Library Advocates

May 7

Curious about what's happening at the American Library Association's day of legislative action? Follow #nlld13 on twitter.

National Library Legislative Day: Where library advocates join on Capitol Hill to advocate for libraries

May 3

Report: Libraries put BTOP funds to work, strengthening communities nationwide

The ALA’s “U.S. Public Libraries and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program” is the first to highlight state and local library BTOP projects nationwide and the improvements they have made to public access technology resources, digital literacy, and workforce development. Library projects in 29 states and the District of Columbia are featured in the report.

“Libraries have served as first responders in these tough economic times,” said ALA President Maureen Sullivan. “Millions of Americans have turned to us to gain new technology skills and access to specialized resources. BTOP has helped to enable expanded services and to develop the improved infrastructure to meet these community needs.”

Highlights:

Nearly all statewide library projects include digital literacy training. More than 367,000 Coloradans increased their digital literacy skills through that state’s BTOP project. Ninety-five percent of those who took formal classes in Colorado stated they learned a valuable skill and would recommend the classes to others.
Nearly 600 people who participated in New York State Library’s “Broadband Express @ your library” programs and used online job resources went on to secure employment.
The Nebraska Library Commission has more than doubled its grant goal, which was to upgrade broandband speeds for 45 libraries in this mostly rural state. Of the 101 libraries upgraded so far, the average speed moved from 2.9 Mbps to 21.4 Mbps.
Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Oklahoma and Rhode Island have established new videoconferencing capabilities in several, if not all, libraries in their states. The Maine State Library is deploying its statewide network to provide legal information clinics through the Volunteer Lawyers Project. The clinics are offered in real time, allowing patrons at multiple locations, and especially in rural locations, to attend and ask questions directly of the presenting attorney.

Apr 24

Holyoke, MA to promote child literacy by creating 'mini-libraries' at police substations, stocking cruisers with books

The catch phrase “Book ‘em, Danno” will take on a new meaning as the city bolsters its child literacy efforts by stocking police substations and cruisers with reading materials for children and families.

Mar 11

Advocates of Pre-K Pushing Cuomo, Obama: “Go To The Library”

Gov. Cuomo wants to expand full-time pre-K education, and President Obama put support for early learning in his State of the Union address. They should both go to the library, according to advocates for using the public library as a key part of the learning process for toddlers to 4-year-olds.

Feb 25

“You keep your mind active. So you serve your own good too.” Tish Kllanxhja, former teacher, 89 who volunteers at Mesa County Libraries’ adult literacy program, which has a waiting list of 100 people

Jan 24

On the Front Lines of Digital Inclusion

Today, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Digital Literacy Task Force (which is led by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy), released “Digital Literacy, Libraries, and Public Policy,” (pdf) a comprehensive report that provides a broad overview of digital literacy in the context of school, public, and academic libraries.

Please Stop Confusing Media Literacy with Ed Tech

themugglelibrarian:

“To reduce the new media literacies to technical skills would be a mistake on the order of confusing penmanship with composition.”

Also of note: “Students also must acquire a basic understanding of the ways media representations structure our perceptions of the world.”

Jan 14

The percent of children who have read an ebook has almost doubled since 2010 (25% vs. 46%).

Dec 18

Child-literacy group honored for bringing libraries back to schools

The mere idea of having access to a school library is a slim hope for many Philadelphia students. But one organization has been changing all that.

The West Philadelphia Alliance for Children, a child-literacy advocacy group, was honored by City Council last week for its work reopening shuttered public school libraries in the city.

Nov 12

“[Congressional representatives] need to know that we are an educational institution. We’re not Blockbuster. Entertainment is part of our business, but our major business is education and literacy.” Kevin Smith, What congressmen need to know about libraries

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