The 2022 Annual Conference of the American Library Association (ALA) took place in Washington, DC, June 24-28, 2022. Several of our members and officers attended and/or participated in different capacities. Here are some highlights of our members participation:
Lucia Gonzalez, former Director of North Miami Public Library, concluded her year as President of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC.) As such, she hosted the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet to honor this year’s winners of best literature for children. What a nice coincidence that this year’s Newbery Medal was presented to Donna Barba Higuera for the book The Last Cuentista, which is also the recipient of REFORMA’s Pura Belpré Award! Lucia presided the awards ceremony with grace and we all feel proud of her representing us! Congratulations, Lucia!
In addition, Lucia presented the ALSC Charlemae Rollins President Program with the title: “Boundaries Be Gone!: Using Stories to Connect” which included a panel with speakers: author and scholar David Bowles, illustrator Michaela Goade, and USF SI Professor Emerita and Community Literacy activist Dr. Cora Dunkley. The program was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Henrietta M. Smith, USF School of Information Professor, who was Lucia’s beloved mentor. Dr. Smith was also a member and supporter of REFORMA de Florida in the early 2000s.
Several Florida reformistas, including Alma Ramos McDermott, Alicia Long, Isabel Castro, Jenny Lizarraga, and more, attended several of REFORMA’s events, which included a “Tarde de Cuentos” at the Library of Congress (read this ALSC blog post to know more), a Fundraising Gala at the Martin L. King, Jr. Memorial Library, and membership and committee meetings. Past-President Alicia K. Long received the Dr. Arnulfo Trejo Librarian of the Year (LOTY) Award along with Oralia Garza de Cortés, who received the Elizabeth Martinez Lifetime Achievement Award.
As always, a highlight of the Annual Conference is the presentation of the Pura Belpré Award, also called the “Celebración”. Our members who were able to attend enjoyed the annual display of color, music, art, and literature, as well as the speeches from Belpré honorees, who were very emotional and poignant. You can read more about the event in this ALSC blog post.
Images courtesy of Alicia K. Long, 2022.
REFORMA de Florida 