LOTY 2010 Winners

The Arnulfo D. Trejo Librarian of the Year (LOTY) Winners Announced
 

Oralia Garza de Cortés	Susana Hinojosa

Oralia Garza de Cortés, of Austin, Texas and Susana Hinojosa, of Berkeley, California have been selected as the 2010 Arnulfo D. Trejo Librarians of the Year (LOTY). Janice Greenberg, Chair of the 2010 selection committee announced that these two distinguished librarians will share the award which is normally given to only one recipient. Greenberg stated that “The high caliber of the nominees made this unusual decision the only possible outcome.” This is only the second time that the LOTY has been awarded concurrently to two librarians. REFORMA President Loida Garcia-Febo is very proud of the two award recipients, and thanks the LOTY selection committee for their excellent work. This award is made possible by the generous financial support of the Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education. The LOTY is named in honor of Dr. Arnulfo Trejo, the founder and first president of Reforma. The award is sponsored by the Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education.

Garza de Cortés holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a literacy consultant, writer, and the Latino children’s literacy advocate in her position as a Project Manager for California Día. Garza de Cortés, whose career spans over thirty years, has also worked as a children’s librarian for the San Antonio, Austin, and Houston public library systems.

Garza de Cortés served as the national president of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking in 2000. One of her most important legacies was the establishment of the Children's Services Committee (CSC). The awardee served as CSC chair for nine years and remained an active member until 2004. Ms. Garza de Cortés is the co-founder of the Pura Belpré Award which is the premier children’s literature award for Latino/Latina authors and illustrators. Her leadership made it possible for the Pura Belpré award to be offered annually. Garza de Cortés is also the author of numerous publications on children’s services. Over the past 14 years she has advocated for El Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, an annual national literacy event. Her sustained and continuous dedication over the years to children’s literacy, Latino literature, cultural pluralism, and library services to children and Spanish-speaking people is recognized by this award.

Susana Hinojosa holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a recently retired government documents, social sciences, and outreach librarian at Berkeley’s Doe Library where she was employed for over thirty-eight years. The awardee is also a past president of national REFORMA and has remained an active and dedicated member throughout her career. This year’s winner is also known for her organizational skills as co-chair of the second REFORMA National Conference in 2000. In addition, Hinojosa has distinguished herself through her involvement with the Racial and Ethnic Diversity, and Intellectual Freedom Committees of the Academic, College and Research Libraries division of the American Library Association. The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and the California Library Association Minority Concerns Committee have also benefited from the awardees many years of involvement. Hinojosa also orchestrated key support and direction for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in 2006. As a union representative of University of California-AFT, Local 1474, Hinojosa worked to defend the rights and improve the working conditions of all system librarians. Hinojosa was a lecturer for many years at the University of California school of Library and Information Science where she inspired generations of librarians in her multicultural studies and outreach librarianship classes.

Her steadfast dedication to equity, fairness, teaching and mentorship and long term service to library and organizations focusing on Chicanos, Chicanas, Latinos and Latinas is recognized by this award.

Both recipients will be honored at the REFORMA Annual Banquet and Dance at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington D.C, June, 2010.


Contact: Jessica Hernández
PR Committee Chair
(301) 300-8429
jnhernan@email.arizona.edu

www.reforma.org