Activities that promote reading
The analysis of the data collected in this research understands the promotion of reading as the main mission of the Brazilian public library; public programs and national policies are built around it. These programs contribute to the formation and improvement of collections and, allied to the initiatives planned and developed by local staff, contribute to the activation of the collection through dramatized reading, story-telling followed by debates and art workshops with reconstructions of characters and facts, plays performed by the library staff or external groups, still counting with a theater office in some libraries. Meetings with writers, book fairs and expositions also integrate the set of actions promoted by libraries with the objective of stimulating reading among children and young kids.
The priority given to this area can be justified by the history of low literacy rates in the country. The following graph illustrates literacy rates of the population of ages 15 and above between the years of 1950 and 2000 (MINISTRY OF PLANNING, 2004). The growth in literacy rates has been steady, starting from 49% in 1950 to 86% in 2000.
The priority given to this area can be justified by the history of low literacy rates in the country. The following graph illustrates literacy rates of the population of ages 15 and above between the years of 1950 and 2000 (MINISTRY OF PLANNING, 2004). The growth in literacy rates has been steady, starting from 49% in 1950 to 86% in 2000.
Taking into consideration that reading and the use of information are important skills for socioeconomic development; indicators were sought for the analysis of literacy rates of the Brazilian population. Since 2001 the Paulo Montenegro Institute points to the National Indicator of Functional Literacy, the INAF Brasil. The results in the past 10 years show improvements in the population’s literacy rate, but these improvements aren’t happening as quickly as wished. The Brazilian population showed progress in the transition of absolute illiteracy or rudimentary literacy to a basic level of skill in reading and mathematics. On the other hand, during the 10 years monitored, little more than ¼ of the population hit a full level of abilities, or the level expected in order to complete elementary school.
The table below, extracted from the INAF website, illustrates the evolution of literacy levels (illiterate, rudimentary level, basic and full) and also a synthetic classification that compares functional illiteracy (absolute illiterate and rudimentary literacy) and functional literacy (basic level and full array of skills)
The table below, extracted from the INAF website, illustrates the evolution of literacy levels (illiterate, rudimentary level, basic and full) and also a synthetic classification that compares functional illiteracy (absolute illiterate and rudimentary literacy) and functional literacy (basic level and full array of skills)
INAF’s concepts are based on UNESCO’s vision which suggested the adoption of literacy and functional literacy concepts. A person is considered to be functionally literate if this person is capable of using reading and writing skills as well as mathematical skills to deal with demands in his/her social context and using them to continue learning and developing all throughout his/her life. According to INAF, functional literacy levels are the following:
Important changes happened in the 90’s regarding the scenario of Brazilian public libraries. The school survey, the main reason for visiting libraries at the time, was reduced by the distribution of books (Ministry of Education), strengthening School Libraries and the use Internet, which has been increasingly penetrating the lives of Brazilian people. The public library was challenged to reinvent itself. New proposals point to the transformation of libraries into a pleasant place for reading where users of various ages feel welcome and can use it for leisure, studying or working as well as participating in cultural programs that incentivize the taste for reading (MONTEIRO, 2013).
Developing the ability to read is a fundamental step to guarantee the access to information and knowledge, art and leisure as elements to improve life quality. Maria Zenita Monteiro, coordinator of the municipal library system of Sao Paulo states that in this sense there is no opposition between information and reading, for literature triggers new ways of thinking and reinventing one’s existence. Literary reading is fundamental to make people stop to criticize and rethink one’s means and processes, and as such is very important to trigger actions of citizenship and entrepreneurship. By discovering new worlds, characters, societies and life situations, the reader thinks of new possibilities for his/her existence.
“it is increasingly clear that one can’t think of a Society of Information without a Reading Society and that reading is precisely the cultural practice that allows citizens to transform information into knowledge, the key to this new society.”
HERNANDES, 2005 apud MONTEIRO, 2013
The Ministry of Culture develops programs that stimulate reading which go beyond public libraries. The National Program of Incentive of Reading (PROLER) is a project of social valuing of reading and writing, linked to the National Library Foundation and the Ministry of Culture. Through its committees, organized in Brazilian cities, it has been establishing itself as an active political presence, committed to the democratization of access to reading.
The National Plan of the Book and Reading (PNLL)defines the public policy guidelines directed towards reading and books in Brazil, and seeks to form a reading society, as a condition to promote the social inclusion of millions of Brazilians regarding goods, services, and culture. The PNLL consists of projects and programs that integrate 18 Action Lines grouped into four areas with the objective of guiding policies, programs, projects and continued actions developed by the ministries of culture and education, within the states and municipalities, state and municipal governments, public and private companies, society organizations and volunteers in general:
1. Equity on Access
1.1. Implementation of new libraries
1.2. Strength exisiting library network
1.3. Achieve newreading spaces
1.4. Distribution of free books
1.5. Improve the Access to books and other means of reading
1.6. Embrace the use of ICT
2. Foster reading and the development of facilitators 2.1. Capacitate reading facilitators
2.2. Social projects for reading
2.3. Foster research on reading and book knowledge area
2.4. Information Systems on libraries bibliography and editorial market
2.5. Prizes and awards for the actions that support and foster social practices for reading
3. Increase the institutional and symbolic value of reading
3.1. Actions to convert foster reading practices into a public policy.
3.2. Actions to build awareness on the social value of the book and the reading process.
3.3. Printed publish and other medias dedicated to value the book and the reading process.
4. The Development of a Book Economy
4.1. Development of the book productive chain
4.2. Foster the distribution, circulation and consume of goods related to written culture.
4.3. Support to the creative chain of the book.
4.4. Increase presence abroad for national production related to literature, science and edited culture.
Among the actions taken by the federal government to support public libraries, the ones that stand out are programs that distribute kits to expand and update collections; actions for the acquisition of low cost books and programs for the modernization of libraries (collections, computers and furniture). As part of the initiative to eliminate the existence of municipalities without libraries, the Ministry of Culture restricted any investment from this ministry in municipalities that don’t possess at least one public library. State Governments support free training for library staff in municipalities, as well as projects that enable specific actions such as the visit of authors to libraries. In some cases, the state government operates libraries from municipalities that are unable to sustain them with autonomy.
The vast majority of services offered in libraries are planned, and implemented by staff from libraries. At the Piracicaba (SP) Library, for example, when the collections and exhibitions are presented to children, the children’s section offers monitored visits by groups of students from schools, which also go to the theater, go through story time or watch a play. At the Piracicaba library, school visits take place every day during morning and afternoon shifts, sometimes two or three classes visiting the library at once.
The Thales de Azevedo Public Library, Salvador (BA) develops literary workshops to encourage reading, through storytelling followed by an activity where the child must interpret the story heard and creates a painting (paints the characters from the story) or makes the character with clay, or uses finger puppets. There are monthly or seasonal themes like the Native Indian, the discovery of Brazil and others which vary according to the calendar. This example of the Thales de Azevedo Library characterizes the set of activities found most frequently in the libraries visited.
At the Monteiro Lobato Children and Youth Library, in Salvador, theater workshops are the highlight of the activities that promote reading. The library has two employees trained in acting. One works with children and the other with teenagers. They coordinate theater courses certified by the library. In this library the workshop that is most popular among teenagers is the graffiti workshop, or graffiti training; the office works on the critical view of the participants and involves a whole process of reading books and knowing art in order that these young kids understand certain painters and why you shouldn’t make graffiti without authorization. There are also other activities, like poetry reciting and Puppet Theater. In the Floresta Library, located in Rio Branco (AC), reading is promoted through activities that host meetings of study groups and practices in several areas like philosophy, history, cinema, photography, graffiti, among others.
- · Illiterate – Corresponds to the condition of those who cannott perform simple tasks that involve reading words and sentences even though some can read familiar numbers (telephone numbers, prices, etc.);
- · Rudimentary – Corresponds to the capacity of locating explicit information in short and familiar texts (like an advertisement or short letter), reading and writing usual numbers and realizing simple tasks, like handling money for the payment of small sums or measuring length using metric tape;
- · Basic – People classified in this level can be considered to be functionally literate, for they read and comprehend texts of middle length, locate information even if doing so requires small inferences, read numbers in the millions, solve problems involving a simple sequence of operations and have a grasp of proportionality. They do, however, show limitation when the required operations involve a larger number of elements, stages, or relations; and
- · Full – People classified in this level are those whose abilities do not set restrictions when it comes to comprehending and interpreting texts in normal situations. They read longer texts, analyzing and relating its parts, comparing and evaluating information, distinguish fact from opinion, make inferences and syntheses. Regarding math, they solve problems that require bigger planning and control, involving percentages, proportions and calculations of area, besides interpreting double entry tables, maps and graphs.
Important changes happened in the 90’s regarding the scenario of Brazilian public libraries. The school survey, the main reason for visiting libraries at the time, was reduced by the distribution of books (Ministry of Education), strengthening School Libraries and the use Internet, which has been increasingly penetrating the lives of Brazilian people. The public library was challenged to reinvent itself. New proposals point to the transformation of libraries into a pleasant place for reading where users of various ages feel welcome and can use it for leisure, studying or working as well as participating in cultural programs that incentivize the taste for reading (MONTEIRO, 2013).
Developing the ability to read is a fundamental step to guarantee the access to information and knowledge, art and leisure as elements to improve life quality. Maria Zenita Monteiro, coordinator of the municipal library system of Sao Paulo states that in this sense there is no opposition between information and reading, for literature triggers new ways of thinking and reinventing one’s existence. Literary reading is fundamental to make people stop to criticize and rethink one’s means and processes, and as such is very important to trigger actions of citizenship and entrepreneurship. By discovering new worlds, characters, societies and life situations, the reader thinks of new possibilities for his/her existence.
“it is increasingly clear that one can’t think of a Society of Information without a Reading Society and that reading is precisely the cultural practice that allows citizens to transform information into knowledge, the key to this new society.”
HERNANDES, 2005 apud MONTEIRO, 2013
The Ministry of Culture develops programs that stimulate reading which go beyond public libraries. The National Program of Incentive of Reading (PROLER) is a project of social valuing of reading and writing, linked to the National Library Foundation and the Ministry of Culture. Through its committees, organized in Brazilian cities, it has been establishing itself as an active political presence, committed to the democratization of access to reading.
The National Plan of the Book and Reading (PNLL)defines the public policy guidelines directed towards reading and books in Brazil, and seeks to form a reading society, as a condition to promote the social inclusion of millions of Brazilians regarding goods, services, and culture. The PNLL consists of projects and programs that integrate 18 Action Lines grouped into four areas with the objective of guiding policies, programs, projects and continued actions developed by the ministries of culture and education, within the states and municipalities, state and municipal governments, public and private companies, society organizations and volunteers in general:
1. Equity on Access
1.1. Implementation of new libraries
1.2. Strength exisiting library network
1.3. Achieve newreading spaces
1.4. Distribution of free books
1.5. Improve the Access to books and other means of reading
1.6. Embrace the use of ICT
2. Foster reading and the development of facilitators 2.1. Capacitate reading facilitators
2.2. Social projects for reading
2.3. Foster research on reading and book knowledge area
2.4. Information Systems on libraries bibliography and editorial market
2.5. Prizes and awards for the actions that support and foster social practices for reading
3. Increase the institutional and symbolic value of reading
3.1. Actions to convert foster reading practices into a public policy.
3.2. Actions to build awareness on the social value of the book and the reading process.
3.3. Printed publish and other medias dedicated to value the book and the reading process.
4. The Development of a Book Economy
4.1. Development of the book productive chain
4.2. Foster the distribution, circulation and consume of goods related to written culture.
4.3. Support to the creative chain of the book.
4.4. Increase presence abroad for national production related to literature, science and edited culture.
Among the actions taken by the federal government to support public libraries, the ones that stand out are programs that distribute kits to expand and update collections; actions for the acquisition of low cost books and programs for the modernization of libraries (collections, computers and furniture). As part of the initiative to eliminate the existence of municipalities without libraries, the Ministry of Culture restricted any investment from this ministry in municipalities that don’t possess at least one public library. State Governments support free training for library staff in municipalities, as well as projects that enable specific actions such as the visit of authors to libraries. In some cases, the state government operates libraries from municipalities that are unable to sustain them with autonomy.
The vast majority of services offered in libraries are planned, and implemented by staff from libraries. At the Piracicaba (SP) Library, for example, when the collections and exhibitions are presented to children, the children’s section offers monitored visits by groups of students from schools, which also go to the theater, go through story time or watch a play. At the Piracicaba library, school visits take place every day during morning and afternoon shifts, sometimes two or three classes visiting the library at once.
The Thales de Azevedo Public Library, Salvador (BA) develops literary workshops to encourage reading, through storytelling followed by an activity where the child must interpret the story heard and creates a painting (paints the characters from the story) or makes the character with clay, or uses finger puppets. There are monthly or seasonal themes like the Native Indian, the discovery of Brazil and others which vary according to the calendar. This example of the Thales de Azevedo Library characterizes the set of activities found most frequently in the libraries visited.
At the Monteiro Lobato Children and Youth Library, in Salvador, theater workshops are the highlight of the activities that promote reading. The library has two employees trained in acting. One works with children and the other with teenagers. They coordinate theater courses certified by the library. In this library the workshop that is most popular among teenagers is the graffiti workshop, or graffiti training; the office works on the critical view of the participants and involves a whole process of reading books and knowing art in order that these young kids understand certain painters and why you shouldn’t make graffiti without authorization. There are also other activities, like poetry reciting and Puppet Theater. In the Floresta Library, located in Rio Branco (AC), reading is promoted through activities that host meetings of study groups and practices in several areas like philosophy, history, cinema, photography, graffiti, among others.