We’re lifting up the latest design in BiblioGifts to Support Literacy! Here are few disturbing facts, and some very good reasons for you to encourage reading among everyone you know…

44 million adults in the U.S. can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child.
- National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) NCED, U.S. Department of Education

More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level – far below the level needed to earn a living wage.
- National Institute for Literacy, Fast Facts on Literacy, 2001

Students who reported having all four types of reading materials (books, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias) in their home scored, on average, higher than those who reporter having fewer reading materials.
- The Nation’s Report Card: Fourth-Grade Reading 2000, April 2001, The National Center for Education Statistics

In 1999, only 53 percent of children aged 3 to 5 were read to daily by a family member. Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line.
- The National Center for Education Statistics, NCES Fast Facts, Family Reading

So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that some states use grade-level reading statistics as a factor in projecting future prison construction.
- Bob Chase, President, National Education Association

Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans reached the 12th grade without having learned to read at a basic level.
- A Nation Still at Risk, U.S. Department of Education, 1999

Source: Get Caught Reading

There is a wealth of information regarding literacy trends worldwide at UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

A few other sites you may find interesting:

• First Book
• Reading is Fundamental
• National Institute for Literacy (US)

Filed under: BiblioGifts by Darice
Tags: New, Reading & Literacy