By: Veronica Ramirez, MLIS Student, San Jose State University When I was 12 years old, my family relocated from a small town in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico to Mountain View, California. I was placed in ESL classes and experienced a challenging time trying to learn a new language. My teacher suggested that my mother take me to the local public library so that I could check out books and practice reading in English. Coming from a small town in rural Mexico, this was my first time going to a public library. My favorite books to check out were the ones with animals as protagonists such...
Spectrum News
Round-up of news from the Spectrum Scholarship Program. This blog features announcements from the community of Spectrum Scholars including new jobs, promotions, publications, presentations, scholarships, awards, and life accomplishments.
With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, economic instability, and public murders of multiple Black individuals (including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd), our community has been and is going through trauma. We are committed to supporting Spectrum Scholars and providing multiple spaces for individuals to process, grieve, and express the ways these events and systems are impacting them as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in LIS. The Spectrum Advisory Committee (SAC) has collected stories and responses from Scholars and we share here to provide space for individuals...
Congratulations to Victor Betts (2015 Scholar) and Carol Ng-He (2019 Scholar) who were recently honored with 2020 awards from the Society of American Archivists. Carol Ng-He, who is pursuing a master of library and information science degree at San Jose State University, is a 2020 recipient of the Harold T. Pinkett Minority Student Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award recognizes minority graduate students of African, Asian, Latino, or Native American descent who, through scholastic achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional...
With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, economic instability, and public murders of multiple Black individuals (including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd), our community has been and is going through trauma. We are committed to supporting Spectrum Scholars and providing multiple spaces for individuals to process, grieve, and express the ways these events and systems are impacting them as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in LIS. The Spectrum Advisory Committee (SAC) has collected stories and responses from Scholars and we share here to provide space for individuals...
Maria de Lurdy (Mari) Martinez (she/her/hers) is a 2015 Spectrum Scholar, and attended the leadership institute when ALA Annual was held in San Francisco. She holds an MLIS degree from San Jose State University ‘17 and a BA in Advertising and Marketing from the Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico. She currently works as a Youth Services Librarian in South Florida. She’s experienced a major adjustment, having moved from a small rural library in Napa, CA, to a regional library that serves a large population of children and families in the ninth largest library county system in...
Dr. Michael Gutiérrez (he/him/his) is currently Head of Public Services at South Dakota State University. His previously work experience includes library appointments at New Mexico State University and University of Delaware. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, a master’s degree in information and library science from the University of Arizona, and a doctoral degree in education leadership from the University of Delaware. Dr. Gutiérrez has been active in national and local library associations. He previously served two terms as an ALA...
The Spectrum Advisory Committee has compiled this list of Spectrum Scholars standing for office in the 2020 ALA Elections. We encourage you to support the mission of the Spectrum Scholarship Program by supporting these leaders! The 2020 ALA Elections open March 9, 2020 and close on April 1, 2020. If you're a Scholar standing for office in the upcoming ALA election, and you do not see your information listed here please let us know at spectrum@ala.org and you will be added. Additionally, check out the Spectrum Advisory...
The Spectrum Advisory Committee compiled topics from the Spectrum community and created three questions to pose to the candidates for the 2021-2022 ALA Presidency, Patty Wong and Steven Yates. Each candidate's responses are included below. The 2020 ALA Elections open March 9, 2020 and close on April 1, 2020. Be sure to also check out our 2020 Spectrum Elections Guide highlighting Spectrum Scholars standing for election across our organization. ...
Michael Mungin (he/him/his) is a Research and Instruction Librarian serving University of Washington-Bothell and Cascadia College in Bothell, WA, about 15 minutes north of Seattle. He received his MLIS from the University of Washington in 2010 and was Psychology Librarian/Associate Professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA from 2011 to 2017 before returning to the Pacific Northwest. His core librarian duties include instruction, outreach, collections and reference. Mungin's professional interests include virtual reference assessment, EDI assessment and accountability in...
Heather P. VanDyne (2018 Scholar) obtained her MLS at Emporia State University in May 2019. During that time she worked as a Children's Librarian at the Coffeyville Public Library in Coffeyville, Kansas, where she launched her bilingual storytime outreach program, visiting students and sharing Hispanic Culture as well as teaching them basic vocabulary. She has also written an article for NMRT's Endnotes about using bilingual storytime outreach to connect with the Spanish-speaking community, titled "Storytime En La Escuela." Currently, VanDyne is the Library...