Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole spoke at the World Bank on Sept. 8 during the official U.S. celebration of International Literacy Day. Cosponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA), UNESCO and the World Bank, the program featured the announcement of the 1998 IRA Literacy Award of $15,000 to the Directorate of Literacy and Promotion of National Languages in Chad.
Four other UNESCO International Literacy Prizes of $15,000 were presented that day, each being awarded to a different national government organization in recognition of its effective contribution to the fight against illiteracy. The other winners were the El Abbrojo Institute for People's Education in Uruguay; Egypt's General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education; Group permanent de lutte contre l'illetrisme, a French interministerial body; and Bangladesh's Primary and Mass Education Division.
Reading and Literacy Promotion Programs Held at 1998 IFLA Conference
The Section on Reading of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), chaired by John Cole, sponsored two programs in Amsterdam during IFLA's 64th annual conference.
On Aug. 17, three speakers discussed "Book and Reading Promotion in the Low Countries." Marieke Sandersten Holte, director of Stichting Lezen (The Dutch Platform for Promotion of Reading), presented an overview of the government-supported organization she heads; Henk Kriama, director of Stichting CPNB, talked about bringing publishers, book sellers and readers together; and Margreet Ruardi, director of Stichting Schrijvers School Samenleving, explained how her organization brings writers and schools together on behalf of reading and literacy. According to the speakers, reading promotion has a high priority throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The audience also heard from reading and library advocates from Namibia, Mexico, Poland, Malaysia, Finland and Thailand.
An all-day workshop on Aug. 20 was devoted to "Literacy and Reading Services to Cultural and Linguistic Minorities." The workshop featured six presentations that combined research findings and descriptions of successful projects, a panel of experts who work with minority language groups and poster presentations of literacy and reading programs. Topics included "Expanding the Literacy of Linguistic Minorities"; "Electronic Publishing and Minority Languages: The Contribution to Reading"; "Provision and Promotion of Minority Language Reading Material for Children and Young People: A Case Study from Wales"; "Professionalism in Reading Development Is the Condition for Success"; and "A Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Program in Texas." The speakers and program moderators were from the United States, Wales, Slovenia, Canada, Norway, Senegal, Nicaragua and Australia. The Section on Reading is preparing a publication based on the papers and discussion.
IFLA workshop panelists Antoinette Correa of Senegal, Ivar Haug of Norway and Carlos Aleman Ocampo of Nicaragua. - John Cole
Participants in the two Reading Section standing committee meetings, held Aug. 15 and Aug. 21, were from Canada, Israel, France, Norway, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Greece, Croatia and Botswana. Two of the section's major goals are to promote reading development and to encourage research about reading, literacy and the library environment. For information about the section's activities, visit its Web site. For information about membership, contact Charlotta Brynger, IFLA Membership Officer, P.O Box 95312, 2509 CH The Hague, Netherlands; fax: 31-70-3834827; e-mail: [email protected], or section secretary Adele M. Fasick, e-mail: [email protected]
Papers from 1996 "Libraries and Reading" Conference in Russia Published
On June 19-21, 1996, the IFLA Section on Reading and the IFLA Round Table on Library History jointly sponsored an international conference in Vologda, Russia, on "Libraries and Reading in Times of Cultural Change." More than 20 prominent Russian and American scholars -- sociologists, historians, specialists in literature and library studies -- participated in the meeting, which was funded by the Russian Ministry of Culture, the Russian State Library and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. The papers focused on the historical role of libraries and reading in the United States and Russia, particularly in the context of social and political change in both countries. The nine American contributors included Librarian of Congress James H. Billington ("American Public Libraries in the Information Age: Constant Purpose in Changing Times"), Marianna Tax Choldin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ("Russian Libraries and Readers After the Ice Age"), and Donald G. Davis Jr., University of Texas at Austin ("Wars in American Libraries: Ideological Battles in the Selection of Materials").
The English-language version of the papers, edited by Round Table chair Pamela Spence Richards, were published this year as the January 1998 issue of the journal Libraries & Culture.
Titled "The History of Reading and Libraries in the United States and Russia," the issue is available to individuals for $9 and to institutions for $17 from: Libraries & Culture, University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819. Orders should be accompanied by a check payable to the University of Texas Press. The Russian-language version, edited by conference coorganizer Valeria Stelmakh of the Russian State Library, will be available later this year.
Conference on New-Media Technologies Slated for England in 1999
The Center for the Book is one of the organizational sponsors of "Creativity and Consumption: New Media Arts in Advanced Technology Culture," an international conference that will be held March 29-31, 1999, at the University of Luton in England.
Papers at the conference will explore theoretical issues concerning the content and use of digital technology to promote a "critical understanding of new-media products and the context in which they circulate." For information, contact Alexis Weedon, Creativity and Consumption Conference, University of Luton, 75 Castle Street, Luton, Beds LUI 3AJ England UK; e-mail: [email protected]
The Center for the Book's mission is to use the resources and influence of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books, reading and libraries -- nationally and internationally. For background about the center's international activities and role, see the LC Information Bulletin, February 1998.
Conference on Books and Reading in the Cold War Held in Paris
Cold War" conference participants John Cole and Cheng Huanwen of Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, China, in front of the new Bibliothèque Nationale de France building in Paris on June 10. - Donald G. Daivs Jr.
The IFLA Round Table on Reading and the French National Library School, in cooperation with the IFLA Section on Reading, sponsored an international conference in Paris on June 11-12 on "Books, Libraries, Reading and Publishing in the Cold War."
This meeting, which featured 22 papers dealing with the effects of the Cold War on the international book and library community, attracted book, library and literary historians from several countries. Censorship, intellectual freedom, library collection development, the "freedom to read" movement, and literary publishing were major topics. Papers specifically addressed developments within the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Finland, francophone Africa, Czechoslovakia, France, Romania and IFLA itself. Conference organizers were Pamela Spence Richards, Rutgers University, and Martine Poulain, French National Library School. John Y. Cole represented the IFLA Section on Reading and served as moderator for one of the conference sessions.
The program included visits to the Bibliothèque Nationale and the American Library in Paris. Papers presented at the conference will be published at a later date. Information about the publication will be available on the Center for the Book's Web site.
