Save California Libraries & Literacy - ADVOCATE !

SAVE CA LIBRARIES LITERACY - ADVOCATE !

The Budget Subcommittees are gearing up to meet, so it's time to make our voices heard and work to reinstate funding for libraries and literacy!

EVERYONE -- tutors, learners, literacy professionals, and friends -- must rise to the occasion and write letters. Lots of letters!! Some things to keep in mind . . .

1. Handwritten letters are the best, but if you can't do that, don't worry -- send a typed letter.
2. Volume matters! Our goal is a minimum of 200 letters on the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittee Chairpersons' desks, with copies on the committee members' desks.
3. You can use the same wording in your letters to the Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittee Chairs.
4. Personal stories make a difference. Ask your tutors and students to write about the difference your literacy program has made in their lives.

See a sample letter below to get you started. More Advocacy Tips @ CLA.

It's best to send your letter via U.S. Mail. 2nd best is fax.

Do NOT email your letter -- emails are not effective.

Senate Budget Subcommittee Number 1 on Education Finance
State Capitol, Room 5061
Sacramento, CA 95814

Stage 1: 200+ Letters BEFORE March 31

Stage 2: 200+ Letters in the Spring

Senator Senator Carol Liu,Chair

Dear Senator Liu,Please reinstate funding for public libraries --$3.7 million to Adult Literacy Programs (the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Program), $8.5 million to the California Library Services Act, and $3 million to the Public Library Foundation.

I would like to specifically address the $3.7 million for Adult Literacy Programs, which serve English-speaking adults who read at less than a 6th grade level.

It is estimated that 23% of adults in California lack basic literacy skills such that they would be unable to fill out a job application. Last year these programs served 22,733 adult learners using 12,609 volunteer tutors who volunteered 855,206 hours (a value of $20 million in volunteer time). Additionally, the programs leveraged every $1 of state funds to raise $5 in local/private funds, much of which will not be available without the state's money to leverage.

We received no state funds in 2011/2012 which closed several programs and forced surviving programs to make deep cuts to program hours and staffing levels. We estimate that we will serve 25% fewer learners (approximately 5,500 adults) as a result. This is in addition to our existing state-wide waiting list of 3,000 adults. If funds are not restored for 2012/2013, up to 42 more programs could close.

There are very few other options for these adults. 57% of our programs reported that there is no other local service. And 76% reported a decrease in service or the elimination of their local adult school.

Don't let this happen! Improving literacy makes good economic sense when you consider that 70% of our adult learners were in their prime wage-earning years (ages 20 - 49). And the programs work -- of the adults who set the goal: 48% wrote their first resume; 58% were able to fill out a job application; and 53% found a job. California clearly needs programs that produce results like this.

Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)

cc: Senator Ted Gaines
Senator Rod Wright

Senate Budget Subcommittee 1-Educ Finance
Senator Carol Liu, ChairState Capitol, Room 5061
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 324-7543

Senator Ted GainesState Capitol, Room 3060
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 324-2680

Senator Rod WrightState Capitol, Room 5064
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 445-3712

Assembly Budget Subcom 2-Educ FinanceAssemblywoman Susan Bonilla, ChairState Capitol, Room 2188
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 319-2111

Assemblyman Bill Berryhill
State Capitol, Room 3141
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 319-2126

Assemblywoman Julia BrownleyState Capitol, Room 2163
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 319-2141

Assemblyman Brian NestandeState Capitol, Room 4139
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: (916) 319-2164

Assemblyman Sandre Swanson
State Capitol, Room 6012

Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax: (916) 319-2116

. . . from
Laura Seaholm - Program Manager, Project Second ChanceContra Costa County Library

WordCount: 86,800 Most Common Words

86,800 Most Common Words

The WordCount website is alive and well !

It was created by Jonathan Harris in 2004. Here’s link to a conversation with him @ Wordmaster on Sep 2, 2004.

WordCount

an interactive presentation of the
86,800 most frequently used English words

Anonymous reported that Wordcount was no longer available (see comment). Contacted Jonathan Harris; he said the site was being moved to a new host and would be up and running soon.

Here are 2 other lists of the most common English words:
6000 Most Frequently Used English Words
Word Frequency Lists and Dictionary: Corpus of Contemporary American English

CA & National Literacy Calendar: March 2012

California Literacy Calendar: March 2012

SCLLN

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

visit the

Southern California Library Literacy Network

for more information

Info about local Tutor Training Workshops is always Scrolling in the Right Frame.

Read Across America Day: March 2
World Read Aloud Day: March 7

Southern California Literacy Events: March 2012Mar 02+: Charlotte S Huck Children's Literature Festival – U Redlands
Mar 02+: IDA, Inland Empire Annual Conference – Riverside
Mar 07: Sensory Film – The LORAX 10am
Mar 10: Literary Women - Long Beach Festival of Authors

California Literacy Events: March 2012
Mar 07+: CABE Conference – Sacramento
Mar 09+: Mariposa Storytelling FestivalMar 15+: California Language Teachers Assn Conf – Los Angeles
Mar 15+: CUE Conference – Palm Springs

National & International Literacy Events: March 2012Mar 07: Sensory Film – The LORAX 10am
Mar 08+: We Learn - Women & Literacy – Univ Rhode Island
Mar 12+: Everyone Reading Conference NY
Mar 13+: Public Library Assn Conf – Philadelphia
Mar 14+: Early Education Technology for Children Conf – Salt Lake City
Mar 16: Transliteracy, Technology and Teaching – University at Albany
Mar 25+: National Conf on Family Literacy-NCFL – San DiegoMar 28+: Global Summit on Childhood – Washington DC
Mar 28+: TESOL Annual Convention – Philadelphia
Mar 30+: Latino Children's Literature Conf – University of Alabama
Mar 31+: Latino Book & Family Festival – Chicago

Monrovia Library - Local Retiree Teaches Literacy and Language at Library

Local Retiree Teaches Literacy and Language at Library
Bailey Bishop works with two English language learners on a weekly basis.
Monrovia Patch: 2.13.2012 by Alison Roeske

Bishop was introduced to the Monrovia Public Library’s Literacy Program by way of his friend Alan Wayte, who is another long-term tutor. For the past three years, Bishop has been working with Alma Lara, a mother and homemaker who is originally from Mexico.

"This student of mine knew very little English when I first started working with her. She told me that she feels some gratification and she’s improving and looks forward to bigger and better things as we move along," he said.

.    .    .    .    .

"I think it’s one of the better libraries in Southern California. The literacy section is good. Good teaching materials," he said. READ MORE !

SCLLN Writer To Writer Awards: 2011

2011 Writer To Writer Awards

Southern California Library Literacy Network
2012 Literacy Conference - Lunch Ceremony

Adult Learners read or listened to a book that inspired them and wrote a letter to the author.Congratulations to every Adult Learner who wrote a letter !

Emerging category (dictate a letter to tutor or staff)

Winner—Ramon G, Carlsbad City Library Learning Center
Runner Up—Flavio G, San Diego County Library-Vista
Runner Up—Sam F, Carlsbad City Library Learning Center

Beginning category (write basic, simple letter independently)

Winner—Shaina K, Newport Beach Central Public Library
Runner Up—Erica S, “Let’s Read, Altadena!” Altadena Library District
Runner Up—Anonymous, Newport Beach Central Public Library

Intermediate category (write a more complex letter with larger vocabulary)

Winner—Teruyo M, Newport Beach Central Public Library
Runner Up—Patricia W, San Diego Public Library-READ/San Diego
Runner-Up—Linda P, Carlsbad City Library Learning Center

Advanced category (independently with little support from tutor or staff)

Winner—Anonymous, Carlsbad City Library Learning Center
Runner Up—Hermond J, Carlsbad City Library Learning Center
Runner Up—Javier V, Huntington Beach Public Library

Azusa Library - Promotes Literacy For All Ages

Azusa City Library promotes literacy for all agesAzusa Pacific Univ-The Clause: 2.15.2012 by Annie Yu

Literacy skills are developed from a young age, and a child that has access to plentiful books will often continue to develop his or her reading skills well into adulthood. However, many kids have limited access to a library. Enter the Bookmobile, Azusa City Library’s very own customized Dodge van.

The colorfully decorated van has steps, a ramp, a pull out canopy for shade and a generator for air conditioning. The Bookmobile is handled by a two-person team, providing library cards as well as book checkouts. Occasionally, the Bookmobile also has story time and crafts for the kids.

There are 10 different locations around Azusa that the Bookmobile visits: one preschool, four elementary schools, one junior high school, one high school, one adult school and two senior citizen centers. The students are free to walk into the Bookmobile to browse and to lounge on the chairs or cushions often set up outside.

Adult Literacy Services: Helping adults in reading and writing
Over 30 million adults in the U.S. lack the basic literacy skills it takes to read and fully comprehend this sentence. According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), these adults are placed in the “below basic” category, with “no more than the most simple and concrete literacy skills.”

The NAAL shows that while a shocking 14 percent of the national population cannot read the newspaper or follow directions on a bottle of painkillers, the percentage is overshadowed by the 23 percent of Californian adults and the 33 percent of L.A. County adults who lack these basic literacy skills.

The Azusa City Library offers a free literacy program, Adult Literacy Services, to help struggling adults improve their basic reading and writing skills, as well as simple math skills. The program is a part of the California Library Literacy Services, which started in 1984 to improve literacy among Californian adults. The Azusa chapter of the program was shut down for several years due to funding cuts, but they were able to reopen last April. They currently have around a dozen students, with a few more on the waiting list. READ MORE !

Literacy Library Jobs - California - Alameda - El Dorado

Literacy Jobs: February

Alameda Free Library: Literacy Adm Asst II / PT– Feb 23
El Dorado Co: Early Childhood Literacy – Feb 23
Lawndale: Youth Policy Inst - Fam Lit Parent Coor / PT – Feb 29
Hollywood: Youth Policy Inst – Financial Literacy / PT