University News
CLEC Open House
April 3, 2007
MACOMB, IL -- What are the "hot" new books coming from the publishers of children's and young adult books? Are you looking for literature that will get your students – or children – excited about reading?
Then look no further than the Western Illinois University's Children's Literature Examination Center (CLEC) in Horrabin Hall. Teachers, school administrators, librarians, parents and anyone interested in children's literature are invited to attend CLEC's annual open house Thursday, April 19 in Horrabin Hall 1 on the WIU-Macomb campus.
According to Betsy Hommel and Angela Ferree, curriculum and instruction faculty and CLEC
co-coordinators, the center's 2,500-book collection will be available for review at the open house, which will be held from 2-6 p.m.
Books in the center are available to area educators who are looking for materials to aid reading instruction and literature programs. The collection includes literature in a range of genres -- fiction, nonfiction, traditional literature, picture books and poetry, Ferree added.
"The collection is noncirculating, but is open to anyone who has an interest in seeing what books are available for children and young adults," Hommel explained. "The open house is great way to showcase all of the outstanding and award-winning books the center has available."
The Children's Literature Examination Center began in 1996 when Nancy Chu, curriculum and instruction professor emeritus, asked publishers to send the department their latest releases. Today, numerous publishers submit books to CLEC each year. To make room for the latest books, the collection is transferred annually to Western's Curriculum Library in Horrabin Hall, a resource library for Western's teacher education students and area educators. The Western-Quad Cities campus library also receives books from the center each year, Ferree said.
"With the publishing industry changing so quickly in the realm of children's and young adult literature, teachers, librarians and parents have a difficult time keeping up with new books. You can read about a book and get a sense of whether it is appropriate for your class or your child, but there is nothing like seeing the book firsthand before you make a choice," Ferree said. "That's where CLEC comes in. We don't have everything, but we have a considerable sample of current children's and young adult's literature."
The CLEC Open House will also feature the Lois and Lowell Lueck Collection, which showcases books that are selected based on established criteria for excellence in literature and writing. Lowell Lueck, former director of institutional research and planning at Western, retired in 1993. Lowell, along with his wife, Lois, a former high school guidance counselor, established an endowment through Western's Foundation to promote new ideas and methods for the improvement and teaching of reading in the western Illinois region.
"Another exciting feature the open house is that practicing teachers from my graduate class will have displays of books focusing on various topics, such as civil rights, ancient Egypt, knights and castles, the weather and Abraham Lincoln," Ferree added. "This year's open house also coincides with the mathematics department's education conference and our college's PreK-8 Science Update Conference. Participants will have the opportunity to peruse our selection of books focusing on math and science."
In addition, information about Western's graduate elementary education program will be available to those interested in obtaining their master's degree.
The open house is open free to the public. Participants can park in the lot south of Horrabin Hall (across from the Leslie F. Malpass Library) between 2 and 6 p.m. without parking permits. Registration is not required; refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the department of curriculum and instruction at 309/298-1961.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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