Mother Goose on the Loose’s Diamant-Cohen receives ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement award

CHICAGO — Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen has been named the recipient of the 2013 ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award — an annual honor presented to an ASCLA member exemplifying leadership and achievement in one or more of the following areas: consulting, library cooperation, networking, statewide services and programs and state library development.

Diamant-Cohen is a proven and trusted leader in the field of early literacy. She is recognized as a prolific author, inspiring mentor and presenter, knowledgeable consultant and teacher and creator and developer of the Mother Goose on the Loose (MGOL) program. This program has revolutionized the way story times are presented to young children at libraries across the country and has empowered librarians to work confidently with this young population of readers. Through a simple formula and structure, librarians learn how to create programs that reflect their interests and personalities. The result is an early literacy program that is easy to plan and present; strengthens connections between parents and their children; builds community; allows librarians to be facilitators rather than performers; educates adults about child development and best practices for literacy; builds and strengthens children’s school readiness skills and creates warm relationships between library visitors and their librarians.

Diamant-Cohen has demonstrated her leadership by promoting a program that is developmentally sound and solidly grounded in the latest research about how young children learn. She has also actively sought out ways to adapt and expand the program to reach communities in greatest need. This included developing and publishing "Early Literacy Programming en Espanol: Mother Goose on the Loose programs for bilingual learners" in 2010. This initiative offered groundbreaking techniques that allowed English-speaking librarians to bring a successful MGOL program to second language learners.

Diamant-Cohen earned her Doctorate of Communications Design from the University of Baltimore and her M.L.S. from Rutgers University. She currently serves as both the executive director of Mother Goose on the Loose, LLC, and early childhood specialist at the Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Baltimore.

Diamant-Cohen will receive the ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award at the ASCLA/COSLA Reception, Saturday, June 29, 5:45-7:30p.m. in Field 20A-C, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, as a part of the 2013 ALA Annual Conference. Add the event to your conference schedule. All conference attendees are invited to this networking and awards event.

ASCLA, a small, mighty and growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), is a diverse organization of librarians and support staff who work in academic and public libraries, state agencies, specialized libraries and cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed. Our division’s work centers on member-driven interest groups that represent the diversity and important work of our engaged and active members. Learn more about ASCLA and how to join this innovative division.