J.C.L.C.’s Legacy Recognition

Contact:
Yago Cura
(646) 207-9441

J.C.L.C.’s Legacy Recognition of REFORMA Leaders!


Kansas City, MO—J.C.L.C. (Joint Conference of Librarians of Color) attendees celebrated the Legacy Breakfast on Friday, September 21, 2012. The event featured the best and brightest from the A.L.A.’s Caucus associations. The Awards Reception provided an opportunity for friends and colleagues to share the accomplishments of today’s library leaders.

Among the REFORMA leaders recognized were Oralia Garza de Cortes for her efforts in advocacy, Lucia M. Gonzalez for outstanding work as an author, and Orlando Archibeque for his tireless, distinguished service. Oralia Garza de Cortes is an advocate for multicultural children’s literature and library services for Latino children. Also, she is the first elected Latina to the Executive Board of the Association for Library Services to Children. She played a leading role in establishing and promoting El día de los niños, El día de los libros/Children’s Day, Book Day, and delivered a Call-to-Action address at the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration at the 2012 ALA-Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Lucia M. Gonzales is an accomplished storyteller, puppeteer, and children's librarian. Lucia is the author of three award-winning bilingual books, The Bossy Gallito (Scholastic, 1994), winner of the Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal and among New York Public Library's 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know, and Señor Cat's Romance, and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America (Scholastic, 2001), an Americas Award Commended Title. In 1998, she was named the Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni by the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science. Lucia's new book, The Storyteller's Candle (Children's Book Press, 2008) is a bilingual picture book illustrated by Lulu Delacre, winner of the 2008 Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal.

Orlando "Lando" Archibeque has given his time and energy to serve the cause of diversity for over thirty years. In 1985, he founded the Colorado Chapter of REFORMA, and served three times as the chapter president. From 2009-2011, he was one of the co-chairs of the fourth REFORMA National Conference, in addition to serving as the Chair of the Programs Committee. “Lando” works with a collaborative team on the I.M.L.S. (Institute of Museum and Library Services) grant-funded "Future LEADers (Librarian Education and Diversity) of America," a project that attracts bilingual undergraduates and supports them financially and emotionally through their library science master's degrees. He has mentored numerous students and library professionals with calm humor. He is the Social Sciences Collection Development Librarian at Auraria Library at the University of Colorado-Denver, where he has initiated the "Diversify your Syllabi" project to encourage professors to integrate multicultural research materials into their curriculum.

Congratulations to these outstanding REFORMA leaders for their distinguished works to serve our Latino library users, please post your comments for each of these JCLC’s Legacy Awards winners at http://www.facebook.com/pages/REFORMA/ 26439643928.