You might or might not know that I got to speak at the Australian Booksellers’s Association Conference on the weekend. It was totally well worth giving up my Family Sunday to go and hang with the ace geeky book people, because I am an ace geeky book person too.
I spoke about the importance of building a community around your business, based on sincerity rather than spin. I waved my arms and pointed at my Powerpoint presentation and encouraged bookshops and book related types to use social media to smooth out the distinctions betwixt online and offline readers/customers. I told them to make their business, blogs and social media platforms an extension of themselves and to include their readers as much as possible, because they will have good times and learn good things. I talked about the importance of listening to the people who present themselves to you online and off, and about having meaningful exchanges (not just trying to ‘engage’.) I told them to think outside the shop and to ignore geographical boundaries and show themselves, consistently. And I said that strategy is well and good, but sincerity should prevail.
So that was me. Phew. Probably that is stuff you have heard me say before, so feel free to skip ahead. Here comes the good bit…
After ME there was a GREAT session about a GREAT program. Way greater than my session, I must say. It was a session by The Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The ILF is supported by the Australian Book Industry and has some really great ambassadors like Andy Griffiths, Kaz Cooke, David Malouf and Katie Noonan.
If you click here you can donate to support this extremely important program, and help ensure that indigenous kids get a fair chance at literacy and access to quality books. There is a schools program too, The Great Book Swap, if you’d like to get your local kids involved. I think that’s an ace idea!
Have a look and a listen to this video, not just because it features a bit of Dan Sultan, but also because it’s full of important stuff you might not know yet. It’s quite startling to note the literacy rate amongst our indigenous kids, we can do better, don’t you think? It’s completely fabulous to see the things this Foundation are doing to create bookworms and to ensure these rad kidlets have the kinds of books they WANT to read, too. I am sure you are JUST the kind of person who wants to get involved, aren’t you? So why don’t you do something to contribute to the ILF and send your support to these far flung readers and readers to be!
Yes!
xx Pip
So many good things. Sincerity over spin. If only more shop owners, business types, CEOs, politicians would take this to heart and actually make it practice. One step at a time, hey?
This is a wonderful. Emergent Literacy is the language I speak. This is an excellent read. Sylvia Ashton Warner may have taught in a different country, but I believe her methods could apply to any person learning to read.
Good on you Pip. Literacy is so important. I must say I also love the picture of the book. My husband was a butcher and now he teaches apprentices, so anything butcher-like really appeals to me.
Thankyou for sharing this Pip – just the kind of thing I have been wanting to get involved in 🙂
Thank you for letting us know about this, Pip… I think I should donate some of the money I've saved from finding some amazing books at oppies and fetes lately.
We had a kiddie "library party" at our place just recently – and everyone who came donated a book for charity – which of course is not directly useful for the ILF – but now I really want to have a "grown-up library / book swap party" and raise some money…