75th anniversary of the Library Bill of Rights

75th anniversary of the Library Bill of Rights

ALA News: 6.17.2014

Seventy-five years ago at the 1939 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, the ALA Council adopted the Library’s Bill of Rights, echoing the spirit of a document from the Des Moines Public Library in 1938. This document, refreshed in 1944, 1948, 1961, 1967, 1980 and 1996, remains the library profession’s major policy document on intellectual freedom.

All those revisions prove that the Library Bill of Rights is truly a “living document.” In fact, LBOR now has 21 Interpretations.  ALA has recognized that it is a document of ideals, but also of practice—which is why interpretations have been crafted to deal with such specific issues as Privacy, Children and Services to the Disabled.

ALA President Barbara Stripling is “pleased to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Library Bill of Rights and to recognize the enduring impact of libraries on the democratic vitality of our nation.  LBOR serves as a foundational documents for libraries of all types, affirming the right of all members of our communities to have equitable and uncensored access to information and ideas.”

Stripling’s presidential year has included the Declaration for the Right to Libraries, which affirms the principles in LBOR which “empower individuals, strengthen families, build communities, and strengthen our nation.”

All these documents can be found in the Intellectual Freedom Manual, which will soon have its ninth edition!

The Intellectual Freedom Committee, the Committee on Professional Ethics and the Intellectual Freedom Round Table urge libraries to celebrate.  The Office for Intellectual Freedom can provide ideas for you.  Stay tuned for further activities at the Las Vegas Annual Conference!

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 !

Huntington Beach Library - 30th Anniversary

Celebrating 30 years of Literacy Services

Huntington Beach Public Library

June 18

We will be celebrating the wonderful things you do for Literacy Services and the accomplishments of our learners. Not to mention welcoming in our new board, and celebrating the year 1984 and 30 years of Literacy Services in Huntington Beach! Hope to see you there!

New Library Funding Reduced From $5 million to $3 million

Budget Conferees Trim Budget As Part Of Deal With Governor - New Library Funding Reduced From $5 million to $3 million   

CLA News From the Capitol: 6.12.2014 by Mike Dillon & Christina DiCaro [ Full Text ]

Last night the Legislature’s eight-member Budget Conference Committee convened to make a series of adjustments to many previously closed Budget items and to take votes on several outstanding issues. One such item revisited was the new funding, recently approved, for the California Library Services Act and the state literacy program.

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When the issue was reopened last night, the conferees noted that they were disappointed that they were going to have to make a small reduction to the previous augmentation, and reduced the CLSA by $2 million.

~ $2 million more for CLSA (current baseline is $1.8 million)

~ $1 million more for literacy (current baseline is $2.8 million)

~ $3.25 for the Governor’s proposal to link all public libraries to a high-speed, broadband network.

It was a compromise between the Senate, the Assembly, and the Governor’s office.

The CLA believes that these final numbers will be sent to the Governor for his signature on June 15.  READ Full Text

Centro Latino for Literacy - Mixer

Leamos, Tacos, y Tequila Literacy Mixer

Centro Latino for Literacy

6.06.2014

WOW!

We had a great turnout on Wednesday, June 4th at our inaugural Pasadena literacy mixer – 150 people attended! We celebrated adult literacy, honored Judge Fernando Olguín, and launched our “Let’s Read with Literacy Partners” campaign (crowdrise.com/letsread).

A good time was had by all. A special thanks to those that contributed to our mission of transforming lives through literacy. Shout out to Centro Latino’s Fund Development & Marketing Committee for bringing this together along with the talented staff of Centro Latino. Volunteers – thanks for making guests feel welcome!

Missed it? See pictures here.

San Diego Co Library - Tutors Make a Difference! LEARN Literacy

Tutors Make a Difference!

LEARN Adult Literacy - San Diego County Library

Change a life. Change a community.

Libraries Empower All to Read Now!

Our mission is to help adults improve reading and writing skills to achieve their full potential as community members, family members, workers, and life-long learners; to teach non-English speakers ESL (English as a Second Language) skills; to tailor services to individual needs, with confidentiality; to foster understanding and use of public libraries; to educate communities on the importance of literacy.  See Pictures Here !

El Cajon Literacy Center

San Diego County Library
201 E. Douglas Ave
El Cajon, CA 92020
619.588.3740

ACTION ALERT: Letters to the Governor Needed to Protect $5 Million Library Funding

Action Alert

Letters to the Governor

Needed to Protect $5 Million Library Funding in Budget

CLA News From the Capitol:

6.06.2014 by Mike Dillon & Christina DiCaro  [ Full Text ]

The legislature has until Sunday, June 15th, the constitutional deadline, to send the Governor the Budget bill.

The Governor has until July 1 to sign the 2014-15 Budget into law.

He also has the authority to “blue pencil” (reduce or eliminate) certain provisions of the Budget.

Please take a minute today to write a letter to Governor Brown, encouraging him to support and leave intact the $5 million for Budget items:

6120-211-0001 - $4 million for the California Library Services Act

6120-213-0001 - $1 million for the California Library Literacy program

In your letters please stress how your libraries are busier than ever, but the devastating cuts of the past hinder your ability to provide certain services.  With the economy making a modest recovery, now is the time to invest in communities by returning critical financial state resources to the public libraries.

Address your letters to:

The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr.

Governor, State of California

State Capitol, First Floor

Sacramento, CA.  95814

You may also fax your letters to the Governor’s office:  (916) 558-3160

Thank you for your help.  READ Full Text