Discussion for second half of September

Hello Literacy STARS! Interested in being a part of this discussion blog and group? Post a comment to this message. Tell us these items:
1. Your name
2. Your organization or group
3. What are you doing in SC to work with literacy issues?
4. What are some literacy topics you would like to see discussed on this blog?

We will do these for the second half of September. I will have a new topic for October and also be highlighting a "Literacy STAR" of the month!
Thanks and email me if you have any questions or problems - shulere@gwm.sc.edu
Looking forward to all the posts!!

Ellen

Literacy Leaders Awards

And one more note... USC's School of Library and Information Science of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies and the SC Center for Children's Books and Literacy will be handing out the first annual Literacy Leaders Awards on Thursday September 13th. This reception will be held at the SC State Library from 5 pm - 7 pm. You should have all received invitations. I hope you will attend this very important event. Please RSVP to Carolyn Delton at delton@gwm.sc.edu
You don't want to miss it!

Ellen

Breaking News - Literacy Links Changes to Literacy STARS

Wow - time flies! It has been a little over a year since Literacy Links began. Then we had our first summit in February of 2007. It has been a busy yet extremely rewarding year since I began at the SC Center for Children's Books and Literacy. It has been a year of growth and learning what is possible during a 24 hour day!

I have recently been writing grants, travelling the state and speaking to groups about literacy, and REALLY missing my Literacy Links group! I want us to reunite! Under a new name. The Dept of Education uses Literacy Links so i came up with a new name that I am excited about and know you all will love as well. S.T.A.R.S - We are "all-stars"! Sharing and Teaching to Achieve Reading Success.

I hope that all of you are still interested in working together to help each other and promote the literacy needs of South Carolina.

Here are my thoughts and plans:
- I have launched this new blog as a means for us to communicate and discuss literacy issues. I will post a discussion topic and then we can discuss the issues through the blog. I will still keep our original listserv (Literacy@listserv.sc.edu) as another means of communication. If you need to resubscribe the list, please let me know. We will have these discussion threads every month.

- Each month or so I will also place a "Literacy Project of the Month" on my home website.
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/ccbl/index.htm I will highlight a literacy group or a particular literacy event that is occurring.

- I would like to see STARS meet on a quarterly basis or more if we would like. Just to check in, visit with each other and network. I say quarterly because I really hope we can pull more people together from various parts of the State. Once a month is sometimes difficult for people who travels from a distance.

- I would also like to see us host a summit in an area of the State once a year. We will choose an area / region / town in the state and host a summit for literacy groups and parents in that area. This would be a time in a chosen venue where literacy groups from that area can come together and help let the people of their community know their services. It will also be a time for different literacy groups to get together and network. We will have a keynote speaker associated with these events.

One more item, many of you know that Rosemary Wells loved her visit to SC and would like to return with a few friends to speak to parents. We are looking to bring her back to SC in May. This will be the first STARS Summit. Right now, we are looking at Dillon County as a possible site. I hope you all will join me to make this a success!

If you are interested in continuing to be a part of the STARS network, please let me know. Any group, person, animal, school, library that shares and teaches to achieve reading success is a STAR in my book!
I want to keep this network of friends and people who care about literacy in South Carolina up and running and productive.
Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing from all of you. There is much we can do for our state!

Ellen