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Two Libraries Receive $10,000 Awards for Family Literacy Programs

May 20, 2010

Two public libraries have received the new $10,000 Libraries and Families Award from the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and Better World Books (BWB), in recognition of their work in promoting literacy awareness.

Awards were presented during the NCFL's recent national conference in San Antonio, TX, to the Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, NY, which won in the public/academic libraries category, and the Vineland Public Library, NJ, which won in the urban library category.
Winners' programs
In recent years libraries have done more to promote literacy awareness and programs for families, said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL. "We want to acknowledge, reward and support these innovative services as best we can," she said.
Mastic-Moriches-Shirley's "Learning English: A Family Affair" program incorporates the BEST oral literacy test in its English language classes; 75 percent of its participants increased their English language proficiency by at least one level in less than a year, according to Kirkpatrick. The library has expanded the program, aimed at families for whom English is a second language, from once a week to three times per week.
Vineland won for its "Families and Books" workshops that teach adults the importance of reading to their children every day. The library reaches out to local schools and organization and, Kirkpatrick said, "Their program has tremendous results."

The NCFL and the award
The non-profit NCFL tackles low literacy rates and poverty by encouraging families to work together to improve literacy and life skills. It helps improve the effectiveness of local programs through a network of teachers and volunteers.

The NCFL's national conference, held earlier this month, included literacy ‘how to' sessions, the latest research in the industry and appearances by celebrity authors and advocates.
Kirkpatrick said the NCFL's literacy committee focused on program outcomes when selecting the winners of the awards among hundreds of applicants.

The NCFL has withheld its decision on a winner for the third category of applicants, Friends of the Library, because it needs to reevaluate its criteria for that particular award. A winner in that category will be announced in about six weeks.
Funding and next year's award
Each $10,000 award, which must be applied to the winning literacy programs, is funded through Better World Books for Libraries. BWB sells unwanted library books and donations books online, sharing revenues with the libraries and one of its non-profit literacy programs.
Applications are not yet available for next year's Libraries and Families Award, but should be at the NCFL's web site.