Literacy initiatives
Literacy initiatives can make a significant contribution to reader development. Such initiatives exist at both local and national level.
There are many literacy initiatives related to education. These include the National Literacy Strategy, National Priorities for Education and Literacy Hour.
The ability to read fluently is an important life skill and opens doors to better job prospects, improved economic prospects and more leisure choices. In the UK, the issues are about low levels of literacy rather than illiteracy, but 23% of adults in the UK struggle with basic literacy.
The website of the National Literacy Trust, http://www.literacytrust.org.uk has lots of statistical information. Good functional literacy is important to the well being of individuals as well as the economy of the country and reading/writing abilities are essential for everyday tasks such as writing shopping lists, texting and using medicines properly.
Government initiatives to improve literacy in education include the introduction of the Literacy Hour. The National Literacy Trust was established in 1993 to improve skills, confidence and pleasure in reading. The NLT goes wider than formal education and there are well-developed national networks for Adult Literacy and Numeracy support and development.
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Go to http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/campaign/update.html#Latest and look at the details of the latest literacy initiatives applicable to libraries. Choose those of interest to your own library service and consider how you could use them as part of reader development. |
Let's have a look at some more examples of Literacy initiatives...
