 The literacy community now has access to an on-line version of the Canadian Literacy Thesaurus/Thésaurus canadien d'alphabétisation, thanks to a grant from the National Literacy Secretariat. The Thesaurus is a list of subject terms in English and French relating to the field of adult literacy. Developed in consultation with the Canadian literacy community, both the terminology and structure of the Thesaurus reflect the diversity of regional literacy practices across Canada. The last ten years have seen a tremendous surge in the production of literacy resources across Canada. As these materials find their way into programs and resource centres, it becomes necessary to organize them in a useful way. The Thesaurus can be used to index documents, whether they are print, audio-visual or electronic. It can also be used to organize reading lists and bibliographies. People can consult the Thesaurus when searching in existing databases such as library catalogues. Finally, the Thesaurus will be helpful to people who wish to familiarize themselves with terminology or emerging concepts in the Canadian literacy field. The Canadian Literacy Thesaurus/Thésaurus canadien d'alphabétisation was first published in 1992 by the Canadian Literacy Thesaurus Coalition. By mounting the Thesaurus on the Web, the Coalition hopes to make it more accessible to individuals and organizations both within Canada and beyond. The on-line Thesaurus will also be easier to use and update. In addition, the site will actively encourage user feedback and suggestions for new terms. Members who participated in the Web project include the Centre AlphaPlus Centre in Toronto, the Centre FORA (Centre franco-ontarien de ressources en alphabétisation) in Sudbury, the Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine in Montreal, and the National Library of Canada. Currently there are very few thesauri available on the Internet. The Canadian Literacy Thesaurus/Thésaurus canadien d’alphabétisation, now fully web-enabled, is truly one of a kind. It is the Coalition’s hope that it will prove a valuable addition to literacy work both in Canada and internationally. For more information, please contact: |
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