REFORMA, the National
Association to Promote Library and Informational Services to Latinos and the
Spanish-Speaking, is pleased to announce that Multnomah County Library
(Portland, OR) has been selected as winner of the 2002 Estela and Raúl Mora
Award which promotes participation in the celebration of Día de los Niños, Día
de los Libros (Day of the Children/Day of the Books). The award is donated by writer Pat Mora and her three siblings in
honor of their parents and was established to honor children, promote bilingual
literacy and encourage reading among all children. The winner will receive $1,000 plus a plaque to be donated by the
Mora grandchildren. The stipend and
plaque have been awarded annually since 2000 to the school, library or REFORMA
chapter that sponsors the most exemplary celebration. Previous recipients are Austin Public Library and El Paso Public
Library.
“Multnomah’s program was
simply outstanding, “ states Mora Committee member Jon Sundell, “in light of
the tremendous community response, the excellent collaboration with community
agencies and area businesses, the rich and varied avenues of publicity
utilized, and the extent of expansion of programming over the previous
year.” However, the choice was a
difficult one, as there were strong programs in schools and libraries in urban
and rural areas throughout the country from Rhode Island to Oregon, from
Florida to California, with quality programming evidenced in Texas, New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, and Utah as well.
Multnomah County’s
month-long celebration, coordinated by Marcela Villagrán, Spanish Outreach
Specialist, reached 6,100 participants who enjoyed 25 different cultural
programs at six library locations with activities including piñata and paper
flower making, a photography workshop, a bilingual play, arts/crafts shows,
music, dancing, and storytelling.
Community partners included a school choir, college dancers, local
talent—amateur and professional, including Hugo Nava and Cha Cha the clown,
area businesses, student volunteers, such as high school and college MEChA
(Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán) members, English Language Learners
(ELL) students, and community media, such as Oregon Public Broadcasting. The Library effectively used its bilingual
webpage, its newsletter, library flyers, area school newsletters, and the
parental bulletin for Mt. Hood Community College Family Support Programs to
publicize events. “They even
distributed a bilingual evaluation form, “ said Mora Award Committee member
Marie Kaneko, “which will allow them to enhance next year’s programs.” Multnomah’s celebration truly embodied the
program’s slogan “…to promote bilingual literacy by honoring the power and
magic books bring to children.” The
stipend and plaque will be formally presented to Multnomah County Library at
the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia in
January 2003.
The 2002 Mora Award
Committee was comprised of Marie Kaneko of City of Commerce Public Library
(CA), Jon Sundell of Forsyth County Public Library (Winston-Salem, NC), and
Rosemary McAtee, Chair, of Salt Lake County Library System (UT).