HOW THE GUIDE WAS WRITTEN

To find out what resources were currently available, CCLOW staff sent out a request to literacy groups, women's groups, training and upgrading programs, boards of education, community colleges and other organizations. These groups were asked to send copies of, or information about, materials they felt were good examples of literacy materials for women. Out of more than 2,000 contacts, over 300 people replied to the request. While many were able to recommend books or pamphlets, others expressed their concern about the lack of good materials and gave their support to the project. All replies were entered into a computer database, which could then be used to generate lists of respondents, recommended titles and other information as required.

Once responses were received, the working group was formed to take the project through the next stages. Members of the group came from eastern, western and central Canada. Together, they worked out criteria for choosing materials to be reviewed, decided on the review format, and developed plans for setting up volunteer reviewing groups. These groups were to include women literacy students as often as possible. In devising their criteria for judging "good literacy materials for women," the group acknowledged that materials that reflect and celebrate women's lives are more likely to be used where there is good literacy practice. The group developed a set of guidelines which they felt would be useful to others (see page 101). The guidelines are intended to assist in choosing and producing feminist materials. Users of the guide might wish to look at these guidelines in light of their implications for feminist practice.

HOW THE REVIEWS WERE DONE

The books and pamphlets to be reviewed were given to three members of the working group - Evelyn Battell in Duncan, British Columbia, Betty Ann Lloyd in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Vivian Stollmeyer in Toronto, Ontario - who agreed to set up reviewing groups. While the process was different in each location, in most cases students were involved in reading and discussing the materials and/or writing the reviews. Students found the experience interesting and as one of the groups noted, "In most instances, the students wanted to tell others about the books and had intense discussions as a result of reading them. Many said, 'they should have more of these books.'''

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

The people who put together this guide hope that the reviews will help literacy workers and women students to find the good materials that are now available. The guide may also help to identify areas where new materials are badly needed. As women students continue to write their own stories and more books from women's perspectives are published, the members of the project working group expect that the next edition of the guide will be at least twice as long as this one.