Not Just Literate, but Transliterate

This website is based on a presentation that will be given at the Colorado Association of Libraries Annual Conference on October 14, 2011 by Nancy Trimm, Kieran Hixon, and Crystal Schimpf. It is currently under construction. Please check back on October 1 for the complete version.

Blogging, videoconferencing, tweeting, texting - what’s next?! Communicating in this constantly changing world requires a whole new set of skills. Literacy is now about understanding and communicating across various mediums and platforms. Integrating transliteracy skills into training, and programming is the next frontier and being transliterate will get you there. 

In an increasingly media rich digital world, there's a lot more to effective communication than the ability to read and write. Successful and meaningful communication now relies on our ability to fluidly transition through a wide range of media and communication tools and environments. Transliteracy - the ability to communicate and interact across multiple platforms and technologies - is becoming increasingly vital to creating cultures of learning within our libraries and our service communities.

To achieve transliteracy, library staff must be encouraged to keep current with technological innovations, to take risks, and to communicate through various digital means. To ensure that transliteracy flourishes in the communities we serve, library classes and programs must be designed to build those skills.   

This workshop will introduce participants to the principles and importance of transliteracy and will provide practical ideas for integrating transliteracy skills into staff training, public training, and pubic programming.  We’ll discuss ways in which libraries can train staff to become transliterate and the skills necessary to keep pace in a transliterate world. Finally, we’ll propose library programs and classes that libraries can deliver to their communities to ensure transliteracy flourishes.