Contact: Miguel A. Figueroa
Office for Diversity & Spectrum
312-280-5295
mfigueroa@ala.org
Jessica Hernandez
REFORMA Public Relations
(301) 300-8429
jnhernan@email.arizona.edu
www.reforma.org
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2010
Tucson, Ariz. - REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, an affiliate of the American Library Association, announces Oralia Garza de Cortés and Susana Hinojosa as the 2010 Arnulfo D. Trejo Librarians of the Year (LOTY). The award is named in honor of Dr. Arnulfo D. Trejo, the founder and first president of REFORMA and is made possible by the generous financial support of the Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education.
Janice Greenberg, chair of the 2010 selection committee, announced that these two distinguished librarians will share the award which is normally given to only one recipient. Said Greenberg, “The high caliber of the nominees made this unusual decision the only possible outcome.” This is only the second time that the LOTY has been shared by two librarians.
Garza de Cortés holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a literacy consultant, writer and the Latino children’s literacy advocate in her position as project manager for the California Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros Initiative. Garza de Cortés, whose career spans more than 30 years, has worked as a children’s librarian for the San Antonio, Austin and Houston Public Library systems. She served as REFORMA President in 2000 and was the co-founder of the Pura Belpré Award, co-sponsored by REFORMA and the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), which is the premier children’s literature award for Latino/Latina authors and illustrators. Garza de Cortés is also the author of numerous publications on children’s services. Her sustained and continuous dedication over the years to children’s literacy, Latino literature, cultural pluralism and library services to children and Spanish-speaking people is recognized by this award.
Susana Hinojosa holds a masters in Library and Information Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a recently retired government documents, social sciences and outreach librarian at Berkeley’s Doe Library, where she was employed for more than 38 years. She served as REFORMA president in 2001 and as co-chair of the second REFORMA National Conference in 2000. Hinojosa has served on the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee and Intellectual Freedom Committee. As a union representative of University of California-AFT, Local 1474, Hinojosa worked to defend the rights and improve the working conditions of all system librarians. Her steadfast dedication to equity, fairness, teaching, mentorship and long-term service to libraries and organizations focusing on Chicanos, Chicanas, Latinos and Latinas is recognized by this award.
Both recipients will be honored at the REFORMA Annual Banquet and Dance at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington D.C, June, 2010.
The 2010 Trejo Librarian of the Year Committee includes: John Ayala, Toni Bissessar, Linda Chavez Doyle, Nancy Herrera, Susan Luevano, Ben Ocón, Ron Rodriguez and Janice Greenberg (Chair).
Established in 1971 as an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), REFORMA has actively sought to promote the development of library collections to include Spanish-language and Latino oriented materials; the recruitment of more bilingual and bicultural library professionals and support staff; the development of library services and programs that meet the needs of the Latino community; the establishment of a national information and support network among individuals who share our goals; the education of the U.S. Latino population in regards to the availability and types of library services; and lobbying efforts to preserve existing library resource centers serving the interests of Latinos. Nationally, there are twenty-six REFORMA chapters. For more information on REFORMA, please visit www.reforma.org.