2013 REFORMA Librarian of the Year Announced

PRESS RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2013

2013 REFORMA Librarian of the Year Announced
Contact: Susan Luévano, LOTY Award Committee Chair
 
REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, is pleased to announce that Oscar Baeza is the recipient of The Dr. Arnulfo D. Trejo Librarian of the Year (LOTY)  Award. The award recognizes early to mid-career library professionals who have promoted and advocated services to the Spanish-speaking and Latino communities.
Mr. Baeza works as Assistant Professor/ Public Service Librarian, at El Paso Community College.  He received his Master’s degree in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University (2007) and a Bachelor’s degree of Social Psychology from Park’s University (2001).  Mr. Baeza is also a 2011 graduate of the Emerging Leaders program of the American Library Association.
 
Some of Mr. Baeza's most notable leadership roles include serving on the El Paso Public Library Association Board and the Las Tierras Neighborhood Association Board where he helped start an after school tutoring program for children in 2012.  In addition, Mr. Baeza is a Board member of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Service to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, where he serves as a Chapter Representative for the Southeast region of the United States and is running for vice-president of the El Paso REFORMA Chapter.
 
Last year he began a book donation project for the Early College High School Fabens Texas Education Center, a small Latino community located south of El Paso.  Mr. Baeza also worked on the national REFORMA resolution to help protect Ethnic Studies in the state of Arizona.  He is involved in bringing Latina/o authors to speak at the El Paso Public Library; he  is a mentor for the Project Puente which engages in educational and relationship building for the El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua areas; and he is a Board member of the El Paso Area Library (EPAL ) Consortium which oversees a federal grant with assists local students attending library school and mentored a student in the  EPAL Librarian in Training Program.  
 
Mr. Baeza is an activist librarian with deep concerns on issues related to literacy and border issues.  As El Paso REFORMA Chapter member Juanita Kamalipour stated, “Whether he is fighting for more public library budget or he is giving a lecture about Chicana/os, Oscar is always advocating for a better tomorrow.”  An early career librarian, Oscar Baeza is an outstanding librarian and community role model.  He embodies the attributes of leadership, dedication, and commitment to the Latina/o community that were espoused by Dr. Arnulfo Trejo, the founder of REFORMA.
 
The Trejo Foster Foundation was founded in 1992 by REFORMA founder Dr. Arnulfo D. Trejo to serve as a significant force in advocating quality library and information services for Hispanic/Latinos in the United States; to influence schools of library and information science to recruit, retain and graduate more Hispanic/Latino students and to incorporate more Hispanic/Latino perspectives into the curriculum. 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 with regard 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 26 REFORMA chapters. For more information on REFORMA, please visit www.reforma.org.