Category Archives: Reading Promotion

Global Digital Reading Report

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Sora Unveils Its First Annual Report Sharing Worldwide Student Reading Data

Sora, the student reading platform from OverDrive, published “its first annual reading report of worldwide student digital reading data for the 2022-2023 school year.” “The State of K-12 Digital Reading,” which is available to download for free after registering, “reveals compelling regional differences, double digit growth in Comics and Graphic Novels and a surprising insight on which months tracked the most time spent reading.”
Key findings include the following:

Digital reading in K-12 schools has increased significantly over the past few years. Since 2019, total usage (based on digital book checkouts) has grown 286 percent as the number of schools using the Sora platform more than doubled. In 2022-23, usage continued the trend with 12% growth.
Reading sessions on the Sora reading app were up more than 8 percent compared to the previous school year (2021-2022), with total books read per student increasing by 3 percent.
The ebook format accounted for 84 percent of titles opened during the ’22-’23 school year, while audiobooks remain popular with 14 percent. Comics and graphic novels have contributed to the strong ebook usage, more than quadrupling in checkouts and jumping from 31 to 42% of total ebook checkouts since 2019.
For more information, read the press release at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/student-ebook-usage-breaks-records-302105186.html.

ALMA 2023 Laureate

Congratulations to the 2023 laureate, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of America’s foremost writers for young adults. Her breakthrough novel, Speak, was published in 1999 and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. In her richly expressive novels for young people she gives voice to the adolescent experience with sometimes brutal honesty. The yearning for love and belonging is a recurring theme for Anderson.

The jury’s motivation:

“In her tightly written novels for young adults, Laurie Halse Anderson gives voice to the search for meaning, identity, and truth, both in the present and the past. Her darkly radiant realism reveals the vital role of time and memory in young people’s lives. Pain and anxiety, yearning and love, class and sex are investigated with stylistic precision and dispassionate wit. With tender intensity, Laurie Halse Anderson evokes, moods, and emotions and never shies from even the hardest things.”

Secondary School Reading Study in England

A recent study of reading achievement of students in England’s secondary schools revealed several factors that predicted reading gains: leadership of reading such as a deputy head of literacy lead, regular assessment to accurately determine students’ reading needs, training staff on emerging reading strategies, highly skilled librarians to select and promote appropriate books, adequate funding to support reader needs, and staff awareness of students’ reading levels and needs.

‘Now the whole school is reading’: Supporting struggling readers in secondary schools. (2022, Oct.). Ofstead.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/now-the-whole-school-is-reading-supporting-struggling-readers-in-secondary-school/now-the-whole-school-is-reading-supporting-struggling-readers-in-secondary-school#monitoring-the-impact-of-additional-teaching-and-knowing-what-works

International Literacy Association Report about School Librarians

The International Literacy Association published a new report about the leadership of school librarians, which may be access at https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/the-essential-leadership-of-school-librarians.pdf?sfvrsn=f80c5216_6&fbclid=IwAR1BakLc6z83Q4PUXkHTsufjc9OAPym4BxY6nxXMKOSDHhbUWp3Ba9-6-z4

Japan Libraries News

The National Diet Library of Japan has recently published Newsletter Nr. 99, which focuses on library services for children and young adults.  Available at    https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndl.go.jp%2Fen%2Fcdnlao%2Fnewsletter%2F099%2F991.html&data=04%7C01%7Clesley.farmer%40csulb.edu%7C93a172ce943540c2db0a08d9f774ab08%7Cd175679bacd34644be82af041982977a%7C0%7C0%7C637812902762781461%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=sJQRK8v3IfPyH5ITZwCwXdxB%2BWgQcAVk2VMpstFwBAI%3D&reserved=0

American Library Association Conference: Focus on Literacy and Reading

This year, the American Library Association (ALA) held their annual conference virtually. While it limited networking, it also enabled more people to attend (because of cost, travel expenses, time). Furthermore, several sessions were available online on demand, so one could potentially attend more sessions than if attending physically. I was excited to take advantage of these elements.

In terms of literacy, collaborative and community-based partnerships were foremost and central. I spoke about the role of school libraries as literacy partners: as resource providers, as reading promoters, as information and digital literacy teachers, and as collaborators who bridge the school community and the community at large.

Another fascinating session featured Reading Nation Waterfall, which targets literacy for elementary children in six Native tribes. This federal grant-based project is using Little Free Libraries as the core element, complemented with community-based literacy practices. I serve as a consultant for that project.

Another major focus at the conference was equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). There were sessions on EDI in publishing: both in terms of soliciting more diverse authors as well as providing culturally responsive content. Collection development also needs to use a critical EDI lens to provide mirrors and windows to a variegated world. Particularly with the advent of the pandemic, librarians have pivoted to more online reading, and they need to pay attention to issues of digital access; for instance, librarians need to provide e-reader devices, and locate local free wifi hotspots for readers. Librarians also emphasized the need for welcoming environments that embrace all users. Other sessions also provided – and recommended – professional development on EDI and its application in library practice.

The closing keynote featured former President Barak Obama, who validated the importance of libraries for providing a world of information and ideas that can unite us.

Submitted by Dr. Lesley Farmer