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Six months ago an item appeared on the evening news that epitomizes the problems facing our health care system. A girl in Saskatchewan who we'll call Anna, needs oxygen to [...]

The proposed merger between the Tire Assn of North America (TANA) and the International Tire & Rubber Assn (ITRA) will bring benefits to members of both organizations and the tire industry in general. The merger will allow TANA and ITRA to complement each other's strengths. They can collaborate in developing a new ASE certification program for wheel and tire technicians and designing a Web site for training these technicians online. Moreover, the merger can ensure the success of TANA's off-the-road tire conference and the International Tire Expo., We'd both benefit -- Fitzgerald As I am sure many of you have heard, TANA has been through quite a bit of change in the last year. In fact, even [...]

Talks about the author's support for the proposed merger of the Tire Association of North America (TANA) and the International Tire and Rubber Association (ITRA). Effort of TANA to improve its financial status; Plan to create a new ASE certification program; Need to reach an agreement on a proposal to joint venture the retreading activities.

Discusses new books dealing with literacy. `Never Say Good-bye: An Anthology by New Writers in Prison,' by Clyde Garr; `Approaches to Adult ESL Literacy Instruction,' edited by JoAnn Crandall and Joy Kreeft Peyton; `Teens Parenting--Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey,' by Jean Warren Lindsay and Jean Brunelli; More.

Cites a study related to adult literacy conducted for the US Department of Education (DOE). `Adult Literacy in America (ALA): A First Look at the Results of the National Adult Literacy Survey,' conducted by Educational Testing Service; Findings; Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich; Education Secretary Richard W. Riley; Where to write for more information; Also comments briefly on the shop-closing by the Business Council for Effective Literacy (BCEL).

Reports on the American Library Association's Office of Library Outreach Services preconference `Family Literacy: What It Is, What Librarians Can Do.' Why family literacy is a natural extension of a library's mission; What family literacy successes depend on.

Reports on the Third National Adult Literacy Congress held in Washington, D.C.. Description of the conference and the events that occurred; Need to talk to teachers about reaching out to all students and the need to talk to students about the importance of education; How the delegates' excitement and openness signal a new era of new readership activism; Comments on the importance of reading and the accomplishments of those who have learned to read.

This article discusses the efforts of Memphis-Shelby County Public Library's radio station WYPL to fight against illiteracy. In 1987, Memphis-Shelby's Steven Terry, who was overseeing the seven-year-old West Tennessee Talking Library, suggested petitioning the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for an FM frequency, since its current frequency required expensive, specially modified radio receivers. At that time, 6600 people shared 1000 receivers; the additional receivers required for the 4000 people on the station's waiting list as well as the clerical staff and technicians required to maintain the receivers would be 30 times more expensive than going to an FM noncommercial frequency. The college abandoned both its plans to return to the air and its fight to retain the license, thereby paving the way for WYPL. With one of highest illiteracy rates in the country--34 percent of Shelby County's adults are unable to read above the third-grade level--WYPL serves a vital function. WYPL provides Tennessee Job Service listings at noon and medical, business, or farm and garden reports in the evening. With an operating budget of 165,000 U.S. dollars and funded as a library department, WYPL owes its stability and success in large measure to the commitment of Director of Libraries Judith Drescher.

This article provides information on books for people who use English as a second language (ESL). The central characters of Fitting In, a series of six booklets by Roseanne Keller, are recent immigrants challenged by a new language and culture. These books deal directly and honestly with contemporary issues that new immigrants face, although we wish Keller had more often resisted the urge to end on an artificially optimistic note. Still, a valuable resource for any student or teacher involved in ESL. What better way for an ESL student to peek into the minds and hearts of the U.S. than by reading an advice column? Literacy Volunteers of America New York Chapter's Selected From the Best of Dear Abby gives new readers that opportunity. Included are essays about the tradition of advice columns, newspapers and syndication, and letter writing. Tutors and teachers will find that this little book generates a great deal of discussion and writing.

This article discusses the publishing program of the Literacy Volunteers of New York City (LVNYC). The program was created in response to the complaints that there weren't enough materials for students to read. Initially funded by a $75,000 donation from the Booth Ferris Foundation, the LVNYC publishing program is an enormous cooperative undertaking involving students, volunteers, and staff; authors, agents and publishers; foundations, corporations, and suppliers. R. R. Bowker recognized this collaborative feat by selecting LVNYC as the first recipient of its LMP Special Category Award for innovative leadership in the book publishing industry. LVNYC has already produced 34 titles and they represent the best of what New York publishing has to offer. Even though the books from LVNYC are the result of professional publishing know-how, their selection originates in what staffers learn from students in their programs. The ongoing dialog leading to LVNYC publishing a book, that process of gathering information from new readers about what they want to read and what they have enjoyed reading, is available as View and Reviews: By and for New Readers, a quarterly newsletter that includes interviews with adult new readers and recommended reading lists. By building a backlist, LVNYC expects its publishing initiative will be self-sustaining within the next two years. One dream is to place low-level reading materials on racks in supermarkets.

This article discusses the factors which may contribute to campus literacy programs in the U.S. as of March 1, 1991. The Federal Student Literacy Corps provides funding over two years to institutions of higher learning for developing courses that address literacy and include a volunteer component for students to become involved in field service work. The second edition of the book Literacy Action: A Resource Book for Colleges and Universities written by Louisa B. Meacham, covers all the major issues involved in establishing and running a campus literacy program. College and university librarians support student literacy initiatives or the literacy efforts of their local public libraries by providing office/meeting space for student literacy coalitions, space for tutoring/student training sessions and access to bulletin boards and campuswide publications. They can also develop professional collections of literacy materials for program coordinators, tutors and trainers. Support may also be given through the creation of a demonstration collection for tutors to review literacy materials. If there are children's titles in education or library science collection, it should be made available to student tutors to use in family literacy activities.

This article provides information on the operations of the Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE), a national network of college and university students, administrators and faculty committed to literacy education in the U.S. Clay Thorp and Lisa Madry, graduates of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and co-founders of the SCALE, maintain a database of campus programs involved in literacy to varying degrees. In addition to their nationwide clearinghouse, they have created innovative programs such as the Peer Consulting Network, which establishes links between college students on separate campuses who are tutoring or otherwise involved in literacy provision. At the first Peer Consulting Summit in Chapel Hill, selected peer consulting pairs convened to discuss literacy issues. Many campus employees, landscape and ground maintenance crews, housekeeping staff and food service workers have been identified by literacy providers as having high illiteracy rates. In addition many campuses have to educate their own teachers about reading difficulties and the problems of adult learners. The enthusiasm and idealism of college students make them apt candidates to become literacy tutors.

This article discusses the literacy function of magazines. Readability formulas flash warnings: beware of complex syntax, daunting vocabulary, lots of print. But sometimes you have to break the rules--do put popular magazines in your collection for new adult readers. Affordable and readily available magazines provide access to information on current events, health, finances, homemaking, childcare, automotive repair, grooming, self-esteem, sports, entertainment, fashion, hobbies--something for every taste and interest. With bold colors and graphics and involving headlines and photographs, magazines are best enticements for reading around. Service magazines like Family Circle and Good Housekeeping are especially good springboards to action and self-improvement because their articles always include recipes, directions, or sources of additional information. These magazines are a logical next step for those who have already changed direction in their lives by deciding to learn to read. In addition, magazines, unlike many literary materials, are the real thing; literacy students can flip through them on the bus, during coffee breaks, wherever they wish, without fear of stigma. The magazine industry, recognizing its vested interest in the nation's literacy, is responding to illiteracy and aliteracy with a variety of educational programs and initiatives.