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August 2, 1999
Contact: Audrey Fisher (202) 707-0022

Resource Notebook for Library-Museum-Head Start Project Published by the Library

The Library of Congress has published a resource book filled with practical ideas and information about how Head Start teachers, participants and parents can promote family literacy through collaborations with librarians and museum specialists who serve children.

The book was published by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in collaboration with Head Start and the American Library Association (ALA).

Copies of A Library Head Start to Literacy have been distributed to Head Start programs throughout the country through the Head Start Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"The publication of this volume concludes a fruitful five-year collaborative project with Head Start," said Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole. "The Center for the Book is grateful to Head Start for its support and to the Association for Library Service to Children and the Association of Youth Museums for their involvement and guidance."

The 295-page volume, titled A Library Head Start to Literacy, was written by Center for the Book consultant Virginia M. Mathews, the project director, and Susan Roman, executive director of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. The publication focuses on the importance of collaborative family literacy projects at the local level and emphasizes community resources and parental involvement.

The major chapters are: Motivation to Read; Materials Selection and Acquisition; Activities in the Classroom; Family Literacy: Building Bridges from Head Start to Home and Community; Training/Education for Parents, Other Caregivers, and Teachers; Community Collaboration and Resources; and Examples of Head Start and Early Childhood Programs Carried on by Libraries and Museums.

Appendices include a bibliography, a guide to the use of a project video produced in 1993, and a successful proposal for a Library-Museum-Head Start partnership grant that was submitted to the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 1998 by institutions in Rockford, Ill. Copies also are available for $6.50, to cover shipping and handling, from the Association for Library Service to Children. Please contact ALA Order Fulfillment, telephone (800) 545-2433, press 7. The ISBN number is 0-8389-8065-1. For further information, contact ALSC, telephone (800) 545- 2433, ext. 2163, e-mail: alsc@ala.org.

The Center for the Book was established by law in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries. Its program and publications are supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other government agencies. For information about the Center for the Book, visit its Web site at www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/.

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PR 99-107
8/2/99
ISSN 0731-3527