"Literacy (n): 1. The condition or quality of being literate, especially the ability to read and write."

--The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Expanding the definition of literacy: A Guide for Librarians

In today’s world children are exposed, even bombarded, by imagery that they must constantly process and interpret. Television, websites, video games, commercials, billboards, print advertising, computer screens—these are the landscape of our current lives. Literacy has come to mean much more than the ability to read; it is now necessary to be able to decode and understand many different types of information, from media-based to visual to technological. This web site will look at three categories of literacy—visual, media, and information literacy—in terms of their importance to children, offering information about what they are, why they are important, and how you as a librarian can use techniques to help children improve all types of literacy skills.

Site Created by: Maggie Hommel, Ben Riegler, and Kimberly Ulrich