2016 Winners & Honorees

Library of Congress Literacy Awards Best Practices 2016 (PDF, 4.69 MB)

Winners

David M. Rubenstein Prize

WETA Reading Rockets was developed to address the need for evidence-based resources and services for literacy providers, educators and parents. Reading Rockets disseminates its information and resources to teachers, parents and caregivers via its free website, which is accessed 5.7 million times each year. Some of these resources include professional development webcasts, a television series about the stages of reading development, and book and activity suggestions.

American Prize

The Parent-Child Home Program develops school readiness in children with disadvantages by combining intensive home visits with weekly gifts of books and educational materials. Literacy specialists model good practices to educate parents about the importance of parent-child interaction, give them the tools they need to inculcate early literacy skills in their children and encourage them to see themselves as active participants in their child’s education. The Parent-Child Home Program has more than 50 years of success in educating parents to develop school readiness in children with disadvantages. Their work has been replicated in 400 high-need communities in 14 states and in Chile, Canada, Ireland and Bermuda.

International Prize

Libraries Without Borders works to increase access to literacy, education and culture for underserved populations around the world. Working in collaboration with local communities, it creates libraries, provides books and electronic resources and supports local publishers. One initiative, the Ideas Box, creates a temporary classroom, library and media center that provides safe educational space for those without regular access to these resources. Libraries Without Borders supports communities in more than 20 nations in innovative ways that use libraries and related technology to bridge gaps in social, economic and political environments.

Honorees

Outreach to Rural Communities

• Ethiopia Reads
• Students and Parents in Cooperative Education
• Collaborative Summer Library Program

Initiatives in the Workplace

• Zé Peão School Program
• GIZ—Police Cooperation Project
• Sipar

Research-based Professional Development

• Chicago Literacy Alliance
• National Center on Adult Literacy/International Literacy Institute
• National Center of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults

Mobiles for Literacy

• Cell-Ed
• Library for All
• Rumie Initiative

Supporting Refugees and Homeless Families

• New York City Department of Homeless Services
• Afghanistan Center at Kabul University