Letters About Literature Awards Ceremony

Today, the South Carolina Center for the Book awarded nine students from across the state for writing in the annual Letters About Literature competition.  The Letters About Literature program, sponsored by the South Carolina Center for the Book and the Library of Congress is a national reading and writing promotion contest. To enter, readers write personal letters to an author, living or dead, from any genre, explaining how that author’s work changed their way of thinking about the world or themselves.

Nine winners were honored at the South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book in Columbia. The ceremony was held in the Piedmont Room at 1500 Senate Street, Columbia. Contest judges and South Carolina State Library staff members were on hand to present awards. Winners read their letters and each received a monetary award from the South Carolina State Library Foundation ($100 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third).

Level One – Elementary
First Place – Zauria Manigault, Heyward Gibbes, Columbia
Second Place – Banks Mitchell, Atheneum/Vine & Branches Home Educators, Conway
Third Place – Naudia Humphrey, Heyward Gibbes, Columbia

Level Two – Middle
First Place – Emily Grace Cannon, McCants, Anderson
Second Place – Maggee Bolt, McCants, Anderson
Third Place – McKinely Rowland, McCants, Anderson

Level Three – High
First Place – Aidan Baxter-Ferguson, Spartanburg Day School
Second Place – Rebecca Dupree, James F. Byrnes Freshman Academy, Duncan
Third Place – Emma Sherer, SC Virtual Charter School, Columbia

For more photos, please visit the State Library’s flickr site or the Center’s Facebook page.

ASERL Launches “Guide to Southern Barbecue”

A Unique Blending of Southern Traditions, Librarian Savvy, and Good Humor

www.aserl.org/bbq

May 1, 2013 – DURHAM, NC.  With tongue firmly planted in cheek, today the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), representing libraries at 40 research institutions across 11 states, officially launched its own “Guide to Southern Barbecue,” a listing of recommended barbecue joints near ASERL campuses across the Southeast.  The ASERL Guide to Southern Barbecue is published as a freely-available, open-access guide to good eating in the region.

“ASERL librarians met last week in Memphis, well-known for its barbecue,” noted ASERL President Lynn Sutton. “And after years of good-natured in-fighting about where to get the best barbecue in the South, we took the occasion to publish our own guide.  As librarians, we have to use good judgment to select high quality resources all the time – we used these same skills to select good barbecue.”

ASERL convened a crack team of research library professionals – each a self-appointed arbiter of good taste in barbecue – to define criteria and design the user interface.  Quoting chapter and verse from “Holy Smoke” and other bibles of the craft, at one point the planning team identified more than three dozen possible criteria to be used in selecting winners.  In the end, ASERL libraries used a variety of methods to identify what they believe are the three best barbecue establishments within a 30-minute drive of their campuses.  On the launch date, about a third of ASERL libraries have contributed data; the remaining libraries continue to carefully consider these difficult decisions.

The online guide – available at www.aserl.org/bbq — contains basic and detailed listings for each selection, and maps to help guide users.  Mobile users can get driving directions to their selected restaurant.  And of course, the website includes links to other trusted resources, and a bibliography.

“We’ve been talking about this idea for a while.  I’m thrilled to see it come to life,” commented John Burger, ASERL’s Executive Director, who has been known to darken the door of such establishments with some frequency.  “I doubt it will solve any arguments – that’s not the point – but it will let people know where to start their search for the best of the best.”  Burger also joked that NIH-compliant data management plans are under development.

About ASERL

Founded in 1956, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries is the largest regional research library cooperative in the country.  ASERL operates numerous projects designed to foster a high standard of library excellence through inter-institutional resource sharing and other collaborative efforts.  By working together, ASERL members provide and maintain top quality resources and services for the students, faculty, and citizens of their respective communities.  More information about ASERL can be found at www.aserl.org.

2012-2013 Letters About Literature Competition Award Winners Announced

The Letters About Literature program, sponsored by the South Carolina Center for the Book and the Library of Congress is a national reading and writing promotion contest. To enter, readers write personal letters to an author, living or dead, from any genre, explaining how that author’s work changed their way of thinking about the world or themselves. Nine winners will be honored at an awards ceremony at the South Carolina State Library’s Center for the Book in Columbia. The ceremony will be held on May 3 from 11:00 a.m. to noon in the Piedmont Room at 1500 Senate Street, Columbia. Contest judges and South Carolina State Library staff members will be on hand to present awards. Winners will read their letters and each will receive a monetary award from the South Carolina State Library Foundation ($100 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third).

Level One – Elementary
First Place – Zauria Manigault, Heyward Gibbes, Columbia
Second Place – Banks Mitchell, Atheneum/Vine & Branches Home Educators, Conway
Third Place – Naudia Humphrey, Heyward Gibbes, Columbia

Level Two – Middle
First Place – Emily Grace Cannon, McCants, Anderson
Second Place – Maggee Bolt, McCants, Anderson
Third Place – McKinely Rowland, McCants, Anderson

Level Three – High
First Place – Aidan Baxter-Ferguson, Spartanburg Day School
Second Place – Rebecca Dupree, James F. Byrnes Freshman Academy, Duncan
Third Place – Emma Sherer, SC Virtual Charter School, Columbia

For more information about the South Carolina Center for the Book, please visit www.readsc.org.

EXPERIENCE SOUTH CAROLINA FEST!

The Old Town Association, Dyer Hart Productions, Bonnie Wallsh Associates LLC & Brown & Brown Marketing are pleased to announce the 2nd annual “Experience South Carolina Fest” will take place on Saturday, August 31, 2013 from 4:30pm-9:30pm along Main Street in Rock Hill.

“Experience South Carolina Fest” will excite the senses & highlight the rich diversity of the music, food, people and the culture of South Carolina. The festival will come alive with the sounds of South Carolina from the Beach Music that will evoke a summer night’s shagging at the beach to R&B representing the region as well as Gospel music. Confirmed entertainment at the festival will include Plair All Stars and Front Line. In addition, you can enjoy the tastes of South Carolina’s regional cuisine representing key areas of the State. Fried fish, barbecue, fried chicken and turkey, sausage gumbo, po’ boy sandwiches, fried pickles, corn bread, peach cobbler, red velvet cake and assorted other Southern specialties are all on the menu along with South Carolina Craft Beers.

The Old Town Market will be an area at the festival where local farmers will sell their produce and local artisans will be selling their handmade art & crafts.

The festival will also feature a Literary Corner to showcase some of South Carolina’s own authors. We invite you to join us at The Literary Corner which will be one of the highlights of Experience South Carolina. We are inviting South Carolina authors and others who have written about South Carolina to join us by submitting an Experience SC literary form.

And of course there will be plenty of activities for children at the Kidz Zone with inflatables.

The festival is free to the public and everyone can feel a part of the lively festival celebrating South Carolina in the beautiful “Old Town District” of Rock Hill on Labor Day weekend.

The event is being produced by Dyer Hart Productions, Bonnie Wallsh Associates LLC and Brown & Brown Marketing (all local promoters) in partnership with The Old Town Association. Linda Dyer Hart is a resident of Tega Cay, SC, Carlondo Brown is a Rock Hill resident and Bonnie Wallsh is a resident of Charlotte. Contact: Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, CMM by telephone at 704 491 0921 or by e-mail at bwacmp@carolina.rr.com.

Library of Congress Literacy Awards

Reading and success are inextricably linked. Those who read well and widely throughout their lifetimes are much more likely to achieve success and satisfaction in life. Our nation was founded on the written word, and reading is fundamental to maintaining our dynamic democracy.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards is a new program that will recognize and support individuals and institutions in the United States and abroad that have made significant contributions to combating illiteracy and aliteracy (having the ability to read but simply not exercising the skill).

The literacy awards program is administered by the Library’s Center for the Book. Final selection of prize winners will be made by the Librarian of Congress, who will solicit recommendations from literacy experts on an Advisory Board.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards program is made possible through the generosity of David M. Rubenstein, a major donor to Library of Congress programs, including its annual National Book Festival.

• Read the press release about the Library of Congress Literacy Awards.

Beginning in 2013, three prizes will be awarded annually:

• The David M. Rubenstein Prize ($150,000), for a groundbreaking contribution to the sustained advancement of literacy by any individual or entity worldwide
•  The American Prize ($50,000), for a project developed and implemented during the past decade with special emphasis on combating aliteracy
• The International Prize ($50,000), for the work of an individual, nation or nongovernmental organization working in a specific country or region

Criteria for selection:

• innovation
• replicability
• sustainability
• measurable impact
• demonstrated reliance on existing professional literature and applied practice

Who will be considered?

Individuals, institutions and organizations that are working to reduce illiteracy or aliteracy.

Individuals might include, but are not limited to:

• Educators
• Librarians
• School media/technology specialists
• Community leaders

Institutions, Nongovernmental and Nonprofit Organizations might include:

• Libraries
• Schools
• Nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations such as literacy groups, museums, community-based programs, school or library organizations, foundations

How many award categories may be selected?

• Individuals may apply or nominate in more than one award category, if appropriate. A separate application must be submitted for each award you apply for.

What do we want to know?

If you are nominating yourself, your organization, another individual or another organization for an award in recognition of groundbreaking, innovative and highly successful work in the field of literacy, describe:

• the program or project in general
• the specific elements of the program or project that address the criteria outlined above
• the methods used to measure impact/success
• the difference the program or project is making (provide quantifiable information)

Please note that we are especially interested in programs that are highly innovative and could be replicated by others.

Deadline:

All applications must be complete and received by midnight (in Washington, D.C.), April 15, 2013. You will receive an email confirmation that your application has been received.

Questions:

Please send all completed applications and inquiries to literacyawards@loc.gov

SC Center for the Book Welcomes Guest Blogger – Abby Davis

Please join the Center in welcoming Abby Davis as a guest blogger!  Abby is a freshman at USC and is majoring in comparative literature and philosophy.  Abby is from Kinston, North Carolina.

Her favorite books are Anna Karenina and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but she thoroughly enjoys all genres.  In addition to reading, she enjoys sailing and playing with her dog, Chloe.  Abby will be reviewing and blogging about South Carolina books and authors in the coming months.

The Big Read: New Grants and Reading Selections Available

Application Deadline: February 5, 2013

The Big Read is accepting applications from non-profit organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2013 and June 2014. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read receive a grant, educational and promotional materials, and access to online training resources and opportunities. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected.

We are proud to announce three new titles to The Big Read:

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

True Grit by Charles Portis

Into the Beautiful North by Luís Alberto Urrea

Visit http://www.NEABigRead.org/application_process.php for more information.

Questions? Call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or email TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org

NOTICE: State Library Web Server Maintenance

As part of the South Carolina State Library’s remodeling efforts, our web server will be periodically unavailable until Friday, December 14. The websites affected include our main website, DISCUS, WorkSC, StudySC, ReadSC, and DayByDaySC.

Outages are not planned to last longer than a few minutes at a time. If you find any of our sites offline, please try visiting again in a few minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience this will cause. Thank you for your patience.

World’s Largest Youth Poetry & Art Contest Announced

River of Words (ROW), the world’s largest youth poetry and art competition, is accepting submissions to its 18^th annual environmental poetry and art contest, sponsored in affiliation with The Library of Congress Center for the Book. Young people in kindergarten through twelfth grade, from anywhere in the world, are invited to explore and interpret their own home grounds by creating poetry and/or art about the places they live. Students may enter on their own or under the tutelage of a teacher or youth leader, as part of a group. The contest is free to enter and entry forms may be downloaded from the organization’s website at http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-environmental-literacy/art-poetry-contest.

Grand Prize winners (eight in all), plus the ROW/KSOE Teacher of the Year will win a trip to the 2013 River of Words Youth Creativity Awards in San Francisco. The ceremony, emceed by ROW co-founders Robert Hass and Pamela Michael, will be held on April 21 at the San Francisco Public Library. Winners and finalists will have their work published in a widely-distributed anthology, River of Words: The Natural World as Viewed by Young People. In addition, an East Coast award ceremony, also emceed by Hass and Michael, will be held at The Library of Congress on May 7^th .

The contest accepts poetry in English, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). Entries in other languages will be considered if they are submitted with an English translation. Students may enter as many times as they wish. Entries from the US must be postmarked by December 1, 2012. Foreign entries must be received by February 1, 2013. Winners will be announced in March.

WHAT:        River of Words Youth Poetry & Art Contest
WHO:          Children and youth in kindergarten through 12^th grade (5-19)
WHEN:       US entries must be postmarked by Dec. 1, 2012, Foreign entries must be received by Feb. 1, 2013
WHERE:     Mail to River of Words, PO Box 5060, Moraga, CA 94575 USA

Winners and finalists will be selected by the following judges:

Poetry:                                             Robert Hass & Pamela Michael
Spanish Language Poetry:         Dr. Raina Léon
ASL Poetry:                                    Ella Lenz & Susan Rutherford
Art:                                                   John Muir Laws

Students in some areas may also win recognition at the state or regional level. River of Words has coordinators in almost thirty states, many of which provide additional instructional materials and teacher training. Some states also mount state ceremonies and publish state River of Words anthologies.

River of Words is a project of the Center for Environmental Literacy in the Kalmanovitz School of Education at Saint Mary’s College of California. The Center promotes education initiatives that integrate nature and the arts into K-12 classrooms. The ROW Project inspires children and youth to translate their observations about their local watersheds and environment into creative expressions in poems and paintings. It also trains educators around the world in how to incorporate nature exploration, science and the arts into their work with young people.

Pee Dee Fiction & Poetry Festival to be held at Francis Marion University, November 8 & 9, 2012

For those looking to get in a “bind”, the book festival held annually at Francis Marion University is the place to be. Four nationally known and bestselling authors and poets, and their avid readers, will descend upon the university Nov. 8 and 9 at the Pee Dee Fiction and Poetry Festival, which is free and open to the public.

The two-day festival will celebrate and promote literature and reading with renowned authors Larry Watson, Nikky Finney, Danielle Evans, and Todd Boss. There will be readings, lectures, and panel discussions. A number of fiction topics will be covered and there will be opportunities for book signings.  For more information, visit http://peedeefiction.org/.