   
Section on Reading
Annual Report
September 1999 - August 2000
Scope statement
The Section on Reading's goal is be a focal point for the discussion of the promotion of reading and print culture and for integrating reading research with reading promotion and development activities. Areas of concern include: increasing the social awareness of the significance of reading and general literacy; cultural literacy and illiteracy in different milieus; teaching the encouragement of reading with special emphasis on the younger generation; reader's skills and reading habits; and the effect of audiovisual media on reading and print culture in the new electronic environment. The relationship between reading research and reading promotion is considered especially significant.
The Section's interests cover a range of activities that affect all types of libraries, library associations, and institutions concerned with reading and literacy development. It has worked in cooperation with the IFLA Working Group on Literacy, and is now exploring potential projects and relationships between IFLA and literacy promotion. It cooperates with other international organizations such as the International Reading Association and UNESCO.
Goals
- To assume a leadership role in outlining strategies for international campaigns that support reading development.
- To monitor and promote the dissemination of knowledge and research about reading, literacy, readers, and library patrons.
- To promote, among librarians, educators, and other cultural agents, a better understanding of reading promotion, reading patterns, and literacy problems.
- To explore various ways of promoting reading and literacy in specific cultural milieus.
- To emphasize the role of reading in children's development and to outline various approaches and methods that have been used in different countries.
- To promote membership in the Section in order to increase its effectiveness.
Membership
66 members (7 November 2000)
Meetings
The Standing Committee met twice in Jerusalem during the Bangkok during the 66th IFLA General Conference. At the first meeting on 12 August 2000 the chairman emphasized the continuing need to increase membership in the Section. Shirley Fitzgibbons suggested contacting the national libraries and major research institutions of various countries to urge that they join the Section and nominate members for the Standing Committee. The committee approved the idea of producing a booklet containing the papers prepared for the Section's Jerusalem workshop on "Library-Based Literacy Programs." Seven committee members and guests presented brief reports about projects or activities in which they had been involved during the past year. The committee project to produce guidelines for library-based literacy projects was discussed. Adele Fasick distributed an outline and asked committee members to volunteer to work on particular sections. It was agreed to have two meetings in Boston: a Standing Committee session to complete the guidelines and a program on Reading Research Around the World.
The chairman opened the meeting on 18 August with a report on the Section's two successful Jerusalem programs: the open session on 16 August, "Literacy and Libraries: An Introduction," and the 17 August workshop, "Library-Based Programming to Promote Literacy." Both were well-attended and moved the Section's literacy agenda forward towards the development of the literacy guidelines. Adele Fasick reported that she will distribute a timetable for the development of the guidelines in the next few months and that the meeting in Boston will be held on 17 August 2001 at Simmons College. The chairman announced that the Section on Reading will be a cooperative partner in a new reading promotion project being developed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Russian Pushkin Library Megaproject, and the Open Society Institute. Standing Committee members Valeria Stelmakh and Maria Vedenyapina will work with John Cole on the project, which will include two trips to the United States by Russian librarians interested in reading promotion, and one trip of U.S. librarians to Russia. It is hoped that this project will serve as a model for similar endeavors in other parts of the world. The Section on Reading's Action Plan for 2000-2001 was revised. It will be published in issue no. 11 of the Section on Reading's Newsletter, which will be distributed in December 2000. The meeting concluded with discussion about the Section program on reading research in Boston in 2001 and possible programs in 2002 in Glasgow (topic: national literary and literature policies) and in Berlin in 2003.
Projects
- "Reading and Literacy, 1980-1995: An Annotated Bibliography." Project director: Irene Sever. Organized by subject and including critical notes, the bibliography is still being compiled.
- "Libraries and Reading in Times of Cultural Change," an international conference held in Vologda, Russia, 18-22 June 1996, sponsored jointly with the IFLA Round Table on Library History. Project directors: the late Pamela Spence Richards and Valeria Stelmakh. The English language version of the proceedings of this conference was published in 1998; the Russian language version was published with financial support from the Section on Reading in 1999.
- UNESCO "Reading for All" project. Project director: John Y. Cole. A meeting in Aswan, Egypt on 24-25 November 1997, inaugurated this program to expand the "Reading for All" literacy and library promotion project of the Egyptian government to other nations. Regional meetings are taking place. While the Reading Section is not directly involved in the continuing regional meetings, chair John Cole continues to represent IFLA on the project advisory board.
- "Books, Libraries, Reading, and Publishing in the Cold War," an international conference held in Paris, France, 11-12 June, 1998, sponsored jointly with the IFLA Round Table on Library History and the Library History Round Table of the American Library Association. Project directors: Martine Poulain, Donald G. Davis, Jr. and John Y. Cole. The English language version of the proceedings will be published as the Winter 2001 (vol. 36, no. 1) issue of the journal Libraries & Culture and an expanded hardbound version will be published by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in late 2001.
- IFLA-UNESCO "Books for All" project. In 1998 the Reading Section agreed to become a cosponsor, with the Children's Section, of this library development project. Project director: Adele Fasick.
- Literacy/IFLA Working Group on Literacy. At the Bangkok conference in 1999, the IFLA Working Group on Literacy recommended to the IFLA Professional Board that the Section on Reading assume the responsibility of developing and implementing projects concerning IFLA and the promotion of literacy. A program and workshop related to this topic were held at the 66th annual IFLA conference in Jerusalem in 2000. Guidelines for use by libraries are being developed during 2001, and will be distributed after the Boston conference in 2001. The paper presented by Reading Section chairman John Y. Cole at the Jerusalem conference, "Literacy, Libraries, & IFLA: Recent Developments and a Look at the Future," will be published in the March 2001 issue of the IFLA Journal. Project directors: Adele Fasick and John Y. Cole.
- Soros Foundation/Open Society Institute's "Pushkin Library" project. In 1999, the Section has agreed to become a cosponsor of the "Pushkin Library: Books for Russian Libraries" project, a three-year library replenishment program that also seeks "to heighten interest in books and reading in general." At the IFLA meeting in Jerusalem in 2000, agreement was reached on a pilot project that will bring Russian librarians with an interest in reading promotion to the United States in 2001, with a follow-up visit by U.S. librarians to Russia at a later date. Project directors: Maria A. Vedenyapina, Valeria Stelmakh, and John Y. Cole.
- Library of Congress conference on Oct. 23-26, 2000 on "National Libraries: Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Future." The Section on Reading was one of several IFLA Section sponsors of this successful conference, which will be described in several forthcoming publications. Project director: John Y. Cole.
Publications
Newsletter, No. 9, December 1999. 12 pages. This issue features: reports on Section activities, particularly at the IFLA conference in Bangkok in August 1999; the Section on Reading Action Plan for 2000-2001; a report about the IFLA Literacy Working Group, its activities, and the submission of its final report to the IFLA Professional Board; a continuation of the newsletter feature "Current Research in Literacy and Reading;" and an organizational profile of UNESCO that emphasizes UNESCO's long-standing interest in reading promotion and literacy.
Newsletter, No. 10, July 2000. 14 pages. This issue features: a preview of the Section's programs at the forthcoming IFLA conference in Jerusalem, including portions of the papers to be presented by the two speakers at the open session on 16 August; the Action Plan for 2000-2001; and a report on literacy related activities at the United Nations, particularly the UNESCO draft plan for a proposed "United Nations Literacy Decade" presented in March 2000 and discussed at the World Education Forum in Dakar in April 2000.
Literacy-Based Programming to Promote Literacy. Papers from the workshop sponsored by the Section on Reading on 17 August 2000 at the IFLA conference in Jerusalem. 45 pages.
The Section's Newsletters are available on the Section's IFLA web site. Through this site, links to other Web sites, and in its printed literature, the Section continues to promote its most recent publications and the many publications of its predecessor, the IFLA Round Table on Reading Research.
Conference Programme
The Section on Reading's open session program on 16 August at the 66th IFLA General Conference in Jerusalem drew a crowd of approximately 50 people. It was chaired by Ivar Haug. The program featured two presentations: a paper by Section chairman John Cole about the history and immediate future of IFLA's involvement with the issue of literacy, and a paper by Section member Shirley Fitzgibbons about the major international studies about literacy that have been published since 1990.
The Section's all-day workshop on 17 August, "Library-Based Programming to Promote Literacy," drew a total crowd of about 90 people. It was chaired by Adele Fasick. Many audience members only came for a portion of the program, but the organizers felt this was a good sign of concern about literacy in specific countries or parts of the world. Four papers were presented, each describing a specific program, and many other projects were mentioned by audience members during the discussion periods. The papers were: "After Literacy What Next? The Challenge of Sustaining a Literate Environment in Botswana,: by Gertrude Kayaga Mulindwa, former director, Botswana National Library Service, and Marty Legwaila (presented by John Cole); "The Born to Read Bilingual Program at the San Antonio Public Library," by Barbara Immroth, professor, University of Texas at Austin, USA; "Library-Based Programs to Promote Literacy: Do They Exist in Azerbaijan?," by Mizhgan Nazrova, Public Affairs Section, American Embassy, Baku, Azerbaijan (presented by Shakhla Khudiyeva, director, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan); and "A Public Library Enhances Services Through Family Literacy," Kathy East, Wood County District Public Library, Ohio, USA.
Relationships with other Bodies
IFLA Round Table on Library History: Cosponsored conferences in Vologda, Russia in June 1996 and in Paris, France in June 1998. The proceedings from the 1996 conference have been published, and those from the 1998 conference will be published by the end of 2001. The Reading Section joined the Round Table as a cosponsor of the Library of Congress conference in October 2000 on "National Libraries: Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Future."
IFLA Section on Libraries for Children and Young Adults: The Section on Reading has joined this section as a cosponsor of "Books for All," an IFLA-UNESCO library development project.
IFLA Working Group on Literacy: While the Working Group was disbanded after the presentation of its report at the Bangkok conference in 1999, its influence continues since the Section on Reading accepted one of the Working Group's basic recommendations: that the Section develop guidelines and make recommendations about IFLA's future activities in the area of literacy.
IFLA Section on National Libraries: The Section on Reading joined with the National Libraries Section as a cosponsor of the Library of Congress conference in the year 2000 on "National Libraries: Interpreting the Past, Shaping the Future."
International Reading Association:
- The Section on Reading joins with the International Reading Association and other organizations as a cosponsor of the annual Sept. 8 celebration of International Literacy Day.
- Plans are underway for the International Reading Association to cosponsor the Section on Reading's 2001 open session program in Boston about Reading Research Around the World.
International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY): The Section is trying to strengthen its relations with this group.
UNESCO:
- The chairman of the Section on Reading is on the advisory committee for the UNESCO-sponsored International Panel on the "Reading for All" program.
- The chairman is discussing ways that the Section on Reading might become active with the International Book Committee, an advisory body to UNESCO.
The World Bank: Because of its newly-expressed interest in education and especially in literacy, the Section on Reading is developing a new relationship with the World Bank and its various education projects. The World Bank was one of several organizational partners in the celebration of International Literacy Day at the Library of Congress on Sept. 8, 2000.
Useful Addresses
Officers:
John Y. Cole, chair
Director, Center for the Book
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE.
Washington, D.C. 20540-4920
phone: (202) 707-5221; fax: (202) 707-0269
e-mail: jcole@loc.gov
Adele M. Fasick
1386 28th Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94122
phone/fax: (415) 564-3096
e-mail: amfasick@earthlink.net
Information Coordinator
Adele M. Fasick
1386 28th Ave.
San Franciso, CA 94122
phone/fax: (415) 564-3096
e-mail: amfasick@earthlink.net
Author John Y. Cole, chair
Date 16 January 2001
|
