[Hum-DIS] FW: National Year of Reading 2012

[Kerry Smith]

From: Lisa Strickland [mailto:Lisa.Strickland at alia.org.au]
Sent: Friday, 25 November 2011 11:07 AM
To: alialteducators at lists.alia.org.au
Subject: FW: National Year of Reading 2012

Dear Educators,

With the countdown beginning for the launch of the National Year of Reading 2012 - we'd love it if you could share the below email with your students. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Kind regards, Robyn
****************


THE NATIONAL YEAR OF READING 2012 will see a whole heap of amazing, fun, reading activities taking place around Australia and online, so people of all ages, from different backgrounds, can discover and rediscover the joy of reading.

If your parents read to you when you were very young; if you learnt to read at an early age; if you went to a good school, where reading for pleasure was encouraged, and if you were inspired by the people around you to keep reading as a young adult, then the word on the page (or the screen) will be part of your DNA.

But that's not the case for 46% of the population. Nearly half the population struggles without the literacy skills to meet the most basic demands of everyday life and work. There are 46% of Australians who can't read newspapers; follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.

Australian libraries and library associations are behind a campaign to turn 2012 into the National Year of Reading, linking together all the great things that are already happening around books, reading and literacy, and giving them an extra boost, with inspirational programs and events taking place across the country.

Libraries will be partnering with government, the media, writers, schools, publishers, booksellers, employers, child care providers, health professionals and a whole host of other organisations that share our passion for reading.

The National Year of Reading 2012 will help Australians increase their reading confidence, literacy, IT literacy, vocabulary and general knowledge.

*         There will be adult stories available as 'free reads' for people who haven't developed strong literacy skills and are keen to do so, but find themselves without age-appropriate reading matter.

*         Our message will be that it doesn't matter what you read - romance and adventure are just as relevant as a classic novel. Everyone can start their reading journey with content that they find interesting and engaging. It doesn't have to be Shakespeare.

*         The story can be in any format - books, e-books, novellas, magazines, screen games. And it doesn't have to be a story. Non-fiction is fine too, and then there's poetry, graphic novels, newspapers, song lyrics.

The National Year of Reading 2012 is about children learning to read and keen readers finding new sources of inspiration. It's about supporting reading initiatives while respecting the oral tradition of storytelling. It's about helping people discover and rediscover the magic of books. And most of all, it's about Australians becoming a nation of readers.

Be part of it
The National Year of Reading 2012 is rapidly gathering momentum. It has already captured the imagination of the library and book world; we have developed major partnerships, and high profile ambassadors have put their names to the initiative. The public launch of the National Year of Reading will be on Tuesday 14 February, 2012. The countdown has already begun.

For more information, visit www.love2read.org.au<http://www.love2read.org.au> or contact me on robyn at thelibraryagency.org.au<mailto:robyn at thelibraryagency.org.au>


Robyn Ellard - Project Director
The Library Agency
GPO Box 1551, Melbourne VIC 3001
M: 0412 659 919 E: robyn at thelibraryagency.org.au<mailto:robyn at thelibraryagency.org.au>
T: 1300 313 443, F: 1300 323 448, W: www.thelibraryagency.org.au<http://www.thelibraryagency.org.au>

The information in this email message and any files transmitted with it are confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient please delete the email.  Thank you.

[Description: Description: C:\Users\Robyn\Desktop\L2R.gif]

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