Check out Buffy Hamilton’s blog post on libraries and literacy on DML Central. From the final paragraph for some meaty questions:
How might a library engage in a closer self-examination to see the larger patterns of their literacy sponsorship? How might an analysis of these patterns and trajectories of literacy learning help libraries see beyond what Brandt identifies as the “shorthand of socioeconomic status” that may blind us to less visible histories of our communities and other literacy sponsors that have either enabled or denied equitable literacy opportunities? (The Sponsors of Literacy 9). How might libraries then go beyond a mere “cataloging” of opportunities, programs, services, community partnerships, technologies, and collections to “expose the deeply textured history that lies within the literacy practices of institutions” that ultimately impact an individual’s literacy learning (Brandt, The Sponsors of Literacy 15)?
An important reminder that literacy is more than checking books in and out and that we should measure success in our impact not in our lists of activities.
Image: “Eruption” by Andrea on Flickr. CC-BY.