General Issues in Literacy/Illiteracy in the World

Hladczuk's bibliography on literacy, which is the most comprehensive literacy/illiteracy bibliography available, covers every literacy `issue' currently in existence, including technological and mathematical literacy, aliteracy, and job literacy. Organized into 37 subject-oriented chapters, this bibliography provides approximately 3,000 citations. Most are dated from 1980 to the present. Although this work is a companion volume to Literacy/Illiteracy in the World. . . it can definitely stand alone. Author and subject indexes complete the volume. . . . Very highly recommended for all college and university collections. Choice

Increasing modernization and the technological explosion have lead to redefinitions, new understandings, and an expansion of the concept of literacy. In previous eras, literacy quite simply, meant the ability to read, to be functionally literate. But that definition of literacy--functional literacy--is now one of many that refer to increasingly specialized ways of being literate such as scientific literacy, cultural literacy, computer literacy, and visual literacy among others. Computer literacy and technological literacy were first listed as descriptions by ERIC in 1982 and the recent best seller Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know focused attention on an enlarged understanding of what it means to be literate and urged schools to teach cultural content to produce culturally literate citizens. This comprehensive dictionary, a companion volume to the compilers' Literacy/Illiteracy in the World (Greenwood, 1989) which deals with the subject of literacy organized along the lines of international and national research, has been organized on a straightforward, user-friendly plan with the issues in literacy/illiteracy arranged alphabetically to facilitate logical use. Following the compilers' introduction, 37 sections beginning with adult literacy and ending with women and literacy, address such issues as aliteracy, biliteracy, computer literacy, evaluation of literacy, graphic literacy, right to read programs, and much more. Serious researchers will cross-check not only within the areas of this bibliography but also in the companion volume.

Educators, especially those teaching methods courses and seminars to would-be teachers, and professionals in many of the areas treated by this bibliography will find that this trailblazing reference contains a wealth of source materials. This important bibliographical contribution deserves a place in every college and university library as well as in local public libraries across the U.S. Entires are arranged alphabetically by author and in the case of multiple citations by author, the citations are listed chronologically for that author. Where an author has had 2 or more publications in a year, the citations for that year are listed alphabetically by title. Citations are also listed according to the number of authors in a manner that provides easy access to the information. Each item has been numbered consecutively and is referred to by number in the Subject Index which has been compiled not only on the basis of title, but also based on the information contained in the reference. The author's introduction serves as a concise, fact-filled overview of this important and timely subject. Students and scholars in the medical field, as well as alcohol counselors and others dealing with pregnancy or the affected children will find this resource invaluable.