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Category: Literacy

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Stephen King Joins Library in Announcing Applications for the 2017 Literacy Awards

Posted by: Erin Allen

Award-winning author and literacy advocate Stephen King helped the Library of Congress today launch its call for nominations for the 2017 Library of Congress Literacy Awards. The annual awards support organizations working to promote literacy, both in the United States and worldwide, and are made possible through the generosity of David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and …

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Library Announces Literacy Award Winners

Posted by: Erin Allen

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the winners of the 2016 Library of Congress Literacy Awards tonight at the Library of Congress National Book Festival gala. The awards honor organizations working to promote literacy and reading in the United States and worldwide. The awards recognize groups doing exemplary, innovative and replicable work, and they spotlight the …

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Pic of the Week: Combating Illiteracy

Posted by: Erin Allen

 The Library of Congress on Wednesday honored the recipients of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards – three groups working to alleviate the scourge of illiteracy in this country and around the world. Recipients were First Book ($150,000 David M. Rubenstein Prize), United Through Reading ($50,000 American Prize) and Beanstalk ($50,000 International Prize).The Literacy Awards, first announced in January 2013, help …

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A New Ambassador for Reading

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

There’s something special, author Gene Luen Yang says, about the first time a reader encounters a literary character that shares the same cultural background. In his case, the character was Jubilation Lee, an X-Men comic-book figure who, like Yang, was a Chinese-American with immigrant parents but who, unlike Yang, could release explosive plasmoids and detonate …

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Where Literacy Lives (and Doesn’t)

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Guy Lamolinara, communications officer in the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.) The number of organizations dedicated to eradicating illiteracy, raising time spent reading and increasing reading proficiency is legion because the problems are legion. These groups can be found throughout the world, including the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Honoring Achievements in Literacy

Posted by: Erin Allen

This year marks the debut of three awards administered by the Library of Congress and sponsored by philanthropist David M. Rubenstein to recognize and support achievements in the field of literacy, both in the United States and abroad. Recipients of the first annual awards, announced in September at the Library’s National Book Festival, are Reach Out …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Literacy Decline Mirrors Voluntary-Reading Rate

Posted by: Matt Raymond

The National Endowment for the Arts has released its latest study lending more support to the notion that when students read less for pleasure throughout their lives, their overall reading achievement also declines. An analysis of several studies indicates that test scores and voluntary reading tend to go hand in hand. From The New York …