This post is by Celia Roskin of the Library of Congress.
Since I was young, I have had a passion for reading and writing. As I grew older, I also discovered my interest in teaching these skills to others, so I was thrilled to come to work as the new Administrative Support Assistant to the Literacy Awards Program at the Library of Congress. Where better to celebrate achievement in literacy education than the world’s largest library?
The Literacy Awards Program honors organizations that have made outstanding contributions to increasing literacy in the United States or abroad. The awards also encourage the continuing development of innovative methods for combating illiteracy and the wide dissemination of the most effective practices.
Since 2013, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program has awarded more than $2.5 million in prizes to more than 150 institutions in 38 countries. In 2021, the Library recognized 17 organizations as Literacy Awards winners and honorees. In past years, in-person events were held to celebrate the accomplishments of these organizations. However, we celebrated our 2021 winners with a four part webinar series.
The Library continues to honor the winners with the 2021 Literacy Award Winners and Honorees story map. This immersive reading experience supports exploring the ways these organizations have improved the lives of people around the world. The story map offers more information on these organizations’ programming and the ways they shaped and influenced successful literacy initiatives.
After reading and exploring the story map, did you learn something new? Could you take and transform some of the resources and ideas from these organizations and implement them in your own classrooms? Let us know in the comments below!
Be sure to stay connected with us to learn more about the 2022 Literacy Awards Program winners and honorees, which will be announced in early September. For additional information on how to apply or nominate an organization for the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program, please visit https://www.loc.gov/programs/library-of-congress-literacy-awards.
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Thanks