“I am honored to congratulate the twenty winners of the 2012 Spotlight literacy awards,” said White. “Many literacy students have overcome tremendous personal difficulties and obstacles to reach this level of achievement. I am also very proud to recognize the tutors for their generosity and encouragement in helping their literacy students achieve their utmost potential.”

The ten students honored for outstanding achievement in developing and improving their literacy skills are:

• Debra Bradford, John Wood Community College, Quincy
• Henry Dillon, Common Place Family Learning Center, Peoria
• Tywonda Edwards, Fishes & Loaves Outreach, Springfield
• Lovell Fisher, Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville
• Lola Jones, De La Salle Tolton Center, Chicago
• Gayla Karns, Frontier Community College, Fairfield
• Hilaria Ochoa, De La Salle Tolton Center, Chicago
• Frantz St. Fort, Indo-American Center, Chicago
• Darrell Taylor, Literacy Chicago
• Supaporn Yip, Albany Park Community Center, Chicago

The ten outstanding tutors honored for their contributions in helping literacy students reach their goals are:

• Lynn Campbell, Peoria Regional Superintendent of Schools, Peoria
• Naomi Crowell, Kaskaskia College, Centralia
• Mary Gercken, South Suburban College, South Holland
• Sister Lucy Giacchetti, SSND, Corazon a Corazon, Chicago
• Lori Hesterberg, Monroe/Randolph Regional Office of Education, Chester
• Yaro Hospodarsky, Rend Lake College, Ina
• Sheela Jeevanandam, De La Salle Tolton, Chicago
• Connie Jenkins, Project READ, Richland Community College, Decatur
• Terry Schlabach, Black Hawk College, Moline
• Rodney Yarger, Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley, St. Charles

Students and tutors are nominated by local providers that receive literacy grant funding from the Secretary of State/Illinois State Library Literacy Office. Each year ten students and ten tutors are honored. Students received a $200 check from the Illinois Press Association Foundation, and a congratulatory plaque and personalized Illinois Blue Book from Secretary White. Tutors also received a congratulatory plaque and personalized Illinois Blue Book from Secretary White, and a $200 donation to their tutoring organization by the Illinois Press Association Foundation.

“The Illinois Press Association is proud to participate in the Spotlight Awards literacy program that honors adult learners and tutors,” said Dennis M. DeRossett, executive director. “By now having the ability to read and to write, these honorees have new opportunities for a much better life for themselves and their families. We congratulate them for breaking through the barriers of illiteracy.”

Last year adult literacy programs that received grant funding provided educational services to 20,837 adult students. A total of 8,193 volunteer tutors statewide provided instruction to help students develop and enhance their reading, writing, math and language skills. Persons interested in becoming volunteer tutors are urged to contact the Illinois Adult Learning Hotline at 1-800-321-9511.

Route 66, the legendary highway, ran through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The mission of the Route 66 ARC is to make research and oral history materials accessible to the general public and Route 66 researchers for the purpose of education, preservation and management of the historic Route 66 corridor.

The State Library’s resources include books, maps and periodicals about Route 66, along with links to significant Route 66 collections in the Illinois Digital Archives. They also maintain a file on Route 66 topics and the personal file of the Route 66 Association of Illinois founder, the late Tom Teague. Donated collections include Mt. Olive Service Station’s ledgers and a historic run of state Route 66 association newsletters collected by historian and author Keith Sculle.  Check out this great resource today!

She knows the importance of continuing to learn and has passed that belief on to her children. Her eldest daughter just graduated from high school and is planning to attend LLCC. She attended the ESL class with her mother and after improving her English was able to obtain a job. The other children are also doing well in school. This family has benefited enormously from an outstanding literacy program.

Wanting to find work, the young man mentioned he worked on his family farm in Uganda. The literacy program referred him to a professor on the University of Illinois campus in the agricultural research program. Having improved his English speaking and writing skills, and with his farming background, the young man was hired to work in a laboratory and research garden. He has bonded with people in the agricultural program, continues to improve his English and math skills and is using literacy to enhance his life.

For more information and the order form, please visit the Family Reading night website.

The event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Illinois State Library. Prior to the reception, TBBS staff will offer tours of their new offices at 1 p.m. A special guest at the reception will be Roy Avers, narrator of more than 1,500 Talking Books, including such classics as The Prince of Tides, The Sea Wolf, Ken Burns’ The Civil War, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.

For more information about the event, call 800-665-5576, opt. 5.

“I am extremely proud of the outstanding service Illinois’ public libraries provide to our communities,” White said. “Our public libraries have never been more important to their patrons, serving almost 12 million people. I truly believe public libraries are cornerstones of our communities, and I am pleased to help them provide funding to serve the public.”

Per Capita Grant funding is authorized under Illinois library law and pays for expenses such as materials, personnel, equipment, electronic access, telecommunications and technology. Equalization Aid Grants ensure certain public libraries with a low library tax base have a minimum level of funding for library services. Find a list of libraries that received the grants on the Illinois State Library website.

The meeting will be conducted via videoconference at the Illinois State Library and also at the following locations:

• Illinois Heartland Library System locations in Champaign and Edwardsville

• Reaching Across Illinois Library System locations in Burr Ridge, Coal Valley, East Peoria, Geneva, Shorewood and Wheeling

• Highland Community College in Elizabeth

• Kankakee Public Library in Kankakee

• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Applications will be reviewed in the priority order specified in the Administrative Rules. Accessibility and Mini-Grants will be reviewed first; there will be a half hour break, then Remodeling and New Construction grants will be reviewed.

Participants are encouraged to register at L2. Questions or comments may be addressed to Mark Shaffer at 217-524-4901 or Jill Heffernan at 217-557-7259.

Archived informational Webinars on the Live & Learn Construction Grant Program and the new Public Library Construction Act Grant Program are available here.

The grant application for the Adult Literacy Grant Program contains three separate literacy grant categories of services, including:

• Adult Volunteer Literacy Tutoring Programs utilizes volunteer tutors to provide one-on-one instruction for adults who want to improve their reading, math, writing and language skills.
• Family Literacy Programs equip parents and their children, together and separately, to improve their basic reading, math, writing, and language skills.
• The educational needs of working adults are met through Workplace Skills Enhancement Programs, which provide on-site basic skills learning opportunities at their workplace.

Find the application, instructions, and other other information at the Illinois State Library website.

The texting program is intended for simple, quick reference questions, up to 160 characters, that can be answered with a brief response.

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White says the new texting service offers another way to meet patrons’ information needs. The Illinois State Library already offers reference and information services in person, by e-mail, telephone or fax.

The Illinois State Library won’t charge for the service, but message and data rates from cellphone users’ service carriers still apply.

Texts can be sent to (217) 953-0575, by starting the body of the text with the keyword ASKISL, followed by a space and the question.