For immediate release | June 9, 2010

ALA Committee on Literacy marks 10 years in Washington

WASHINGTON – On Friday, June 25, during ALA’s 2010 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., ALA leaders and literacy advocates will gather to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the formation of the ALA Committee on Literacy.

Held in ALA’s Washington Office, the celebration will focus on the committee’s decade of achievement. These achievements included sponsoring a health literacy pre-conference for frontline staff; collaborating on an Advocacy, Libraries, and Literacy webcast with the National Institute; visiting community-based literacy programs in Conference cities; and working tirelessly to advocate for literacy services across generations and in libraries and communities of all kinds.

Well-wishers will include ALA President Camila Alire, ALA President-Elect Roberta Stevens, ALA Immediate Past-President Jim Rettig and Peggy Barber, who served as the Committee’s first chair in 2001.

“For the past decade, the Committee on Literacy has played a vital role in the life of the Association and its membership. Literacy, and advocacy for strong library literacy services, is the key to success in our global community,” noted President Camila Alire.

Established in January 2001, the Committee on Literacy is charged with the development and recommendation of ALA’s policies regarding the promotion of literacy, as well as the development of programs, educational opportunities and other resources that assist libraries and librarians in promoting literacy in their communities.

Contact:

John Amundsen