International Literacy Association

The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly known as the International Reading Association (IRA), is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to advancing literacy for all.^[1]

Created in 1956, the organization is headquartered in Newark, Delaware, United States, and is home to a network of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers, and experts across 75 countries. The current ILA President (term 2016-2017) is William Teale, a professor in the Literacy, Language & Culture Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and director of the UIC Center for Literacy.^[2] Marcie Craig Post is the Executive Director.^[3]

History

The International Reading Association was established in 1956 through a merging of two existing groups, the International Council for the Improvement of Reading Instruction and the National Association for Remedial Teachers. The association headquarters was originally established in Chicago, but moved to Newark, Delaware, in 1961.

The association changed its name from the International Reading Association to the International Literacy Association on January 26, 2015, to reflect the belief that literacy is the primary foundation of all learning.

Across 60 years of operation, the association has contributed to the field of literacy education through

• Production of practical research journals, publications, professional development, conferences, and advocacy efforts to hone the skills of educators worldwide
• Publication of over 900 books on issues in literacy education
• Development and management of dozens of global literacy projects across the developing world
• Creation of standards for educators and assessment used throughout the field
• Coproduction of ReadWriteThink.org—a widely used website resource for peer-reviewed lesson plans as well as education apps for student use

Resources

The organization maintains a catalogue of previously released titles. ILA publishes three professional journals, a bi-monthly magazine, and daily blog:

• The Reading Teacher — for those working with children to age 12
• Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy — for teachers of older learners
• Reading Research Quarterly — for all those with a vested interest in literacy research
• Literacy Today, ILA’s membership magazine, which was originally published from 1983 to 2011 as a newspaper under the name Reading Today. The publication became a bi-monthly print magazine in August 2011; its name changed to Literacy Today beginning with the July/August 2015 issue.
• Literacy Daily, ILA’s blog, launched in August 2011 as Reading Today Online. The name was changed in January 2015, when the organization’s name changed from IRA to ILA. The blog provides daily content for teachers by teachers, including teaching tips and book reviews, in addition to articles about ILA news and events.

Some association resources are only available to active members, such as the Bridges instructional units and ILA E-ssentials, short articles written by literacy experts designed to strengthen teachers’ classroom practices.

Special Interest Groups

The International Literacy Association has nearly 30 active Special Interest Groups.

Awards and Grants

ILA offers a number of awards and grants for educators, researchers, and authors.

Affiliations

ILA has been recognized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 1978; It was reclassified to have Consultative Status with UNESCO in 1996 and continues to hold this status.^[4]

Annual Conference

The International Literacy Association hosts an annual conference. ILA 2017 Conference & Exhibits will be held in Orlando, FL, from July 15–17, with full-day Preconference Institutes taking place on July 14. The conference theme is Literacy Reimagined.

Activities

Leaders for Literacy Day: On April 14, 2015, ILA launched its first Leaders for Literacy Day, bringing together a variety of literacy leaders for a candid discussion on the best practices and scalable solutions to supporting literacy efforts worldwide. These discussions occurred both in a panel of experts in New York City and globally through social media. This gathering of literacy leaders will be an annual event.

Choices Booklist: ILA produces the Choices booklists, a set of three collections of book titles. Each Choices list is selected by a different audience.

• Children's Choices—cosponsored by the Children's Book Council—includes brief reviews of approximately 100 titles, each of which has been recommended by children themselves.
• Teachers' Choices identifies approximately 30 books rated by teams of teachers, librarians, and reading specialists as outstanding for curriculum use.
• Young Adults' Choices provides descriptions of approximately 30 books selected by teenage reviewers.

Global Operations: The Global Operations Unit works to enhance the professional development and institutional capacity of literacy educators while developing and implementing sustainable partnership programs worldwide. ILA affiliates, established in 76 countries, including 42 developing countries, are independent, organized homegrown structures dedicated to excellence in literacy.

International Literacy Day: ILA is an avid participant in UNESCO’s International Literacy Day celebration, having done several service and awareness projects, including partnering with NASA, building a Little Free Library, and creating educational kits for teachers to use in the classroom.

References

1. "The whys and hows of society rebranding: a case study of the International Literacy Association - Wiley".
2. "William Teale, EdD".
3. "Our Team & Leadership - International Literacy Association".
4. (PDF) http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ERI/pdf/NGO%20consultative%20status.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)