.jpg)
|
|
Ontario Library Service North |
Southern Ontario Library Service |
Clearinghouse of Professional InformationLiteracy Resources - IDEAS
Direct link to
List of ideas
|
Provincial Literacy and Lifelong Learning Grant 2006 (current to May 31, 2006)
On April 7, 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Culture issued the following news release: For Immediate Release MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT BOOSTS LITERACY AND LEARNING PETROLIA — The McGuinty government is investing $15 million to enhance the vital role of Ontario’s rural, northern, francophone and First Nations libraries as community hubs of literacy, learning and access to information, Minister of Culture Caroline Di Cocco announced today. Under a new $6 million initiative to promote family literacy and lifelong learning, nearly 550 rural, remote, francophone and First
Nation public libraries that serve communities of under 20,000 people will each receive one-time funding of $10,500. The Federation
of Ontario Public Libraries will also receive $200,000 to market the literacy achievements of Ontario’s libraries and conduct research. “In many small communities, our support for family literacy will ensure that all Ontarians — regardless of where they live — have access to library programs and services that empower them to be fully engaged in the life of our province,” said Di Cocco. Minister Di Cocco announced the new library initiatives at the Petrolia branch of the Lambton County Library. Each of the library’s 28 branches will receive funding of $10,500 to promote family literacy, for a total of $294,000. The Ontario government views libraries as key partners in delivering on its education priorities. It will also invest $8 million to support the Ontario Digital Library in providing quality digital information to 6,500 public, school, college and university libraries, and $1 million to improve services at public and First Nations libraries in Northern Ontario. “First Nations libraries provide a culturally sensitive learning environment that respects Aboriginal languages and traditions,” said David Ramsay, Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs. “The new library initiatives — whether it’s support for family literacy or better access to internet resources — will make a huge difference in the quality of life in Ontario’s First Nations communities.” Contacts: |
The traditional definition of literacy is the ability to read, write, listen, and speak. It really means reading and writing at a level adequate for written communication and at a level that enables one to successfully function at certain levels of society.
In the publication, Framework for the Future: Libraries, Learning and Information in the Next Decade (U.K. Department of Culture, Media and Sports, 2003), there is a good discussion on the value of reading. A link to this UK publication is posted in the “Strategic Planning Resources” section of the Joint OLS-North/SOLS Clearinghouse.
The authors suggest that reading stimulates the imagination and develops creativity, and helps to develop independence in learning. They noted that reading brings social benefits because reading gives people access to shared conversations and communities, and promotes family bonding. Without reading skills, it is hard for people to be active citizens unless they can read newspapers and government publications, and particularly hard for people to be informed consumers unless they can read guarantees, warranties and small print. Being unable to read can lead to social exclusion with consequences shown socially and economically.
Knowing the value of reading, it should be the public libraries’ mission to promote the skills and the appetite for reading. Libraries need to encourage people to start reading, whether young or old, to help emerging readers to find more interesting material, and to connect people with similar interests to one another through book groups and reading events. The authors of this report therefore believe that the central activity of libraries in promoting reading is a key element of their role in supporting literacy and learning.
At the IFLA General Conference in 2004, Gwynneth Evans presented a paper called “The Promotion of Literacy and Reading in Libraries”. In this paper, she highlighted the introduction used by UNESCO in defining and providing the scope of the Literacy Decade:
”Literacy is about more than reading and writing - it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Literacy - the use of written communication - finds its place in our lives alongside other ways of communicating. Indeed, literacy itself takes many forms: on paper, on the computer screen, on TV, on posters and signs. Those who use literacy take it for granted - but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed, it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of ‘literacy as freedom’.
To help libraries understand the role in lifelong learning, we turned to a well-known publication called Planning for Results: A Public Library Transformation Process (American Library Association, 1998). In this publication, a number of very specific roles for a library were identified. It was noted that a library that provides lifelong learning service helps address the desire for self-directed personal growth and development.
In its role as a place for lifelong learning, the ALA Planning document states that “the library will provide and maintain an extensive collection of circulating materials on a wide variety of topics in which the general public has a sustained interest. Collections will be easily accessible and organized to encourage public browsing by subject area. The library may identify important WWW sites on topics of high interest to the public and may organize them for public access on a web page.”
It was also noted that possible components of a lifelong learning program include:
This grant is intended to strengthen literacy and promote lifelong learning. Each library will need to determine how best to achieve these goals and, to assist libraries in their decision-making work, staff members at the Southern Ontario Library Service have compiled a whole range of ideas.
On the Joint OLS-North/SOLS Clearinghouse, a number of Literacy Resources have been collected.
With this background information, we have compiled a number of ideas for this grant in three main areas:
Some of the information was provided by the libraries when asked to provide a list of their ideas for using the money. Some of the information was submitted by our staff, based on general discussions with a number of libraries. The information provided here will hopefully help libraries to spend the money appropriately to support literacy and lifelong learning.
We have organized the ideas into three types:
To complement the lifelong learning and literacy aspects of the grant, libraries might want to further develop their collections. Libraries had noted that the literacy aspects need not be limited to the young readers.
Ideas received include:
|
To find materials, there are a number of existing lists and resources which could be used as lists for acquisitions.
The Toronto Public Library maintains a list of the 100 best Canadian Books for Today’s Children and Teens. The TPL staff have also created a number of booklists for the users, including adventure, award winners, fantasy, history, sports and others. While these lists are intended to help TPL users to find books, videos and CDs that they can reserve at the library, the lists can also be used to help you to select specific materials for your collection.
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national not-for-profit organization and registered charity, founded to promote, support and encourage the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for children and teens. The membership cost is $60 for an individual or $135 for associate or $500 for corporate. Membership in the CCBC includes a one year subscription to the quarterly magazine Canadian Children's Book News and a copy of Our Choice, an annual selection guide to the best new Canadian children's books, magazines, audio and video. Associate members receive 10 copies of each issue of Canadian Children's Book News, as well as a free Book Week Kit. CCBC also organizes the TD Canadian Children's Book Week and Grade One Book Giveaway Book Week is held in November each year, and represents a program idea for libraries.
In December 2004, staff from the Southern Ontario Library Service worked on a research project called “Collection assessment using prescribed lists of titles: A case study”. In this study, the collections of a number of Ontario libraries were compared against a prescribed list of ‘best books’, ‘recommended titles’ and ‘award-winning titles’ in the areas of picture books, junior fiction and adult fiction. These prescribed lists continue to be a useful tool for collection building, and they are posted in the ‘Collection Development Resources’ section of the Joint OLS-N/SOLS Clearinghouse.
The Forest of Reading program of the Ontario Library Association provides another chance to choose materials from a list of pre-selected titles. The Ontario Library Association's Reading Initiative has 6 parts
More information about the Forest of reading™ program is posted on the Ontario Library Association (OLA) website.
Vendors, such as the Library Services Centre (LSC) in Kitchener, have compiled special subject lists. Using a vendor, such as LSC, can help with selection of materials, cataloguing and processing, and allows a library to:
In early April, LSC sent out a letter to client and non-client libraries which identified 50 lists, based on recent titles of most interest to Canadian public libraries, covering such areas as Adult Easy to Read, Award Winning Titles, Canadian Literature, TD Summer Reading program lists, Graphic Novels for Reluctant Readers and Homework Resources. From the list, you could pick the top 20, top 40 or top 60 titles in that subject area at a cost from $400 to $800. These titles could be shipped by the end of August 2006.
In the Collection Development section of the Joint OLS-North/SOLS Clearinghouse, there is a list of vendors, as well as other selection lists and evaluation tools.
Some libraries had identified the purchase of encyclopedia sets as one of the possible choices. While some libraries may want to acquire print copies, using electronic products might be another possibility. Through COOL, it is possible to achieve some savings on specific electronic products.
One example is World Book Online. The online version features thousands of articles, maps, pictures, sounds and video, with additional detailed coverage for North American readers from US and Canadian newspapers and magazines. World Book’s reference resources are supported by Behind the Headlines articles, calendar-based features, and the Learning Zone of extra teacher and student related resources. Through COOL, libraries serving populations up to 25,000 should expect to spend between $600 and $1500 per year for the subscription. More information about the COOL offer for World Book Online is posted on the SOLS website.
TumbleBooks is another example of a product available through a consortium purchase. The TumbleBook Library is a collection of licensed titles from children's book publishers, such as Scholastic, Chronicle Books, Candlewick Press, Bridgewater Books, Walker and Company, and others. The Deluxe version of the library also comes with a growing selection of books in Spanish and French. The TumbleBook library also includes a collection of resources to aid teachers. More information about the COOL offer for a TumbleBooks subscription is posted on the SOLS website - you can expect to pay approximately $400 per branch for a subscription.
SOLS coordinates buying pools for specialized materials, including talking books, large print, DVDs and multilingual books and videos. Materials are rotated among participating libraries providing their users with fresh collections every few months. Economies of scale are achieved by using the purchasing power of many libraries together. Typically, pool membership is open to public libraries willing to contribute an annual membership fee. The membership fee for large print pools ranges from $125 to $200 per year, while the membership fee for the multilingual pool is roughly $1100 per year. More information about Pools is posted on the SOLS website.
In 2005, SOLS and the AlphaPlus Centre (Ontario’s largest special library of adult literacy resources) began investigating the possibility of a new pool for adult literacy materials. The idea was that, as many communities in Ontario identify literacy as a community development need, libraries were beginning to explore ways and means of developing collections that will support adults in their community as they develop and improve their basic literacy skills.
At that time, a number of libraries did express interest, but funding was an issue. It may now be possible that other libraries may wish to use some of the
literacy grant to participate in this type of pool. Before moving forward, we need to ensure there is enough interest to merit further planning. If you are
interested in participating in either an Adult Literacy POOL or a Family Literacy POOL, please contact Dana Seabrook at OLS-North. Her e-mail address
is:
.
The AlphaPlus Centre serves practitioners and organizations that work in the Deaf, Native, Francophone, and Anglophone literacy field in Ontario. Their goal is to help users find relevant resources and information to enrich the learning of adults in literacy programs.
Material can be borrowed from the Centre, or purchased through the AlphaPlus Store. AlphaPlus staff have developed a brochure to show some of the resources which are available at the AlphaPlus store.
The staff at AlphaPlus have also generously provided a number of documents that might be useful to help libraries spend their literacy grant money effectively.
- Reading the World - Maria Moriarty published this article in the Winter 2005 Issue of ACCESSola. It focuses on collection development principles for adult literacy.
- AFLO (Action for Family Literacy Ontario) – The AFLO website is a resource for family literacy practitioners, parents, caregivers, and others interested in family literacy issues. The website offers information about programs, research, training, and important resources. The content of the site is organized into six sections as shown by the buttons at the top of each page.
- Ontario Native Literacy Association / Ningwakwe Learning Press - The ONLC, is the umbrella organization for Native Literacy in Ontario, and Ningwakwe Learning Press is a service agency funded by MTCU to develop culture-based learning resources for the Native Literacy Field.
- Literacy publishers - There was an OLA workshop on the topic of literacy publishers entitled “Developing Collections and Services”. The presenter provided information on publishers, and all of the publishers' for whom Monika Jankowska provides distribution services are marked with an asterisk. It also has the name and contact information for other literacy-related organizations that may be useful. This document has now been posted in the Literacy section of the Joint OLS-North/SOLS Clearinghouse.
Programming is another way that libraries can develop the lifelong learning and literacy aspects of the grant. In this area, the funds might be used for staff time in the area of programming or it might be used to build resources that assist with a program idea, or to pay for the program itself.
Ideas received in this area include:
|
In the area of programming, other libraries have undertaken programs that fit into the literacy and lifelong learning stream. This is just a sampling of the ideas. Information on these programs is available from these libraries or through their websites, including the following:
|
The Every Child Ready to Read” @your library is a joint project of the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children.
A number of libraries in Ontario have participated in this program in the past few years. As part of the regular training workshops, SOLS is working on bringing a trainer from the program to work with other libraries. Basically, the program is described in this way:
“Current research on early literacy and brain development indicates that it is never too early to prepare children for success as readers. Parents of newborns, toddlers and preschoolers must be informed of their critical role as their children's first teacher.
“The Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children, have incorporated the latest research into a series of parent and caregiver workshops to provide public libraries with vital tools to help prepare parents for their critical role as their child's first teacher. Library systems big and small can play a key role in their communities in disseminating early literacy information to parents, child care providers, early childhood educators, children’s advocates, and political decision makers.”
These workshops and parent and caregiver resources will enable you to initiate new early literacy services or to enhance ones you already have. Once library staff have undertaken the basic training, there are a number of resources that are available – some are free and can be printed off the “Early Literacy” website, but some do have a cost. There are English-Language brochures for early talkers (newborn to 2 years), talkers (2 and 3 year olds) and pre-readers (4 and 5 year olds), as well as posters for the program. There are supplies for the program, such as Upper and Lower case magnet letters and Durafoam Letters
One of the print resources that complements the program is Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz (ALA, 2005) Cost: US$45.
Research confirms that reading success starts with young children enjoying library storytimes! Preschoolers’ earliest experiences with books and reading are important; parent/caregiver knowledge can build on those experiences, according to research from the National Institute of Child Health & Development, conducted with PLA and ALSC, the co-initiators of the Every Child Ready to Read@your library® program.
Author experts Ghoting and Martin-Diaz combine this cutting-edge early literacy research, which is the heart of the Every Child Ready to Read program, with practical implementation tips for busy children’s librarians. Scripts and plans help librarians explain what adults can do to enhance children’s print motivation, phonological awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, print awareness, and letter knowledge. Proven, step-by-step methods address planning, promoting, and assessing this richly informative new kind of storytime. Children’s librarians and early childhood experts can:
Information about all of the SOLS clinics, workshops and training programs are posted on the SOLS website. The EXCEL distance education program is a unique training programme in managing a small public library or a community branch library. Several of the courses fit into literacy training, including Collection Development for Children, Collection Development for Young Adults, and Collection Development for Adults and Special groups. Helping people to locate materials for their lifelong learning pursuits is part of the EXCEL Information Services course.
Each spring and fall, SOLS staff arrange for a series of workshops. More information is posted on the SOLS website.
The
Ontario Library Association, through the Education Institute, offers a
range of workshops, distance education courses and audio conferences. To check the current offerings, and determine if some of them relate to literacy, please
check the OLA website.
To complement the overall goals of the grant, a number of libraries have identified a number of technical or physical environment items that might be possibilities for at least part of the funding. Ideas received include the following. Resources to assist libraries in undertaking these projects are shown below:
|
The pricing starts at approximately $2,850 for one station, and discounts are available for multiple purchases. Shipping and taxes are extra. A printer is not
included in this price. The computer and the software is warranted for a three year period. The Canadian representative is Bob Dougan at 1-800-567-2815 or
robert.dougan@sympatico.ca
b) Mandarin - Another choice for web-based catalogues is to move to another system, such as Mandarin. Mandarin was selected as the library automation system of choice for the SOLS Consortium Purchasing Agreement. This CPA is a result of a Request for Proposal that was issued to every known provider of turn-key library automation systems in North America. Mandarin Library Automation Incorporated was the successful vendor for both single and multi-site applications.The cost of each product is approximately Cdn$1000. Further information on these two choices are available from the Sagebrush website - Bob Dougan will no longer represent Sagebrush from this spring.
And finally…miscellaneous ideas