlington, TX
71 Aurora, CO
72 Stockton, CA
73 Bakersfield, CA
74 Corpus Christi, TX
75 El Paso, TX

Literacy In Libraries Around California +VALUE USA

VALUE: Adult Learner Involvement Survey

Voice of Adult Learners United to Educate VALUE is updating its research on adult learner involvement throughout the U.S.
If you would like to share information about adult learner involvement in your state or in your local program, please complete the 10-question survey. Some sample questions.

~ state conferences that include students as participants or planners
~ if you have a student group, how is it structured
~ what areas of leadership have students made achievements
~ is there funding for involvement outside the classroom
~ what positions do students hold in programs

The results of this research will be posted in the "In the States" section of the VALUE web site.