De Dónde Venimos
The work to found REFORMA de Florida started in the late 1990s thanks to a group of leaders that included faculty from the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science Kathleen de la Peña McCook and Derrie Perez. In 1997 they established the Florida Library Association (FLA) Special Interest Group for Library Services to the Spanish-speaking to begin to build a base for the creation of a REFORMA chapter. In 1999, the Diversity Committee of the University of South Florida (USF) Tampa Campus Library also discussed the idea of starting a chapter of REFORMA in the State. Carol Ann Borchert (from USF Library) agreed to investigate the possibility and contacted Paola Ferate of the Organization Development Committee about setting up a chapter. Later that year, some people met at the TBLC Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, FL on November 5 to discuss chapter formation. Madison Mosley suggested the group could affiliate with FLA. Ben Ostrowsky from TBLC offered to start a REFORMA-FL listserv to facilitate communication, which would be managed by TBLC.
After a period of inactivity, the chapter’s idea was reignited in the 2000s. In 2009/2010, there were talks about re-forming the chapter, and a group of Florida members of the National REFORMA prepared a panel about services to Latinos (“Access for All”) to be presented in the FLA Annual Conference of 2011. Lucia Gonzalez, Isabel Castro, Alicia Long, and Adam Reitman did the presentation, and other interested professionals and FLA attendees manifested interest in a chapter. A meeting took place thanks to the FLA Special Interest Group that was formed in the past, a vote to form the chapter was taken in the meeting, and the work to set up the chapter began. Representatives of the future REFORMA de Florida Chapter submitted an official request to the REFORMA National’s Board of Directors to activate the chapter during the American Library Association Annual Conference on Sunday, June 26th, 2011, in New Orleans, which was approved. Some of the leaders who participated in that meeting are featured in the image below, and they include: Loanis Menendez-Cuesta, Juan Lopez, Lucia Gonzalez, Isabel Castro, Sylvia Martinez, Adam Reitman, Alicia K. Long, and Dr. Henrietta M. Smith, among others.
During the following years, the chapter worked to facilitate communication among members in order to promote the vision of REFORMA de Florida. Venues for this objective included the subscription to the Latino Library Services listserv; online meeting platforms; the updating of the REFORMA de Florida webpage; and the updating and promotion of the chapter’s Facebook page. Presidents such as Loanis Menendez-Cuesta and Juan Castro led the work. After some years, the chapter became inactive again.
In 2018-19, some members, former members, and new/interested library professionals were discussing the need for an active chapter in Florida and decided to re-energize and re-organize the chapter. The “Vision 2020 Task Force” was created, under the leadership of Alma Ramos McDermott as Chair, with the assistance and advice of REFORMA Chapter Representative Manny Figueroa, and members Lucia Gonzalez, Isabel Castro, and Alicia Long. The Task Force successfully engaged with a group of members (despite the Covid-19 Pandemic!) and called for elections for a new Board, which was elected in 2021. Since then, the chapter has been developing new ideas and initiatives and (although meeting primarily virtually due to the pandemic) it has been growing!
We invite you to join and become part of this rich history!
About REFORMA National
Established in 1971, 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 in regards to the availability and types of library services; and lobbying efforts to preserve existing library resource centers serving the interests of Latinos. REFORMA is an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA).
REFORMA de Florida 