This is why I will not stop talking about books and reading

Here are 11 Facts about Literacy in America from Do Something.  This happens to an organization that fund raises for different "campaigns" to bring about positive change.  I linked it simply because of the alarming facts they share.

Here is another article that analyzes the statistics on Americans who do not read, this time from the Pew Research Center. 24% percent of adult Americans "say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form."  Who Doesn't Read Books in America?  

And finally, here are some Facts About Children's Literacy from the National Education Association.

The Summer Slide is not a Fun Ride

Hello everyone! Some of you may be familiar with the term "summer slide." For those of you who are not it is not referring to a fun summer activity.  Rather, it refers to the substantial loss of academic skills, specifically in reading, that occurs over the summer when children do not have access to books to read. Over time this loss becomes cumulative, until the students are reading below grade level. In her article, Slowing the Summer Slide, Lorna Smith quotes the findings of researchers from Johns Hopkins on this issue as follows:

"Although low-income children in the study made as much progress in reading during the academic year as middle-income children did, the poorer children's reading skills slipped away during the summer months. The researchers concluded that two-thirds of the 9th grade reading achievement gap can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during elementary school."

Why do I bring this up on a college library's blog? There are a number of reasons.  First of all, literacy is important to everyone, not just for young children.  Furthermore, it is an amazingly complex skill to learn and master.  (For more information on why that is check out Learning to Read is Hard.) We all need to continually practice reading throughout our lifetimes in order to keep the comprehension and analytical skills required sharp.  Secondly, modeling the behavior we want our children to emulate is also necessary.  Why should a child take the time to read if their parents never do? Thirdly, reading out loud to your child past the age when they can already read for themselves has been proven to have long term benefits.  (See a previous posting on this blog about that).  Your child will get to hear words pronounced that he or she has never heard before and thus will not grow up thinking that the word Potpourri, for example, is pronounce Pot-poury. Finally, we have a large collection of children's materials for multiple reading levels available.  These collections exist to support our Early Childhood Education program and the Early College High School.  These items are not restricted to students enrolled in these programs.

We encourage you to make use of these collections for the reasons listed above. We could encourage you to use the public library, and you should.  However, there may be reasons you would prefer to use our library instead. We may be closer to your home than one of the public library branches. (Incidentally, if you live in Cleveland County and are not a student at CCC then you may apply for a community user card which will enable you to check out three books at a time.) You may already be coming here for summer classes and it will save you a trip.  You may find our hours work better for your schedule. Whatever reason you chose, if you chose to come to our library looking for recreational reading for yourself or your child we will welcome you with open arms and help you find a book that fits.

Library Out Loud

On October 9th we will be hosting our next Library Out Loud! This time we will be focusing on how to find and cite images for presentations. Come join us at 1:30 in the Rotary Center for Global Studies!

In the event you are wondering what happened to my planned Banned Books Week posts, well, illness derails the best of plans.  However, I can leave you with this photo of our display.

On banning books and other absurdities

Next week is the American Library Association's banned books week; an event that is designed to highlight just how often books are still challenged or outright banned in this country as well as to celebrate our right to read.  In the next few days I will share with you some of the absurd reasons books have been challenged or banned in this country.

First up is The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.  "In 1983, four members of the Alabama Textbook Commission wanted to reject the title for use in the schools because it was 'a real downer.'" (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). Another reason the book has been challenged have been because a parent objected "to the discussion of 'the mistreatment of the Jewish people.'" (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). Yes, that's right, someone objected to a Jewish girl recording the mistreatment she and others endured before perishing in the Holocaust simply because they were Jewish. Finally, in 1982 parents in Wise County, Virginia, challenged the book because Anne's criticism on her mother "undermines adult authority." (Karolides, Bald & Sova, 2005). A teen aged girl complained about her mother in her private diary. Oh no. What a shocking and terrible thing! (Where is a sarcasm font when you need one?)

Now, both of the dates of these challenges were quite a long time ago. This does not mean challenges have stopped. On the contrary, while Banned Books Week was started in 1982 due to an uptick in challenges at libraries, schools and bookstores, (www.bannedbooksweek.org) banners are still hard at work, getting offended over the slightest provocation.  Interestingly enough books with diverse characters have been the most recent target of challenges with nine of the top ten most challenged books for 2015-2016 having diverse content and eight six of the top one hundred also having diverse content.  (www.ala.org) What do we mean by diverse content? Written and/or about people of color, LGBT people, people with disabilities or a combination of these. 

Stay tuned for some more interesting facts about banned books and check out the ALA's webpage on banned books for more information and what you can do to prevent book challenges turning into bans (the removal of the challenged item). ALA Banned Books

Magic in books

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. Things have been a little hectic this week with projects and meetings that need to take place before the start of the next semester.  Today I was asked if I gain magic powers whenever someone read a book and I laughed and said "maybe." I think however, that there is an element of truth in that statement.  I think we all gain a bit of magic whenever we read, especially if what we read connects with us.

Connecting readers (or people who might become readers) with books is one of the job functions of a librarian, but it is also the role of teachers across the globe.  I honestly don't remember not being able to read, or learning how to read per se (just how to sound out words that I didn't instantly recognize), but I do remember the first book that really grabbed me.  It was Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary and it was read to my first grade class by one of the best teachers I have ever had Mrs. Pat Primoli.  I related so much to Ramona and what she went through in that book and I couldn't wait to read it for myself.  This was the spur I needed to turn into a voracious reader. 

According to BuildOn.org nearly 900 million people worldwide cannot read or write.  Literacy is so important that throughout history people have been forbidden from learning these skills because illiterate people are easier to exploit and abuse. I urge you to take the time to read today and every day you can, and to read with the children in your lives.  It really does only take one great book to turn someone into a lifelong reader, and lifelong readers are lifelong learners and that it ultimately the goal of every educator. To create lifelong learners.