November 30, 2015 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Publishes 2015 Best Practices

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards program, now in its third year, has just published “Best Practices 2015,” a review of the outstanding work in the field of literacy being done by the three 2015 Literacy Awards award winners and 14 additional organizations that are successfully implementing best practices in literacy and reading promotion.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress administers the program, which is made possible by the generosity of David M. Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group and a major donor to the Library of Congress, including its annual National Book Festival.

The Literacy Awards advisory board reviewed applications received from 22 U.S. states and 24 countries. The Librarian of Congress made the final selections.

“Best Practices 2015” focuses on five evidence-based practices that have been shown to promote literacy. The 14 profiled groups are effectively implementing these practices to support their literacy programming.

The report can be accessed on the Center for the Book’s website.

The winners of the 2015 Library of Congress Literacy Awards were announced on Oct. 28. They are:

• The David M. Rubenstein Prize: First Book (Washington, D.C.) ($150,000)
• The American Prize: United Through Reading (San Diego) ($50,000)
• The International Prize: Beanstalk (United Kingdom) ($50,000)

The 14 honorees cited and the practices for which they were recognized are:

Working with Government Policymakers

• Stiftung Lesen (Mainz, Germany)
• National Resource Center for Non-Formal Education (Kathmandu, Nepal)
• Kazakhstan Reading Association (Karagandy, Kazakhstan)

Creating a Community of Literacy

• Little Free Library (Hudson, Wisconsin)
• Family Reading Partnership (Ithaca, New York)
• Literacy Alberni Society (Port Alberni, Canada)

Selecting Appropriate Language of Instruction

• Worldreader (Barcelona, Spain)
• Book Aid International (London)
• Literacy Council of Montgomery County (Rockville, Maryland)

Literacy in Service of Social Goals

• Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop (Washington, D.C.)
• Alif Laila Book Bus Society (Lahore, Pakistan)
• Escuela Santo Niño Jesús, Fe y Alegria (Batey Lecheria, Dominican Republic)

Providing Access to Readers with Physical Disabilities

• Men with a Message (Smyrna, Delaware)
• Picsterbooks (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Since its creation by Congress in 1977 to "stimulate public interest in books and reading," the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress has become a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages, nationally and internationally. The center provides leadership for affiliated state centers for the book (including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and nonprofit reading-promotion partners and plays a key role in the Library’s annual National Book Festival. It also oversees the Library’s Read.gov website and administers the Library’s Young Readers Center and its Poetry and Literature Center.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s first-established federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may be accessed through the Library’s website, loc.gov.