adult-literacy

December 18, 2022 150 × 100 Why aren’t we solving the adult literacy crisis?

A stack of books

Latest Library Links

20h

Brittany Allen writes: “The American Academy of Poets launched National Poetry Month in 1996. Reviving a recent tradition, the fine minds at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (FSG) are celebrating the sonnet in style this spring. Every weekday this entire month, you can call the FSG Poetry Hotline (385-DIAL-FSG) and hear an FSG author read a poem, right into your personal ear.” For recommendations of poetry books, see lists from NCW Libraries in Washington; Utah State University; Canton (Mich.) Public Library; Boston Public Library; or St. Joe County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana.

Literary Hub, Apr. 1; NCW Libraries, Apr. 9; Utah State University, Apr. 7; Canton (Mich.) Public Library, Jan. 8; Boston Public Library; St. Joe County (South Bend, Ind.) Public Library, Apr. 10
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Phil Morehart writes: “The Secret Life of Librarians has been nominated for a Webby Award. Produced by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the online series explores the unexpected stories of librarians across the country. The 10 recipients of the American Library Association’s 2024 I Love My Librarian Award are at the series’ heart, with each penning a short piece encapsulating their work, and more importantly, why they do it. These are the stories of the unsung heroes whose work impacts lives both inside the library and outside its walls. Award voting is open until April 17.”

I Love Libraries, Apr. 14
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Ella Creamer writes: “Requests to remove books from library shelves are on the rise in the UK, as the influence of pressure groups behind book bans in the US crosses the Atlantic, according to those working in the sector. Most of the UK challenges appear to come from individuals or small groups, unlike in the US, where 72% of demands to censor books last year were brought forward by organized groups, according to the American Library Association earlier this week. However, evidence suggests that the work of US action groups is reaching UK libraries too.”

The Guardian, Apr. 14, Apr. 8
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Aviva Bechky writes: “For more than a century, Canadians have used nothing but a narrow sidewalk to cross their national border into Vermont and enter the Haskell Free Library and Opera House. Now, however, the US Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to limit access to the library from the Canadian side of the border. After [October 1], anyone in Canada who wants to use the library’s main entrance must cross at an approved checkpoint or use an entrance on the Canadian side of the library that is about to undergo renovations.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 14
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“Tabletop game collections are an increasingly popular addition to libraries. They can provide innovative new ways for patrons to interact with library collections, and they can support hours of programming and events. But you know what makes game collections 20% cooler? When they’re discoverable in your library catalog! We at the ALA Games and Gaming Roundtable (GameRT) understand: if you’re not a cataloger, cataloging probably seems daunting. To that end, GameRT’s Metadata Committee has developed a guide for cataloging tabletop games, created for both catalogers and non-catalogers alike.”

ALA Games and Gaming Roundtable, Apr. 11
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Willie Swett writes: In St. Tammany Parish (La.), the March 29 ballot measure to renew a 4.35 mill tax “that provides 96% of the revenue for the parish’s 75-year-old library system received relatively little formal backing from some of the parish organizations that had endorsed [a simultaneous measure to rededicate sales tax revenue to the criminal justice system, possibly] due to the controversy the library system has faced since 2022 over minors’ access to items with sexual and LGBTQ+ themes. [Despite this,] 55% of voters approved the library millage.”

Nola.com, Apr. 6
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David Pierce writes: “Views are the most visible metric on the internet. You can see, in more or less real time, how many views something got on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and most other video platforms. A view is the universal currency of success—more views, more fun. But it’s all nonsense. Views are nothing. Views are lies. A ‘view,’ in reality, is not a universal metric. It’s not really anything. It is whatever a platform wants it to be, which usually has no actual correlation to whether someone actually encountered and experienced a piece of content.”

The Verge, Apr. 5

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