Textual literacy is foundational to other literacies.
Those other literacies? Well, those are called multiple literacies.
The first step to thriving in a multi-literate world is to be able to read fluently for purpose and pleasure. Never doubt the importance of traditional textual literacy and the work that libraries are doing to support this ever-important skill.
In the 2019 School Library Standards, the very first strand is titled Textual Literacy. Its standard reads: “Students read and engage for academic and personal growth.”
To support students ability to read and engage for academic and personal growth, the State Library offers an outstanding selection of databases for preschoolers all the way up to post-secondary. They are sorted into elementary, middle school, and high school.
While each database is excellent in its own right, my general favorites for supporting textual literacy and multiple literacies include:
- for early elementary: Book Flix, World Book Early World of Learning, World Book Kids
- for upper elementary: True Flix, Culture Grams, World Book Student
- for middle school: SIRS Discoverer, True Flix, Culture Grams, World Book Student
- for high school: World Book Advanced, SIRS Researcher, EBSCO, Learning Express
School librarians love to work with other types of librarians to support literacy! One way to stay in the school library loop is to subscribe to the SD School Library Listserv and the second is via Collect+Connect, SDSL’s blog for school libraries.
Alissa Adams, School Library Technology Coordinator