SLA 2010 Attendees Help New Orleans and Haiti With Haiti Reads Book Drive
French-Creole Children's Books Purchased in New Orleans
for New Library in Port-au-Prince
Alexandria, Va. June 22, 2010-- Attendees at this year's Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, held June 12-16 in New Orleans, supported the Haiti Reads library project with a book and fund-raising drive. More than 3,400 special librarians, knowledge professionals and information industry representatives attended the conference in New Orleans. Attendees purchased children's classics in New Orleans area bookstores that carry French and Creole titles to send to Haiti Reads and its new library.
In Fall 2009, Haiti Reads (http://haitireads.org) established a community library in the Delmas 24 neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. While the building remains standing after the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, it has been declared "unsafe," and the Haiti Reads library needs to relocate. The books collected during SLA 2010 in New Orleans will be delivered once Haiti Reads is able to secure new facilities.
Jeanette Alfred (formerly Attisso), founder of Haiti Reads, was one of two featured speakers at the SLA International Information Exchange Caucus breakfast on Wednesday June 16. Alfred told those assembled of the philosophy of the project: Haiti Reads can change the literacy rate in the communities it serves by teaching free basic literacy classes to children and their parents. "It is our belief that those who have the chance to take advantage of these free classes will be able to teach what they have learned to others in their community," said Alfred.
Alfred shared with those present a brief history of Haiti Reads; some of the pictures she showcased during that meeting can be viewed at http://haitireads.org. In addition to the books donated by individual members, two SLA chapters donated funds to the organization. Leigh Hallingby, president of SLA's New York Chapter, and Claudia J. Dold, treasurer of SLA's Florida and Caribbean Chapter, were recognized for their chapters' donations to the organization.
The second speaker featured at the International Information Exchange Caucus was Dr. Sohair Wastawy, the new dean of libraries at Illinois State University. Until last month, Dr. Wastawy was executive director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (http://bibalex.org). Dr. Wastawy spoke of her six years at the library in Egypt, giving a brief history of what libraries meant in ancient times, and now, and regaling meeting attendees with her experiences working with librarians throughout the Middle East.
About Haiti Reads
Started in 2008, Haiti Reads strives to make books available to all children and adults regardless of current enrollment in an educational institution. Its vision is to have centers all over Haiti that offer books and literacy classes to children and adults. "It is our belief that books are still the best way to educate, offering a path away from illiteracy and poverty." Those wishing to find out more about the project, or make a monetary or book donation, may do so by visiting http://haitireads.org. Please direct shipments of books ordered online to Jeanette Alfred, c/o DANK German Language School, 4740 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625. Monetary donations can be made online at http://haitireads.org, or sent to Haiti Reads, P.O. Box 607654, Chicago, Illinois 60660.
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves some 10,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org
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Part 1 Haiti Reads speaks at SLA Conference in NOLA June 16, 2010by joeya62110 views
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