| This article is about Children's literature, Reading and |
| Social Impact Publishing |
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Social Impact Publishers (SIP) are mission based publisher that are committed to the social goal of a literate society where all can read for meaning and reach their full potential.[1] They recognize education as an indicator of social mobility[2] and use the number of children’s reading and story books, either in a home or at school, as a key means by which to enhance children's educational attainment. Books at home[3] is commonly used as a measure of economic status and a predictor of future educational success across the globe. [4] However, books, in the majority world, are often not available in vernacular languages or the reading materials are prohibitively expensive.[5] Social impact publishers, such as African Storybook, Bookdash, Nali Bali, Storyweaver, and Vula Bula seek to address elite enclosure[6] and use innovative approaches (such as social impact publishing or community publishing) to make it possible for children to have books at home.
SIP publishers rely on crowdsourcing to either professionally produce reading materials and/or self-publish books in a variety of formats. SIP publishers are active in contexts where bookselling is uncommon, or where the bookchain fails address the demand for suitable reading materials or limit authors publishing opportunities.[7] These publisher's motivation consider how "books" might enable the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, values and practices...in a manner that respects children’s dignity and background".[8] These publishers consider how to enable epistemological access in schools, [9] are comfortable with a variety of modes (eg books, mobile[10] or open platforms [1]) and use Creative Commons licenses to share data, images, and text freely. SIP texts are designed to be compliant and accessible. They can be used to address both formal and informal access to reading goods, and because they are "discoverable, accessible, and interoperable", they can be accessed either by an institution or a traditional bookshop and distributed via virtual or algorithmic means.
How SIPs work
editSocial publishers are prosumers, committed to encouraging both reading and contributing to the book chain. SIP Projects share, inform and empower those who strive for a literate society. [11] Social impact publishers make use social mechanisms (networks, social media, word of mouth etc) to accomplish their goals. They rely on social subsidies / donations / grants / goodwill etc to support their efforts.[12] While the commercial book chain is driven by markets and profit is generated through the sale of published books, social publishers are focus on sustainability, concerned about how those who live in regions where there is an acute shortage of books, can learn how to read. [13] Social impact publishers should not be confused with self-publishing. Profits are not generated by selling books or selling services. SIP relies on crows sourcing and IP generosity.
Addressing a "reading crisis"
editIt is common to hear about a "reading crisis". In most case, the pat response is often to instill a "reading culture". [14] This is seen by government and the general public[15] as the solution. Social publishers differ. They identify the failure to provide suitable early reading books at home as a key cause of children’s inability to read at grade-level expectations. They also consider multiple factors (language, teacher background, the school, parents and community that influence reading development. While bookshops and libraries cater to the reading needs of urban middle class children, the commercial book chain does not cater sufficiently for vernacular readers in the majority world. The ongoing faith in the "culture of reading" is unjustified and should be seen as empty rhetoric.[16]
African Storybook (ASb)
editThe African Storybook's goal is to encourage story reading among children in vernacular languages[17]. This community publishing initiative is intended to address a shortage of children's storybooks in African languages.[18] The project is run by SAIDE.
Bookdash
editBookdash has a goal that every child will own 100 story books by the time they turn 5[19] This social impact publisher (SIP) works with volunteer creatives, who work in a team to produce beautiful and professional picture books.[20]
Storyweaver
editStoryweaver have an online platform that is intended to permit children to read books in their own language.[21] In 2023 Storyweaver was awarded The OE Global 2023 Open Assets Awards for their Open Curation / Repository.
- ^ a b "About us | Literacy Association of South Africa". Literacy Association. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ Csathó, Ábel (2023-12-22). "A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility. OECD report (Paris, OECD Publishing, 2018)". Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. 14 (2): 185–194. doi:10.14267/CJSSP.2023.2.9.
- ^ Heppt, Birgit; Olczyk, Melanie; Volodina, Anna (2022-08-01). "Number of books at home as an indicator of socioeconomic status: Examining its extensions and their incremental validity for academic achievement". Social Psychology of Education. 25 (4): 903–928. doi:10.1007/s11218-022-09704-8. ISSN 1573-1928.
- ^ Evans, M. D. R.; Kelley, Jonathan; Sikora, Joanna; Treiman, Donald J. (2010-06-01). "Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations". Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 28 (2): 171–197. doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2010.01.002. ISSN 0276-5624.
- ^ "MIT Solve | StoryWeaver". MIT SOLVE. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ unesdoc.unesco.org https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000117695.locale=en. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ unesdoc.unesco.org https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000005699.locale=en. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ South African Journal of Childhood Education | 2014 4(1): 187-201 | ISSN: 2223-7674
- ^ Morrow, W. E. (2007). Learning to teach in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press. ISBN 978-0-7969-2186-4.
- ^ unesdoc.unesco.org https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227436.locale=en. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ https://www.litasa.org.za/about-us
- ^ Shaver, Lea Bishop, Ending Book Hunger: Social Publishing and the Power of Mission-Driven Innovation (November 22, 2015). Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Research Paper 2015-47. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2694318
- ^ https://www.readingbarometersa.org/
- ^ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1320885.pdf
- ^ Malada, Brutus (2023-11-06). "SA needs to develop a culture of reading rather than boozing". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ Biesman-Simons, Claire (2021-09-29). "Tracing the usage of the term 'culture of reading' in South Africa: A review of national government discourse (2000–2019)". Reading & Writing. 12 (1). doi:10.4102/rw.v12i1.314. ISSN 2308-1422.
- ^ Welch, Tessa, Tembe, Juliet, Wepukhulu, Dorcas, Baker, Judith, and Norton, B. "The African Storybook Project: An interim report Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine". In: H. McIlwraith (Ed.), The Cape Town Language and Development Conference: Looking beyond 2015. British Council, 2014, pp. 92–95.
- ^ https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/637/962
- ^ https://now.vodacom.co.za/article/book-dash-better-than-a-fairytale
- ^ Metelerkamp, Tamsin (2024-05-31). "Success stories: How Book Dash is getting SA children reading". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
- ^ https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/storyweaver-origin-story-online-platform-designed-get-book