NPR's Market place aired a program tonight on the need for English language classes for immigrants. It featured people interested in acquiring English language skills who are on waiting lists for classes.

American Dream Project/Immigrant Literacy

I was thinking about what Dale had said regarding the sensitivity surrounding the "American Dream Project" at our meeting in June. I couldn't help but think about the digital resources currently on the Occidental College website regarding Japanese-American Relocation during WWII. A number of those relocated were students at Occidental.

Just thought I would pass this site along:
http://departments.oxy.edu/digitalarch/web/

Narda

Great project on prison library services!

Colleagues, I've learned about this wonderful effort:

http://www.seniornet.org/php/default.php?PageID=7729

Check it out!

Loriene

SIRLS gone wild!

I'm wrapping up my time here in Tucson.
Thank you, Trejo Foster Foundation, for organizing a great event!
I was also pleased to hang out with some members of U of A's SIRLS (School of Information Resources and Library Science) LSO (Library Services Organization).
SIRLS received the 2007 New Members Roundtable (NMRT) Student Chapter of the Year Award! Congratulations LSO! And thank you---I'm a new owner of a "SIRLS gone wild" t-shirt, a collectable and coveted item.

In Tucson, Arizona!

I'm fortunate to be in Tucson. My main purpose is to attend and participate in the Trejo Foster Foundation Institute. What a great opportunity to focus on this year's topic: Health Information for Hispanic/Latino Populations.

I arrived a day early in order to renew and make some new connections.

My best friend from my Arizona days, Beth Dewitt (Arizona State Museum) picked me up and we spent a half-day on the Tohono O'odham reservation. The tribal college hosted us and provided a wonderful feast, welcome, and blessing in O'odham language. The feast included traditional foods, including cholla buttons and local beans. We went to the indigenous seed project and then the tribal public library.

Yesterday's visits included one with the U of Arizona's SIRLS students, faculty, staff, and alums. I'm now a proud ower of a "SIRLS gone wild" t-shirt! I met Aaron, the student who did the design. SIRLS director, Dr. Jana Bradley, brought me to the Tucson Public Library. We also visited a research and teaching collection of multicultural children's literature on campus and toured the Arizona State Museum library.

Plus, lots of media interviews! More about that later!

Circle of Literacy/ASCLA program at Anaheim

As many of you know we (COL incarcerated section) are co-sponsoring a program (with ASCLA and perhaps other divisions) at ALA annual next year and, believe it or not, planning is already behind. I need to present a more complete proposal by July 15 and hope y'all will comment. Although the focus will be on literacy programs in prison, the exact nature of the program needs fleshing out. My idea for the program revolves around "stories," that is relevant comments from prisoners, teachers, correctional librarians, program creaters, regarding their experiences with prison programs, successes, and problems. I haven't contacted anyone yet, but, if we can get people like Jimmy Santiago Baca and/or Carol Muske-Dukes; two former inmates who experienced literacy programs (a teen and an adult); and one or two correctional librarians or teachers of literacy programs, then we could offer an exciting and informative program. We would also present infomation about our work. Anyone who wants to comment can contact me at erayjames@gmail.com/