The 43 conference papers in this yearbook cover such diverse topics in the field of reading as the analysis of children's literacy responses, the study of aesthetic literacy, and the investigation of phonemic awareness. The yearbook includes both data-driven studies and conceptual explorations of diverse literacy learners. The yearbook opens with the presidential address to the conferees: "Researching the Literal: Of Muted Voices, Second Texts, and Cultural Representations" (D. E. Alvermann). The other papers include: "Assessment as Social Practice" (Peter Johnston); "Language and Learning: Exploring Schooling Issues That Impact Linguistically Diverse Students" (O. B. Miramontes); "What Is Scaffolded Instruction? Definitions, Distinguishing Features, and Misnomers" (D. K. Meyer);"The Case for Expressive Writing for Developmental College Readers" (I. Baker and P. I. Mulcahy-Ernt); "Reading in English as a Translation Task: Fluent Deaf Young Adult Bilinguals" (P. N. Chrosniak); "Portfolios: Agents of Change and Empowerment in Classrooms" (R. A. Stewart and E. E. Paradis); "Literacy and Diversity: Do We Need Dichotomies or Not?" (C. A. Elster and E. B. Moje); "Whole Language and Research: The Case for Caution" (M. C. McKenna and others); "Mexican-American Bilingual Kindergartners' Collaborations in Meaning Making" (J. Battle); "Literacy Needs of Limited-English Proficient Students: What Information Is Available to Mainstream Teachers" (G. E. Garcia and others); "Home Contributions to Early Language and Literacy Development" (D. E. Beals and J. M. De Temple); "Moving toward Aesthetic Literacy in the First Grade" (B. Berghoff); "Environmental Print, Phonemic Awareness, Letter Recognition, and Word Recognition" (S. A. Stahl and B. A. Murray); "Constructing Community and Intertextuality in Electronic Mail" (J. Myers); "Children's Insights into Literature: Using Dialogue Journals to Invite Literary Response" (C. Farest and C. Miller); "The Other Half: A Case Study of Asymmetrical Communication in Content-Area Reading Student-Professor Dialogue Journals" (T. W. Bean and J. J. Zulich); "Preservice Elementary Teachers' Evolving Perceptions of Portfolio Assessment" (D. W. Frazier and others); "The Influence of Context, Community, and Culture: Contrasting Cases of Teacher Knowledge Development" (D. L. Fox); "Literacy and Literature in Elementary Classrooms: Teachers' Beliefs and Practices" (P. L. Scharer and others); "Causal Relations and Their Effects on the Comprehension of Narrative Texts" (W. H. Slater); "Patterns of Development in Narrative Stories of Emergent Writers" (M. A. Domico); "Voicing in Spanish to English Spelling Knowledge Transfer" (L. Ferroli and T. Shanahan); and "Can Teachers' Images of Good Writing Conflict with Goals of Process Writing?" (S. J. McCarthey). The NRC program, and author and subject indexes are attached. (RS)