Congratulations to the 2011 Better World Books/NCFL Libraries and Families Award winners

Through the Better World Books/NCFL Libraries and Families Award, NCFL and Better World Books reward and enhance existing family programming and expand literacy-building practices of families in library settings. The three $10,000 grants awarded each year connect more families to their local libraries and expand their literacy efforts in new and innovative ways. The winners also received scholarships to NCFL’s 20th National Conference on Family Literacy.

The winners of the 2011 Better World Books/NCFL Libraries and Families Award are:

Friends of the Dallas Public Library’s Every Child Ready to Read@Dallas

The Every Child Ready to Read@Dallas program, supported by the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, serves 5,600 families and is open to all families with children newborn to 6 years old. More than 80 percent of the participating families are Hispanic or African-American.

Workshops are conducted in libraries, community centers or schools to engage parent and child in hands-on interactive, literacy-based activities. After attending the workshop, 83 percent of families engage in more literacy activities at home.

The grant will bring workshops into the homes of the families who are unable to attend by creating home instructional DVDs in English and Spanish.

San Diego Library’s READ/San Diego — Families for Literacy program

READ/San Diego, the adult and family literacy program of the San Diego Public Library, serves low-literate English-speaking parents, grandparents or caregivers who are at least 18 years of age with at least one child under age 5. It provides one-on-one literacy training.

The program introduces families to the services of the public library, teaching parents how to read to their children and ensure they are ready for school. Free children’s books also are provided to help families create at-home libraries.

A large majority of parents in the program are achieving their literacy goals, and children are entering school much more prepared. The grant will allow the library to increase the number of programs and books.

Queens Library Family Literacy Program

The Queens Library Family Literacy Program is an intensive program that has strong collaborative partnerships with museums, faith-based organizations, schools and other community-based organizations. It serves one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse counties.

This is the latest award for the Queens Library Family Literacy Program. It has been selected by the city to create a model school-family literacy pilot.

A large majority of families see increased adult literacy skills, improved listening and academic skills for children, additional reading in the home and even more time spent exercising. It plans to use the award funding to help participants publish a cookbook and produce a newscast to promote health learning and literacy learning.

Congratulations to all three programs!