Katherine Paterson Named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Katherine Paterson Named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
SLJ: January 4, 2010 By SLJ Staff

Katherine Paterson, both a two-time Newbery medalist and National Book Award-winner, replaces Jon Scieszka as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a two-year position created to raise national awareness of the importance of lifelong literacy and education.

“It is, I don’t have to say, an honor and a thrill," says Paterson. "I cannot fill Jon’s shoes, but I can follow in his footsteps, seeking to alert our nation to the importance and delight to be found in literature for young people.”

Paterson, who has chosen “Read for Your Life” as the theme for her platform, was selected by a committee that represents those in the book community based on her contributions to young people’s literature and her ability to relate to children.

Katherine Paterson is the new Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

“Katherine Paterson represents the finest in literature for young people,” says Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, who announces her appointment in Washington, DC, Tuesday morning. “Her renown is national as well as international, and she will most ably fulfill the role of a national ambassador who speaks to the importance of reading and literacy in the lives of America’s youth.” READ MORE !

Riverside County Library - Turn the Page for Fun

Turn the Page for Fun
Desert Sun: January 3, 2010 by Dennis A Britton

Amy Dodson has a passion to promote reading as a fun, everyday activity to help readers relax, relieve stress and learn.

“If you are not reading for fun, it is not going to stick,” she said. “If you are not reading for fun it is going to be seen as a chore. If you associate reading with something you have to do, then you are not going to go to it for pleasure.”

She said a lot of people “don't agree with promoting books that are not serious, so to speak, that are not literature, but people are at least reading and that's what matters.”

The Cathedral City librarian came by her passion for reading naturally. She thinks she first entered a library as an infant with her mother, who visited her local public library several times a week.

“She should have been a librarian,” Dodson said of her mother. “My whole family went to the library often during the week. They were big readers. Reading was always important and fun in my family.”

Dodson said she thinks literacy “has taken a downturn in recent years. Of course every library strives to improve literacy. For instance, one of the things we do here is offer ESL (English as a second language) classes which help to improve literacy.

“Virtually every program we offer in one way or another is meant to engage people in reading,” she said. “The computer classes we offer tie in with books we have on how to use computers. Our cooking classes tie in with cook books or books on how to become a chef or how to go to culinary school.

“Our summer reading program for children is an easy one. Everything we do is to improve literacy in adults, teens and kids.”

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And 14 years later her enthusiasm hasn't waned. She says she loves her job, from selecting new books to creating special programs.

Dodson is especially excited about two upcoming events at the Cathedral City Library.The first is called “Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace.” A photography exhibit opens on noon Jan. 23 and continues the next day with a roundtable discussion from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. to encourage “civic dialogue” about the impact of the exhibit. The second event features award-winning writer Victor Villasenor, who will speak on Jan. READ MORE !

International Literacy Study scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES

International Literacy Study
scheduled for 2011 by PIAAC, OECD, US Department of Ed and NCES.

DoED is accepting public comments before Feb 26, 2010.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION –
Requests Comments about PIAAC
Federal Register: December 28, 2009 - V74, #247

Title: Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2010 Field Test and 2011/2012 Main Study Data Collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before February 26, 2010.

Abstract: NCES seeks OMB approval to survey adults (16-65 years old) for the field-test administration of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2011. PIAAC is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor.

PIAAC is expected to be on a 10-year cycle.
In 2011, 28 countries, including 23 OECD-member countries, plan to participate.

The U.S. PIAAC field test data collection will occur between August and November 2010. The main study will occur between September 2011 and March 2012. NCES will seek approval for the full-scale instruments in the fall of 2010.

Visit literacyspace for more information.

California Literacy Calendar: January 2010

California Literacy Calendar: January 2010

SCLLN Literacy & Library Events & Conferences
-local, California and National Conferences-
visit

Southern California Library Literacy Network
for more information

Tutor Training Workshops scrolling in left frame

Southern California Literacy Events
Jan 4: Tutor Training for Volunteer Based Literacy - OnLine
Jan 9: Learning Disabilities Adult Support Group Providence Tarzana Medical @ 10am
Jan 16: Tutor Training-Whittier Literacy Council @ 9am
Jan 18: Reading Comprehension Strategies – OnLine
Jan 20: LD from A-Z Mission Valley Library-SD @ 5pm
Jan 21: SCLLN + ProLiteracy Symposium, Cypress Branch Library @ 1-4pm
with David Harvey, President and CEO & Peter Waite, VP-ProLiteracy Worldwide
Jan 26: Learning Disabilities Parent Support Group @ The Help Group @ 7:30pm

California Literacy Events
Jan 11: S Krashen-Effective 2nd Language Acquisition, Sacramento
Jan 13: S Krashen-Effective 2nd Language Acquisition, South San Francisco
Jan 15-17: CA Kindergarten Conf, Santa Clara

San Diego County Library - Making a Difference in My Life

Making a Difference in My Life
LEARN Alive: Dec 2009/Jan 2010

My name is Esteban Ramirez, and I have been taking a Wilson Reading System class for the last 11 months. I am 29 years old, and I have dyslexia.

When I went to school, I didn’t want to read and write because the kids would make fun of me. So instead I became the big bad man at school, but it didn’t help me because all it did was make me feel bad about myself. I was feeling dumb that I was not like all the rest of the kids in my class so I missed a lot of school, and then I just stopped going.

Now I am 29 years old, and I want to make a difference in my life today by improving my reading and writing so I started to take a class with Hector with the Vista Library’s Adult Literacy Program. This is one of the best things that I have done for myself because I did not like to read before. But now because of Hector teaching me how to sound out words and break them up, I can spell and not be afraid to do this and I have more confidence.

I started the reading program in February on level 2 of the Wilson Reading System and now I am on level 7, and the whole time it has made me like to read and understand what I am reading by learning about open syllables and closed syllables, base words and suffixes.

All this I didn’t know how to break down but today I can do it. All this I didn’t learn in school but with Hector’s help I started to learn about long vowels and short vowels, which was all new to me.

And all I can do now is grow from here in my reading and writing. I think joining this program has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Current Learner—Esteban Ramirez

Orange Co Library - Bill Campbell's Third District Report - READ Orange County

Bill Campbell's Third District Report
November 20, 2009 Volume: 7 Issue: 43

OC Public Library Honors Orange Volunteer- OC Community Resources Director Steve Franks presented a proclamation to celebrate the 100th birthday of Antonio Correa, a resident of Orange and an OC Public Libraries volunteer.

Since joining the READ/Orange County volunteers program in April of 1996 at the age 87, Antonio "Tone" Correa has contributed more than 2,700 service hours. He has tutored more than 21 adult learners, often taking on the added responsibility of working with 3 or 4 students simultaneously. To read more about Tone’s contributions, please click here. For pictures, click here.

Los Angeles Public Library - Building a More Literate L.A

Los Angeles Public Library
Library Foundation of Los Angeles
Annual Report 2008=2009


Building a More Literate L.A

Literacy not only is one of the library's core missions, but it's also a part of everything we do. Each year, the library presents nearly 18,000 public programs at our 73 libraries and literacy is a component of every one. Today, the library's literacy mission is more important than ever because 40 percent of fourth graders read below their grade level and more than 50 percent of the Los Angeles area's working-age population suffers from low literacy skills.

The library has also made a major commitment to adult literacy. This year, the library opened a new Adult Literacy Center in the Benjamin Franklin Branch. With the help of library foundation funding, the library now operates Adult Literacy Centers in 20 branches citywide. These centers offer one-on-one literacy tutoring, self-tutoring materials, and Web-based literacy programs accessed through our literacy Web site.

Illiteracy remains one of the most economically and socially crippling problems facing Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Public Library is committed to creating a more literate Los Angeles.

Investing in New Readers

Good reading habits are key to a lifetime of learning. That's why the library, with the help of library foundation funding, instills a love of reading in children through early literacy programs like Read to Me L.A. and nurtures that love of reading throughout their childhood with programs like the intergenerational GAB (Grandparents and Books) series and other programs that make reading fun.

But the library doesn't stop there. It offers children the tools they need to succeed in school, such as free online Live Homework Help, the summer reading club to build literacy skills between school terms, a special Kids' Path Web site with online resources just for youngsters, and even a summer reading camp for homeless children, Camp LAPL, and the popular Performing Books programs that introduce kids to books through music, song and dance.

These and the library's many other resources are available when kids need them most, after school and during school-term breaks. Our commitment to technology allows us to deliver many of the learning resources to children through their computer at home or school. READ MORE !