Monthly Archives: May 2014

Applications for UNESCO International Literacy Prizes

Every year during the ceremony of the International Literacy Day (8 September), UNESCO awards the International Literacy Prizes to partner organizations, institutions or individuals in recognition of their remarkable innovation and contribution in the field of literacy. UNESCO is launching the call for nominations of candidates for the 2014 edition under the theme “Literacy and Sustainable Development”.

The Prizes consist of the three UNESCO Confucius Prizes for Literacy and the two UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prizes, generously funded by the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. Governments of Member States and Non-Governmental Organizations maintaining official relations with UNESCO are invited to submit their nominations.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 27 June 2014

Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program

This is a Call for Innovative library projects and new scholars in developing countries. 
“The Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program provides grants to libraries in the developing world to improve access to scientific, technical and medical information. The 2014 program priorities include measuring the overall impact of access to information on health, agriculture and the general social and economic wellbeing of a community. Additional focus also goes to professional training enabling librarians to serve as pivotal advocates in their research ecosystems and projects which demonstrate the link between research access, training, usage and health impact.”
If you are interested in this Call, then you should submit a brief one page proposal—by June 17th .

Library instruction assessments book

Mary Snyder Broussard, Rachel Hickoff-Cresko, and Jessica Urick Oberlin.  (2014). Snapshots of Reality: A Practical Guide to Formative Assessment in Library Instruction. Chicago: American Library Association.

Through ten practical chapters, Snapshots of Reality works from the assumption that classroom-based assessment does not have to take away from invaluable instruction time, nor does it have to be an overwhelmingly complicated task. The book outlines the concept of formative assessment, “bite-sized” assessments that help the librarian get a snapshot of the students’ level of understanding in relation to the learning target(s). These mini-assessments are usually learning tools themselves and can be assessed quickly enough that can be adjusted on the spot to meet the immediate needs of learners. Snapshots of Reality explores the adaptation of formative assessment theory into something that works for the library one-shot and more advanced instructor-librarian collaborations. It also includes three sections detailing 48 FAST (Formative Assessment Snapshot Technique) ideas for use before, during and after instruction sessions as well as a guided planning template to help librarians seamlessly bring formative assessment into the library classroom. This book is appropriate for all types of academic libraries, school libraries with strong information literacy programs, and library and information school collections.