OPL @ the Power of Words breakfast

This morning, I attended the Power of Words breakfast organised by the amazing People, Words & Change. We met and spoke with many of the 90+ people attending the event, including literacy tutors, adult students, PWC staff and Board members, Mayor Watson (at left*), Councillor Fleury, and Councillor Hobbs.

The line for food snaked by our Ottawa Public Library display table (at right), which was a great strategic advantage; I was able to call out “While you’re waiting, have a free bookmark ... And can we interest you in some information about the library?” We had a nice chat with Mayor Watson when he was waiting in line, and he mentioned OPL in his speech. He said that he is proud of the work the library does, of its “dynamic staff,” and our “passionate” Board Chair (the always-spectacular Jan Harder). He also alluded to Toronto (“unlike that city down the road, we know the importance of the library...”).

I answered one or two reference questions, promoted our collections (some lists: Golden Oak Award Finalists, Quick Reads series, Good Reads series, and the Open Door series) and services. We brought material from our collections to display, membership forms, information about programs, some OPL swag (bookmarks, pencils, magnets), branch and location information, and we also raffled off two free books!

The speeches given by the students themselves were hands-down the best part of the morning: one student mentioned every tutor he had at PWC - and many of the administrative staff - by name and thanked them; another mentioned how, now that she was more comfortable using her English, she went out more and was more sociable because she wasn’t embarrassed to speak to people... and she could negotiate a better rate on her travel insurance! Another stressed the importance of reading, specifically, and said that she never realised how important it was to read a lot until she began working with her tutor to improve her grammar. A few made some pretty cute jokes about idiosyncrasies of the English language: one remarked how important it was for him to learn the difference between "affect" and "effect." Another described her trouble with the complex uses of the word "up:" you can say "it's clouding up," or "it's clearing up," but really, she should be "finishing up" her speech and she should really "shut up." There were some really moving stories of people overcoming great adversity; two students who spoke are now Carleton students; one student said that he and his wife agree that calling PWC was the best thing he ever did.

It was a really rewarding experience to be there. FYI, though, networking at 7 am is pretty exhausting.

*Photo at top left: David Barbour, http://www.davidbarbour.com

Literacy rates will fall in the next 20 years

A report out today from the Canadian Council on Learning predicts that literacy rates will fall significantly in the next twenty years.

Ottawa alone "can expect to see an 80% increase in adults with low literacy; from approximately 275,000 in 2001 to nearly 500,000 by 2031," says the press release. The key factors behind this increase "are a spike in the population of seniors (as literacy skills tend to wane as people age) and the growing number of immigrants with low literacy."

Literacy initiatives at my old high school

Heritage Regional High School, formerly Macdonald Cartier High School, where I attended the now-unavailable International Baccalaureate program, was written up in the Gazette recently for some upcoming literacy initiatives.

First of all, due to re-shuffling since I left (and MCHS was always big), the school's catchment area is now roughly the size of Northern Ireland. Yikes!!

I have many very, very fond memories of teachers, especially in the English department, from my time at MCHS, including Carol Tynan, Carmen Woolgar, and Mr Jones (I still think of you when I hear the Counting Crows song) in the English department. Woolgar and Jones had enough faith in me, despite shyness and general uncoolness, to cast me in the school play, and Mrs. Tynan, especially, encouraged my writing. I still remember her obstinate ways, too, including making us all memorize passages from Antony and Cleopatra ("You'll remember these later and thank me!"), exhorting us to learn the rules before we break them (using the story of Picasso scrawling something abstract on a napkin as payment at a bar. When an observer points out he could have scrawled something similar, Picasso admits, "Yes, but first, you draw a horse!") and making us listen to Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2," refusing to explain the opening lines, and making sure we didn't tell our parents we heard them.

Another thing I always found interesting when I looked back at my time at MCHS was that we had a very large library, staffed by an actual librarian or tech (I confess I didn't much care at the time, but as my Math teacher frequently pointed out, she was young and hot). It was two floors, no less. I should really go back and investigate. It's just so hard to find a reason to visit St. Hubert, across from the military base. A real tourist destination, let me tell you.

Anyway, the Gazette piece profiles a new(ish) English teacher's efforts to galvanise interest in literature among the students, including talks by Mike Boone (about journalism and hockey), Endre Farkas (about poetry), Sheree Fitch (about writing), Norman Nawrocki (about multi-media creativity), and the Montreal Shakespeare Theatre Company's Dany Lopez (about Shakespeare). English teacher Mary Eva's other big project is a Hemingway Six-Word Short Story contest (oh, for God's sake, if you don't know what that refers to, look it up).

Love it!

Snapshots

Today was a good day at work. I made an outreach visit to a First Words Screening Clinic at a local community centre, and it was a lot of fun. Basically, I hang out in the waiting room with the families until they are called in, and since it takes each family about 15 mins to be interviewed, the wait can really drag. I brought 4 books (I know, not a lot, but I can't carry the whole library!) and, since I've done one of these clinics before, I have to say, I totally chose the best books. In case you're wondering, I brought My little sister ate one hare, by Bill Grossman, Who's under that hat? by Sarah Weeks, Mille Mimi (or Maisy, if you prefer) by Lucy Cousins, and De quelle couleur est ta culotte? by Sam Lloyd. See, the key is, simple books that translate easily, since the families are (possibly) francophone and/or anglophone. Plus, the children are there because their parents are concerned about their language development, so you don't want to discourage or intimiate them. Lift-the-flaps are good. The totally obvious is good. And underwear... well, books about underwear are always a good choice.

It went well, the families read the books together and separately, I read to all the kids individually, they played with the Mimi/Maisy and Lola dolls I brought, and I handed out Every Child Ready to Read pamphlets, library program information and my cards. I even got one kid to participate in the hokey pokey, but he was totally just humouring me.

What was interesting, too, was that two of the parents asked me for help filling out the forms they were given by the clinic. It is discouraging to see how literacy can be an intergenerational problem, too. I also had a neat conversation with a mum who was in the middle of her first Canadian winter, having arrived in Dec. from Australia. She's already brought her daughter to skate on the canal.

When I got back to the branch, one of my colleagues was telling me that the executive director of one of our partner organisations had stopped by while I was gone, and was almost moved to tears by the Black History Month display that I had put up (and my colleagues Monica and Kristina helped fill!) Seriously, apparently she took pictures. And she is bringing a class in to look at it. It's nice when you see your work concretely appreciated!

Yesterday, a little girl (4, max.) watched with rapt attention while I repaired a minor tear to a page of a picture book for her. When I was done, I clapped it shut and gave it back to her, whereupon she bounced (literally) back to her reading chair, hollering YAY!

If only we could solve all our problems so quickly and efficiently....

The Guardian Charity Awards 2009

One of the small but distinct joys of visiting England was picking up the Guardian every day. Heck, I was even pleased to pick up the Evening Standard, not the least of which because they did a piece about the London Library - OK, so it was really just about the library's newest member (scroll down to second item on this page). But I digress....

I might have over 300 feeds in Google Reader, but I will always be a paper-based girl at heart. Hence, the joy of holding the Guardian and reading it cover to cover.

One of the interesting things I read about, in the society section, was the winners of the Guardian Charity Awards. Two out of the five winners are involved in reading-related work, including the InterAct Reading Service, which sends actors into hospitals to read to stoke survivors, and the Shannon Trust, which helps prisoners learn to read and improve their literacy skills. Says Julie Carthy, development manager at the Shannon Trust, about working with prisoners, "All these doors that have been shut for so many years are finally opening. They're thinking, 'Perhaps I will be able to send my daughter a birthday card this year...'"

Disgraceful Monday map

Here is a map of prose literacy skills in Canada released today (International Literacy Day) by the Canadian Council of Learning. Just look at it - it's absolutely horrific, especially in Quebec.

Literacy development in Lesotho

This is an appeal from a friend... Please check out the Help Lesotho website, and particularly their Library project page. A small group of HL people are leading a campaign to raise funds for hiring staff for two small village libraries in Pitseng and Hlotse, Lesotho.

The salary for one library staff member for a year is $2700! During the next few weeks of February 2009, HL volunteers are trying to raise enough money to hire one or two library staff members for 2009.

You can also donate for locally purchased books, bookshelves, chairs, tables, education, and resource posters. Tax receipts will be issued for any donation over $15.