STUDY SAYS LIT BOOSTS JOB SKILLS, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Reading and Writing were among the topics discussed at the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting Feb. 25-28 in D.C. They didn’t receive the attention afforded health care (too little), National Guard deployments (too many), and hurricane disaster response (too late). But two of the “three Rs” did get some play due to an “issue brief” issued Feb. 24 entitled “State Efforts to Promote Reading and Literary Activities in Communities.” It was compiled by the NGA, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

It makes this very strong statement: “Reading and literary activities activities are important to states for two primary reasons. Strong reading habits enhance skills required in the 21^st-century workplace, such as high literacy and analytical thinking. An increasingly competitive economy demands a highly literate workforce, and according to many sources, the U.S. workforce is not prepared. In addition, literary readers have been shown to be more likely than nonreaders to pursue social and civic activities such as volunteering and attending sporting events. Therefore, literary reading may enhance community life and civic engagement.”

It includes stats and anecdotes about programs in various states. Both the Wyoming Arts Council’s literary fellowships and the Wyoming Council for the Humanities’ (WCH) “Humanities at Work” are mentioned, along with several other multi-state projects in which Wyoming participates. The WESTAF-sponsored Tumblewords Audience Development Project is one of these. It was great to read about the two lit history maps Wyoming has produced, but the Wyoming Center for the Book’s anthology and map project, “Deep West: A Literary Tour of Wyoming,” got nary a mention. The report looked at programs in surrounding states, including The Great Salt Lake Book Festival, the Log Cabin Literary Center in Boise, and the South Dakota Arts Council’s “Solo Artists in Libraries” project.

WAC and WCH and WCFB and writers and poets and teachers have touted the benefits of “reading and literary activities” for years. It’s good to have it proclaimed from the NGA pulpit, with Govs, the Prez, and other leaders participating. Read the entire report by clicking on the pdf file at the NGA site.
- posted by Michael Shay @ 1:19 PM