Archive for January, 2023

Friday, January 20th, 2023

TinyCat’s January Library of the Month: The Centre for Family Literacy

We’re kicking off the New Year right with an amazing literacy organization founded in 1980 and based in Alberta, Canada. Congrats to the Centre for Family Literacy! Tutor Program Lead Sharon Smith and Literacy Specialist Genevieve Litwin were kind enough to tell me all about their organization and library for this month’s feature:

Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?

The Centre for Family Literacy is a nonprofit organization that works towards a healthy, literate society where all are able to contribute and succeed. Our mission is to empower people, strengthen communities, and transform lives through literacy. In partnerships with community agencies, we support thousands of adults and children each year.

We offer programs that participants can attend with their family, as well as ones they can attend on their own. Our family programs help parents and caregivers support their children’s early language and literacy development, while working on their own literacy skills. Programs just for adults include group classes and tutoring, and are designed to help adults build the basic reading, writing, math, and digital skills needed to function in today’s world.

Tell us some interesting things about how your library supports the community.

The Adult Learners Library is an extension of the Centre for Family Literacy’s Tutor Program, and is committed to providing our volunteer tutors with the resources they need when they need them.

In this program, adults work with other adults in safe and supportive settings to develop literacy skills and strategies that will help them achieve their goals. Our programs offer meaningful and relevant activities to connect learning to real life—work, family, community—in fun and practical ways.

From one of our tutors: 

“Half-way through one of my lessons, my learner stopped me and said, ‘You are the best teacher I’ve ever had. I am so used to being rushed and yelled at when I get answers wrong, or am confused on the topics, but I feel very comfortable with you. I am so glad to have you as my teacher because you’re so nice and I actually feel like I am learning.’ I felt so proud and honoured to be trusted by my learner; it is an amazing feeling knowing they are motivated to learn as well.”

Our library supports this program by providing free physical resources for tutors and learners. Our tutors meet with their learners both in person as well as online for remote learning. Our large nonfiction section primarily features teaching materials and workbooks that focus on topics such as basic reading and writing skills, vocabulary building, math skills, and learning English as an additional language. We also have study resources for the GED exam, language exams (e.g. IELTS), and applying for Canadian Citizenship.

What are some of your favorite items in your collection?

We love The Active Reader workbooks, published by Grass Roots Press. They provide levelled stories based on different themes, and include decoding and comprehension activities that encourage learners to become active readers. We also love high-interest, low-vocabulary fiction such as the Photostories by Grass Roots Press, and the Rapid Reads fiction collection published by Orca Book Publishers. All of these are great Canadian resources!

What’s a particular challenge your library experiences?

In 2020, due to the pandemic, all of our in person programs temporarily moved online. Since then, we have been able to offer hybrid programming where we offer both in person and online programming for families and adults. Many tutors and learners continue to meet primarily online using distance learning tools. This means there has been less demand for our library books. For that reason, we find promoting our library and increasing its use to be challenging!

What’s your favorite thing about TinyCat, and what’s something you’d love to see implemented or developed?

We would love to see the ability to add multiple copies to the same record. Many of our items have multiple copies and tutor-learner pairs often sign out the same book. It would be great to have that all together instead of in multiple records. 

We love the affordability of TinyCat and how user-friendly it is. We especially love the way this has made our library catalog accessible remotely!

Thanks for the feedback on copies management, I can certainly understand the struggle. We’ll be sure to announce any updates regarding such a feature!

Want to learn more about the Centre for Family Literacy? 

Visit their website at https://famlit.ca/, follow them on YouTube and Instagram, and explore their full TinyCat collection here.


To read up on TinyCat’s previous Libraries of the Month, visit the TinyCat Post archive here.

Want to be considered for TinyCat’s Library of the Month? Send us a Tweet @TinyCat_lib or email Kristi at kristi@librarything.com.

Labels: libraries, Library of the Month, TinyCat

Monday, January 2nd, 2023

January 2023 Early Reviewers Batch Is Live!

Win free books from the January 2023 batch of Early Reviewer titles! We’ve got 142 books this month, and a grand total of 2,848 copies to give out. Which books are you hoping to snag this month? Come tell us on Talk.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Early Reviewers. If you’ve already signed up, please check your mailing/email address and make sure they’re correct.

» Request books here!

The deadline to request a copy is Wednesday, January 25th at 6PM EST.

Eligibility: Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Germany. Make sure to check the message on each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

Comfort Is an Old Barn: Stories from the Heart of MaineSecond Time AroundTwinkle, Twinkle, Daytime StarVoices off the Ocean: A Literary Visit to Ruth Moore's MaineMommy, There's a Dinosaur in the Cornfield!Under FireAfter the ShadowsAnne's Tragical Tea PartyPluto Rocket: New in TownThe Pancake ProblemSomething: One Small Thing Can Make a DifferenceWho Owns the Clouds?The Fear of WinterEnly and the Buskin' BluesProverbial333 - Want More Share?The Year of JubileeCode Name EdelweissThe Weight of AirA Match in the MakingPebbles and the Biggest NumberMemento MoriBlood BornColor Capital of the World: Growing up with the Legacy of a Crayon CompanyUnder the Wings of God: Twenty Biblical Reflections for a Deeper FaithEndless Grace: Prayers Inspired by the PsalmsTell the RestYeti Left HomeUrban Folk Tales: StoriesThe Connection GameFuture's Dark PastWhat Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard ThurmanWalking the Way of Harriet Tubman: Public Mystic and Freedom FighterCode Name VerityThe Everlasting RoadTrue Crime Explicit Anthology: Explore Over 700 Pages of Disturbing Stories Detailing The Horrific Sins of Seven Serial Killers For Your Nighttime True Crime BingeShort StoriesBilly Doyle — Accidental HeroTwinkle, Twinkle, Daytime Star / Brilla, brilla, estrellita del díaThe Last Chance CowboyForged in LoveTremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie DetectorHerrick's LieIcarus over CollinsMy Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick The Double-Edged Sword: A Tale of the Fallen HeroLockdown Tales IIThe Panacea ProjectUnder the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian GenocideKevin Wilks and the Power StoneIn Love We SpeakShepherd on Duty: Promises of God You Can TrustExistential Smut 1: Youthful IndiscretionsGRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics - Book 1 (Eighth Edition)GRE Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence Practice Questions (Sixth Edition)The World Itself: Consciousness and the Everything of PhysicsThe Farm from Hell: The True Story of Belle Gunness Indiana’s Lady Bluebeard Men ButcherBad Girls BiteDeathbringer and DesireSong of LoreleiFoul Is FairA Draught of Ash and WineThe Princess and the BruiserBeauty and the BladeSummary of The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-MasterySummary of Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War WithinFields of BountyThe Words We LostA Heart PurloinedNo, You Can't be an Astronaut: Why You Shouldn't Follow Your Dreams and What to do InsteadWolvercraft ManorFuture GoalsHyphenated RelationsOn Presidential OrdersThe GobberwobblyBefore DawnHierarchy of BloodAgent Gatz: A Great Gatsby PrequelFun & Quirky Classics: Short Stories by Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain and MoreBaseball Trivia for EveryoneThe Final OlympicsDoubt The Stars Are FireTime Traveling to 1963: Celebrating a Special YearTime Traveling to 1953: Celebrating a Special YearTime Traveling to 1973: Celebrating a Special YearProof of the Afterlife: The Dead Don't Die. True Tales of the Afterlife.The Algorithm Will See You NowRipples in the Waters by Lake KawaguchiNo Medicine for Falling in LoveSerenade of SoulsSixpenny OctavoA Tooth in My Popsicle and Other Ebullient Essays on Becoming FilipinoDad Is My Best FriendWild DiplomacyThe Fantastical ForestMahalo Does Not Mean TrashTime Traveling to 1983: Celebrating a Special YearDecide and Solve: Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Skills Guide for Teenagers, Young Adults, and YouIntimacy: 101 Hottest Questions, 101 Honest AnswersThe Afterlife Connection: A Therapist Reveals How to Communicate with Departed Loved OnesOther Worlds Were PossibleAuthentically Preternatural AccountsBusiness Fables Adapted From Aesop For Humans Who Work For a LivingHorse Care: A Beginner’s Guide to Breed Selection, Barn Requirements, Daily Routine and Safe Handling PracticesDark Blood AwakensVagabonderSea MagicA Skeleton in Every HouseBad BloodOut For BloodBlood LossThe Museum of Broken ObjectsBeyond CircumstancesEver the Night RoadThe Backpacker LifecycleSeams on the OutsideThe Hangman: VengeanceCreeper ChaosZaidy's War: Four Armies, Three Continents, Two Brothers. One Man's Impossible Story of Endurance21st Century Balance: Unconventional Wisdom to Enlighten Yourself and Inspire OthersMind Mastery: The Secret to Success: How to be a Success and Have a Powerful LifeA Dissident's PlightFirst ValentineOn the Evolution from the Primitive Egoic Mind by Means of Pure Consciousness: Through Living Exclusively in the Present MomentCollege to Career, Explained: Tools, Skills & Confidence for Your Job SearchAquarius Rising: The Complete TrilogyAfter the Blue, Blue RainLightbringerTrue Crime Trivia: 350 Fascinating Questions & Answers to Test Your Knowledge of Serial Killers, Mysteries, Cold Cases, Heists & MoreFlidIntersections: Life-Changing Stories From my Rideshare PassengersThe Anshar GambitWavesWavesThe CallingTime TraveledThe UnvaccinatedThe Bear & the RoseRun With It: A True Story of Parkinson's, Marathons, the Pandemic, and LoveYou've Got the Power! Four Paths to Awaken Your Body's Archetypal EnergiesYou've Got the Power! Four Paths to Awaken Your Body's Archetypal EnergiesSea MagicThe Female Breeders

Thanks to all the publishers participating this month!

Akashic Books Arabelle Publishing Bellevue Literary Press
Bethany House BHC Press Book Summary Publishing
Brazos Press Broadleaf Books Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC
City Owl Press Crooked Lane Books Greenleaf Book Group
Grousable Books Hot Tree Publishing Islandport Press
Lerner Publishing Group NeoParadoxa NewCon Press
Penguin Teen Canada Plausible Press PublishNation
Read Furiously Revell Ripe Mango Take Two Press
Science, Naturally! The Story Plant Tiny Fox Press
True Crime Seven Tundra Books Tyndale House Publishers
Vibrant Publishers WorthyKids

Labels: early reviewers, LTER