I See You / I Read You:
How School Libraries Can
Foster Reading Improvement
through Visual Literacy
Lesley Farmer, California State
University, Long Beach, USA
lfarmer@csulb.edu

Visual Literacy Elements
 Interpret, understand, appreciate
meaning of visual messages
 Communicate more effectively by
applying visual design principles
 Produce visual messages using
technology
 Use visual thinking to conceptualize
solutions to problems
International Visual Literacy Assn., 1996

Processing: Text vs. Image
 Understand the phonemes of  Manipulate visual elements
spoken language (auditory simultaneously
processing)  Brain registers a full-color image
 Realize that phonemes can be in a fraction of a second, much
represented by print faster than the processing
(orthographic visual processing) speed for deciphering text
 Know that a few phonemes can  When images are linked with
be arranged to make many text, the messages are dual-
different words (concept coded and easier to
formation abilities) comprehend and remember.
 Chunk letters so brain can
overcome limited processing
space
 Decode automatically and
concentrate on comprehending
ideas

Visual Information Cycle
 Private creation of an image
 Public dissemination of the image
 Public review and validation of the image
 Public access of the image
 Private use of the image

Visual Research
1. Task definition.
Based on prior knowledge and experience
2. Search strategies.
Images employ simultaneous analysis, from general/highlights to details
(note picture books sequencing)
3. Locating and accessing visual information.
Males use text to retrieve images; females pick up on visual cues
4. Use of visual information.
Males are more critical evaluating; females see relationship between visual data
better
5. Synthesis of visual information:
Based on existing schemas. Females: practical, relational, and concrete; males:
abstract

Levels of Visual Messages
 Sign vs. Symbol
 Visual diagramming
 Maps

Type Elements
 Fonts
 Size
 Readability
 CAPS vs. lower case
 Weight
 Proximity and Alignment
 Underlining, Undermining, Bold defying

Color and Culture
Purity and virtue in European cultures.
Death and mourning in Japanese,
Chinese, Korean cultures.
Danger in European and Japanese
cultures. Joy and festivity in China.
Vietnamese wedding dresses are often
red.
Cowardice in Western cultures. Once
reserved for emperor in China.

Picture Books: Children’s
Assumptions
 Photographs are considered more real
than drawings.
 Real is considered “good.”
 Simplified images may be considered
poorly drawn, regardless of the artistic
style.
 Abstract images are equated with
fantasy, and may have a connotation of
“bad.”
 While boys may process abstractions
more easily than girls, they tend to favor
literal images over metaphorical ones.

Ways to Study Picture Books
 Visual content analysis
 Critique using artistic principles
 Evaluate use of image to give meaning
 Dual-coding

Left to Right
Top to
Bottom

The Appeal of Graphic Novels

Comics & Reading
Assist Poor Readers
Connect with Visual Learners
Develop Strong Language Arts Skills
Encourage Unmotivated and "Dormant" Readers
Convey Educational Messages
Stimulate Readers to Explore Other Literature
Engage Older Readers

Technology and Literacy
 Expands access and manipulation to images
 Media manipulate images to elicit desired
responses
 Viewers need to be verify image
 Viewers who have more background
knowledge can discern illogical images >>>
wide reading aids visual literacy

Incorporate Technology to
Visual and Textual Information
 Encourage group-based visual technology
productions.
 Use visual editing/manipulation features – and undo
options –to encourage creative risk-taking
 Use images as another telecommunications
“language.”
 Have learners photograph a variety of objects and
behaviors, and analyze the explicit and overt
messages.
 Have learners research the assumptions of visual
messages.

Library and Visual Literacy
 Atmosphere
 Collection
development
 Instructional design:
visual aids, tech
training, production

Literacy Topics Using Images
1. Compare how different books or different artist/photographers portray
concepts; determine the impact of culture, time period, status on the
images.
2. Write a story to accompany a wordless book.
3. Create and annotate a personal virtual museum of images.
4. Take the same advertisement, and edit it in different ways to convey
opposing views. This activity is particularly telling during election years.
5. Take photos of the school campus, and caption them. Compare the
choice and captioning of images.
6. Produce telenovelas.
7. Create educational commercials.
8. Do digital storytelling.
9. Show scientific cycles by creating and captioning a digital photo album.
10. Analyze how films depict themes; compare filmatic and text depictions.