President's Column
Thursday, January 24, 2019
by: Madeline Peña

Section: President's Column


Winter 2019

¡Feliz año nuevo, REFORMA family! In the past few months, I have had the great pleasure of connecting with REFORMA members at various chapter meetings and events. I have attended local (Southern California) events in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and the Inland Empire—our newest REFORMA Chapter. I ventured a little farther away from SoCal and attended meetings of the Bibliotecas para la Gente and the Northeast chapters. Each time I have learned about the wonderful work our members do in their libraries, for their communities, and for their local REFORMA organization. I am extremely proud of the commitment to service of our talented members, and thankful for their time and kindness in hosting me. Next stops: Fresno, Puerto Rico, and Denver.

What an honor to be REFORMA President the year JCLC took place. It was a magnificent gathering of gente and a unique opportunity to share and learn from each other. I highly praise the work of all the REFORMA members who volunteered their time and expertise to organize this conference, especially Roxana Benavides and Susan Luevano, who represented REFORMA in the Steering Committee. I also congratulate the REFORMA members who were honored with awards, and who received scholarships and travel grants. We look forward to JCLC 2022. 
REFORMA was invited to participate in the IV Jornadas Nacionales para Bibliotecarios that took place in Argentina in October. I had the privilege of moderating a virtual panel presented by REFORMA members Yago Cura, Sylmari Burgos-Ramirez and Alma Ramos-McDermott on their experiences as outreach and school librarians. The webinar recording is available at bit.ly/ivjornadas.

javascript:void(0)The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) took place in November. I attended as part of the ALA/FIL FREE PASS Program to represent REFORMA and to assist the Los Angeles Public Library with the selection of Spanish-language materials. I presented a REFORMA update to the Asociación Mexicana de Bibliotecarios (AMBAC) during their Cuarta Reunión Ordinaria, met with members of the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Editorial Mexicana (CANIEM), and met with REFORMA members. As usual, attending FIL was of great value to those seeking to collect quality Spanish-language materials.
If you plan to attend ALA Midwinter, I encourage you to check REFORMA’s schedule of meeting and events, and make plans to join us. On Saturday, our very special Noche de Cuentos at the Seattle Public Library will feature bilingual performances by Seattle-based storytellers. On Monday at 8 am PT, I will have the honor to announce the winners of this year’s Pura Belpré Awards during the ALA Youth Media Awards. You can watch the live webcast at ala.unikron.com.

Gracias REFORMA for all you do. Until next time!
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