Announcement: 2017 Library Of Congress Literacy Awards
by TeachThought Staff
The winners of the 2017 Library of Congress Literacy Awards have been announced, and include a program to strengthen families from Louisville, Kentucky, as well as a multilingual and open-source digital repository for children’s books in India.
Originated by Rubenstein in 2013, the Literacy 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 need for the global community to unite in striving for universal literacy.
“Literacy is the first line of defense against so many problems—unemployment, hunger, poor health—and gives people a foundation for a brighter future,” Hayden said. “Through the generosity of David M. Rubenstein, the Library of Congress is proud to honor these exemplary organizations for their continued efforts to raise reading levels. Their work is moving and truly life-changing, and it is our privilege to recognize them here tonight.”
2017 Library Of Congress Literacy Awards Winners
David M. Rubenstein Prize ($150,000): Children’s Literacy Initiative, Philadelphia
Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) works with pre-K through third-grade teachers to improve early literacy instruction so children become powerful readers, writers and thinkers. CLI creates a sustainable, school-wide culture of literacy that introduces students to the joys of reading, writing and lifelong learning.
The organization coaches teachers one-on-one and in small groups in the classroom—providing demonstrations and feedback that help teachers incorporate effective literacy practices into their daily work with students. It stocks classrooms with learning materials and collections of high-quality children’s literature and extends its services with online professional development resources. CLI provides workshops and seminars to build a teacher’s knowledge of literacy content and pedagogy.
American Prize ($50,000): National Center for Families Learning, Louisville, Kentucky
Established in 1989 by its current president, Sharon Darling, the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) works to eliminate poverty through educational solutions for families.
Throughout its 28-year history, NCFL has changed the lives of millions of families across the country by providing literacy strategies, programming and resources. Engaging multiple generations together has been a fundamental and distinguishing aspect of NCFL’s work, because it knows this creates a stronger impact and greater success for families.
International Prize ($50,000): Pratham Books, Bangalore, India
Established with the mission of “a book in every child’s hand,” Pratham Books has helped millions of children have access to engaging, affordable, multilingual books. In order to scale the creation and distribution of multilingual content, Pratham Books launched StoryWeaver, India’s first open-source, digital repository of multilingual stories. All content on StoryWeaver is openly licensed. Users can read, download, print and share stories for free as well as use tools embedded on the platform to create and translate content into local languages.
The Library of Congress Literacy Awards program is also honoring 15 organizations for their implementation of best practices in literacy promotion.
The Asia Foundation, San Francisco
Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Center for Teaching and Learning, Edgecomb, Maine
Centre for Knowledge Assistance and Community Development, Hanoi, Vietnam
CODE, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CommonLit Inc., Washington, D.C.
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, New Orleans
Reading Partners, Oakland, California
Reading Works Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau, Alaska
Serve Minnesota, Minneapolis
State Library of Western Australia – Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program, Perth, Australia
Story Share Inc., Boston
Tales and Travel Memories, Elgin, Illinois
Yayasan Sulinama, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia
About The Library Of Congress Literacy Awards
The Library of Congress Literacy Awards are administered by the Library’s Center for the Book, which was created in 1977 by Congress to “stimulate public interest in books and reading.” A public-private partnership, the center sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages, nationally and internationally. The center provides leadership for affiliated state centers for the book and nonprofit reading-promotion partners and plays a key role in the Library’s annual National Book Festival.
About The Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world.