Judith Krug, REFORMA to discuss English Only censorship and its impact on Latino children, young adults in School and Public Libraries

Contacts:


Patricia Montiel Overall


REFORMA Publicity Chair


520 621-3565


overall@u.arizona.edu
Macey Morales


ALA Media Relations


312-280-4393


mmorales@ala.org
For Immediate Release


June 12, 2007

Judith Krug, Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), REFORMA to discuss English-only censorship and its impact on children, young adults

(CHICAGO) Censorship is alive and well in our school and public libraries disguised within initiatives, policies and management procedures. Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Judith Krug, American Library Association (ALA) director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, will speak about the impact that English-only initiatives have on children and young adult library services. The program will be held on June 24, in room 208 A/B, from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., at the Washington Convention Center, and will take place during the ALA Annual Conference held June 21 to 27, in Washington, D.C.

The program will address the critical need for library workers to learn how to confront English-only initiatives, and its impact on first language acquisition, literacy, and collection development.

A round table discussion will take place shortly after the speaker portion of the program with the following discussion leaders:

  • Peter Zamora


    Washington, D.C. Regional Counsel


    Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund


    Topic: Legal issues



  • Isabel Espinal


    Outreach Specialist


    W.E.B. DuBois Library


    University of Massachusetts Amherst


    Amherst, Ma.


    Topic: Immigration



  • Patricia Montiel Overall


    Assistant Professor


    The University of Arizona–School of Information Resources and Library Science


    Tucson, Ariz.


    Topics: School libraries and second language acquisition



  • Robin Osborne


    outreach services consultant


    New York's Westchester Library System


    Westchester, N.Y.


    Topic: literacy and outreach



  • Rose Treviño


    Youth Services Coordinator


    Houston Public Library


    500 McKinney


    Houston


    Topic: Public library issues

As an affiliate of the ALA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA), has actively sought to promote the development of library collections to include Spanish-language and Latino oriented materials. The organization works to recruit bilingual and bicultural library professionals and support staff, and the development of library services and programs that meet the needs of the Latino community. REFORMA supports efforts to educate the U.S. Latino population in regards to the availability and types of library services, as well as efforts to preserve existing library resource centers serving the interests of Latinos.

For more information on REFORMA, or the English-only program, please contact REFORMA Publicity Chair Patricia Montiel Overall at 520-621-3565 or
overall@u.arizona.edu.