Reading Intensive Care

On Sunday, December 9, The Charlotte Observer reported on a new approach Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools is putting into practice to support reading success with its younger students. "Reading intensive care" incorporates the use palm pilots used to track reading progress along with old fashioned low-tech practices such as washable markers to help letter recognition. Read the full article here.

Dia De Los Ninos

Does your library celebrate Dia De Los Ninos/Day of the Child? Here's the "official" description of the initiative:

Children's Day/Book Day, also known as de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), is a celebration of children, families, and reading held annually on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

El día brings attention to the importance of reading and inclusion in a way that few initiatives do. This single initiative sums ups so much of what libraries are all about.

So, what would it take to encourage all public libraries in North Carolina to embrace El día and what it stands for? Learn more about El día and share what you've done or dream of doing in your library to celebrate and support literacy and inclusion with us here!

Welcome! Your Input, Please!

Hello and welcome to all NCLA Literacy Roundtable Members and Advocates for Literacy Worldwide! This blog is the new "virtual face and voice" of the NCLA Literacy Roundtable and we proudly welcome you to join our forum on all matters of importance to making our world a more literate place.
This blog features information that is of practical, informational and educational use to librarians, media specialists, teachers and administrators who feel that literacy is a key issue that needs attention. We welcome you to post comments to any blog article, include links to interesting and informational online articles or to express your successes or challenges in your efforts to make reading a priority in your own world. From Summer Reading Programs to Adult Literacy Programs to Bilingual Education--we know you have much to share....please make the click and share your ideas, visions, dreams, and realities with us!

Literacy Roundtable Conference Program: Oct. 17

“Finding Our Voices: Poetry Mirroring the Human Condition” featuring Glenis Redmond
The program (and Literacy Roundtable business meeting) is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The cost of the luncheon is $30 for NCLA members, and $35 for non-members. The tentative agenda follows:

11:45-12:00 Open meeting and introduce the Board
12:00-12:25 Lunch served
Presentation of the Literacy Award
Vote for officers
Introduction of Glenis Redmond
12:30-1:00 Glenis Redmond's Presentation
1:00-1:15 Q&A from 1:00-1:15 p.m.

Slate of Proposed New Officers

The following outlines the proposed slate of officers for the next Biennium. This will be voted on at the conference during the business meeting in October 2007.


Chair: Anne Marie Elkins
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect Pauletta Bracey
Secretary/Treasurer: Gale Greenlee
Immediate Past Chair: Betty Meehan-Black
Directors: Daniel Barron, Jeanne Fox, Beth Mueller, Mark Pumphrey,
Donna Phillips & Tony Tallent

More Parents (Well, Some) Reading to Their Kids

An article in the August 2007 issue of School Library Journal mentions that a growing number of parents are reading to their preschoolers. White and Asian children, on the whole, are receiving more early literacy interactions at home, with the article noting that only 45% of Hispanic and 50% of Black children are read to daily by a family member. Read the full article: "More Parents Reading to Their Preschoolers" at slj.com.

Grant Opportunities

Tired of counting pennies to try to create the opportunities your community needs and is asking for? Take charge and go after the grant money! Below are some current grant opportunities you may want to explore.

Grants to Spread Literacy & Love of Learning
Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program for Public Schools and Public Libraries supports educators, parents and children in their efforts to spread literacy and love of learning.
Maximum Award: $500.
Eligibility: public schools and libraries anywhere in the United States and its protectorates.
Deadline: September 15, 2007.

Book Donations to Literacy Programs in Small and Rural Low-Income Communities
The Pathways Within Roads to Reading Initiative donates books to literacy programs in small and rural low-income communities.
Maximum Award: 200 books appropriate for readers age 0 to young adult; English only.
Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations that run school, after-school, summer, community, day-care, and library reading and literacy programs; must have an annual operating budget of less than $95,000 (schools and libraries are exempt from this budget requirement) be located in an underserved community with a population of less than 50,000.
Deadline: October 15, 2007.

Grants to Help Low-Income Schools Purchase Books for School Libraries
The NEA Foundation will make awards to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students to purchase books for school libraries.
Maximum Award: $1000.
Eligibility: practicing preK-12 school librarians, teachers, or education support professionals in a U.S. public school in which at least 70 percent of the students are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Deadline: November 12, 2007.

Show Me the Money: Tips & Resources for Successful Grant Writing
Many educators have found that outside funding, in the form of grants, allows them to provide their students with educational experiences and materials their own districts can't afford. Learn how they get those grants -- and how you can get one too. Included: Practical tips to help first-time grant writers get the grants they need.

News: Literacy Roundtable Membership Grows!

It was recently announced that the NCLA Literacy Roundtable membership had the highest percentage increase of any division of the Association. Current membership is up to 24 individuals. We feel certain that this number will increase even more in the coming years as literacy becomes more of a hot-button-issue of importance in our communities.

Current NCLA Literacy Roundtable Officers

The current slate of Officers (as of this posting, Sept. 2007) for NCLA Literacy Roundtable is as follows:

Betty Meehan-Black Chair
Anne Marie Elkins Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
Jeanne Fox Treasurer
Gale Greenlee Secretary & Past Chair
Mark Pumphrey, Donna Phillips Directors

Facts About Literacy

There are almost 90 million people in the United States with limited literacy skills. Many have difficulty earning a living or achieving the quality of life and opportunities they want. Worldwide, there are more than one billion people with extremely limited literacy skills living in destitute circumstances, unable to change their lives because they cannot read, write or do basic math.
-National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)

Between 21 and 23 percent of the adult U.S. population, or approximately 44 million people, can rad a littel but not well enough to fill out an application, read a food label or read a simple story to a child.
-National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS)

Parent-child literacy activities, such as reading to children, have been found to improve children's language skills and to heighten their interest in books.
-National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)

What is Literacy?

Having a good working definition of such a broad category such as literacy is helpful. A definition used by the NCLA Literacy Roundtable is borrowed from the ProLiteracy/National Institute for Literacy:

"Literacy is the ability to read, write and speak English proficiently, to compute and solve problems and to use technology in order to become a life-long learner and to be effective in the family, in the workplace and in the community."

Goals: NCLA Roundtable

1. To sponsor workshops and conference programs on literacy topics that have relevance to libraries and to use workshops, programs and other forums to promote literacy in libraries.

2. To encourage the development of library literacy collections to support literary efforts and support direct literacy services in libraries.

3. To serve as a clearinghouse for resource information related to library literacy programs and services and to assist with the exploration of literacy grant opportunities for libraries.

4. To focus attention on special topics within adult literacy, English as a second lanugauge training, special populations, and learning disabilities.

5. To participate in collaborative efforts with other literacy agencies and literacy support groups.

6. To serve in a liaison role with the membership of the North Carolina Library Association and its Executive Board and staff, reporting quarterly at NCLA Board meetings on committee activities and participating in other NCLA initiatives.

7. To sponsor a Literacy Award at the NCLA Conference to honor an outstanding contribution to the development of library literacy programs.