Health, early literacy pre-conferences added to first-ever JCLC
Contact: Macey Morales
ALA Media Relations
312-280-5043
mmorales@ala.org
For Immediate Release
May 19, 2006
Health, early literacy pre-conferences added to first-ever JCLC
(CHICAGO) The first-ever Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) will open with two new daylong preconferences focused on access to online health information and creating and using strong multicultural collections to support early literacy. The conference (October 11-16) will bring hundreds of library staffers from all types of libraries and backgrounds, diversity advocates and educators to Dallas to network and exchange ideas on how to better serve increasingly diverse communities.
On Wednesday, October 11, "Good Health/Buena Salud/Sen Ti Gien Kan/Tá Waaqis" will offer a fun and interactive session focusing on how to access online health information. Attendees will learn what illnesses are common to ethnic communities and how to assist library users with accessing free online resources from the National Library of Medicine. The program also will provide attendees with tips on how they can make healthy choices and achieve good health. The cost of the session is $15 and includes lunch and a low-impact exercise activity.
"Promises to Keep: Only The Best for Children & Youth!" will focus on how to diversify children’s collections and promote early literacy. The program will showcase a variety of children’s authors and illustrators from the five communities of color who are sponsoring JCLC. Attendees will learn how multicultural books influence state and local curriculum plans, special collections, staff training and community programs for youth and families. The session will provide a forum to share local programming ideas, tips on encouraging children to become avid readers, resources for using multicultural books in everyday curriculum and collection-building tools. The fee for the session is $125 and includes lunch.
The conference, theme "Gathering at the Waters: Embracing Our Spirits, Telling Our Stories," will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on how to better serve ethnic communities. The conference is not limited to ALA’s ethnic caucuses or persons of color, but is open to everyone in the library world who is interested in diversity issues and serves ethnic populations. Its 100 programs will focus on literacy, equity of access, diversity best practices, multicultural collection development, recruitment, service delivery and much more.
To register or to get more information on the JCLC, please visit
www.ala.org/jclc . Online registration is available, as well as forms to register by mail. JCLC Early Bird registration ends June 9, 2006.
The JCLC is sponsored by the five ethnic caucus associations affiliated with the American Library Association (ALA), that include the American Indian Library Association (AILA); the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA); the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA); the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Provide Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking.
