DALN FAQs
What is the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN)?
The Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives (DALN) is a publicly available archive of literacy narratives in a variety of formats (print, video, audio) that together provide a historical record of the literacy practices and values of citizens from all countries, as these practices and values change. The DALN invites people of all ages, races, communities, backgrounds, and interests to contribute stories about how they learned to read, write, and compose meaningand how they continue to do so.
We welcome all kinds of texts, both formal and informal: diaries, blogs, poetry, music and musical lyrics, fan 'zines, school papers, videos, sermons, gaming profiles, speeches, chatroom exchanges, text messages, letters, stories, photographs, etc.
We also invite contributors to provide examples of their own writing and composing (papers, letters, 'zines, speeches, etc.) and compositions (music, photographs, videos, sound recordings, etc.). These items can be digitally scanned and added to your literacy narrative.
To contact the DALN:
Professor Cynthia L. Selfe
Humanities Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Denney Hall, 164 West 17th Ave.
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Email:
selfe.2@osu.edu
Telephone: 614 688 3779
Fax: 614 292 7816
What is a Literacy Narrative?
A literacy narrative is simply a collection of items that describe how you learned to read, write, and compose. This collection might include a story about learning to read cereal boxes and a story about learning to write plays. Some people will want to record their memories about the bedtime stories their parents read to them, the comics they looked at in the newspaper, or their first library card. Others will want to tell a story about writing a memorable letter, leaning how to write on a computer or taking a photograph; reading the Bible, publishing a zine, or sending an e-mail message.
Your literacy narrative can have many smaller partsbut they will all be identified with your name. For instance, you might want to provide a story about learning to read a as a child, a digitized image of one of your old report cards, a story about writing a letter as a teenager, a photograph of you as a young child; a song you learned when you were in school).
All of these items can be uploaded on this
web site or sent to us
by mail.
How do I create a literacy narrative? What is the process?
The process of creating a literacy narrative has
five basic steps:
How do I browse or search this collection?
We have tried to make
searching and browsing this collection as transparent a process as possible. You can browse the collection by keywords, subject, title, date, and submitters name.
Why do I have to register to use the DALN site?
The brief registration process for this site ensures that we can contact you if we have questions about your literacy narrative.
Is my name and contact information secure?
When you complete the
submission process on the DALN site, you determine the contact information that will be posted for your literacy narrative.
The DALN site administrators will not release any contact information other than that you specify.
What digital formats will the DALN accept?
The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) accepts the following formats:
Documents (doc, .txt, .pdf)
Video (..mp3, Quicktime, .wmv)
Audio (.mp3)
Images and Photographs (.gif, .jpg)
Can I submit my literacy narrative by mail rather than online?
Absolutely! See our directions for submitting
by mail.
Where can I find licensing information for Adults and Minors?
You can visit the adult or minor licensing page and print out the forms. [
Adult |
Minor]