ALSC becomes national center for El día de los niños/El día de los libros
Contact: Linda Mays
Program Officer
312-280-1398
For Immediate Release
April 14, 2005
ALSC becomes national center for El día de los niños/El día de los libros
CHICAGO – The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, is very pleased to announce it is now the national center for
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book). Through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, ALSC will annually coordinate with other national organizations to promote the
Día celebration, including REFORMA – the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
ALSC plans to initiate communication and education efforts that promote
Día to families across the United States. The new grant will fund education programs, Web site design and maintenance, a 10 th anniversary
Día celebration in 2006 and national mailings. Previous funding from the Kellogg Foundation was used to create and distribute brochures in English and Spanish, and create a statewide model and tools for librarians.
Librarians can join this effort today by taking advantage of
Día resources, including a list of bilingual children's books, by visiting the ALSC Web site at
http://www.ala.org/alsc and the Texas Library Association at
www.texasdia.org.
“April 30, and every day, is a day to celebrate childhood and books in all our lives,” said ALSC President Gretchen Wronka. “ALSC is proud to be the center for
Día activities, and we look forward to partnering with REFORMA and other organizations on those activities. We thank the Kellogg Foundation for its support.”
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (
Día) brings together children, books, languages and cultures. It is both a daily commitment and an annual celebration every April 30 of the joys and wonders of childhood and the importance of literacy in the lives of families.
Día 's vision is to spread “bookjoy” every day by linking children from all languages and cultures with books, and celebrating together across the country on April 30. Its goals are to honor children, their languages and culture; to encourage reading and literacy; and to promote library collections and programs that reflect our plurality.
El día de los niños/El día de los libros is an enhancement of Children's Day, which began in 1925 as a result of the first “World Conference for the Well Being of Children” in Geneva, Switzerland. Children's Day was designated as a day to bring attention to the importance and well-being of children. It was then designated by the United Nations for November 20, by UNICEF for April 23, and by Mexico for April 30 (
Día del Niño), to name a few. In 1996, Pat Mora, nationally acclaimed author of books for children and adults, proposed linking the celebration of childhood and children with literacy.
“How exciting that ALSC is welcoming the family literacy initiative
El día de los niños/El día de los libros! ALA and a nation of committed librarians – what a grand home!” Mora said.
ALSC, found in 1941, is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of service to children in all types of libraries. ALSC sets the agenda for the future of children's library service and acts as a children's advocate, urging policy makers to support library service for children.
