5. Guatemalan rural libraries need you

Denise Westcott, MLIS and her husband Fred have been doing good work in Guatemala for years now with the Rudder Foundation's Association for Support of Individual Charity.  Now her group has devised a way for you go to Guatemala to share your library knowledge with local chapines eager to learn--and, who knows: you might learn a thing or two yourself.  The first two-week ASIC Rural Libraries Program begins June 20;  read the details of the program and see if it's for you.

14. Pep Boys speak Spanish

We've always had a soft spot for those Pep Boys, whose auto parts and potions have kept our ancient carcachas rolling for longer than anyone in Detroit ever intended.  You might recall that last year Manny, Moe, and Jack helped out the NHTSA with a Spanish-language seatbelt promotion campaign.  The latest is that the Boys' ambitious new ad blitz will be bilingual; here's an excerpt from an April 3 wire story:

Grupo Gallegos, an affiliate of the Richards Group, specializing in communications to the Hispanic market, has developed integrated communication strategies for key markets in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Spanish language advertising will run concurrently...

15. Great Books Foundation turns to Latino literature

Our friend Sandy Shuckett aq061@lafn.org, superhero of the school library world, passes along some news from the Great Books Foundation--many of you host their discussion groups at your libraries.  The GBF describes its "Latino National Conversation" program as

a nationwide initiative to encourage and support discussions of Latino literature in libraries, schools and neighborhood centers. The goals of the project are to bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to discuss timeless questions raised by Latino literature...

It's also worth knowing that those Great Booksters have Spanish-language literature initiatives for young readers in their Conversaciones series.

From: information@aliformgroup.com
Subject: Latin American literature

From: Erikka Leyva
Subject: Video

Have you heard of the Mis Padres, Mis Maestros/My Parents, My Teachers bilingual parenting video and resource kit?

Erikka Leyva-Vázquez
Outreach Coordinator
El Valor
1850 West 21st Street
Chicago, IL 60608
312-666-4511 x4206
Fax: 312-666-0831

Uh, no, Erikka, we hadn't.  As a matter of fact it wasn't until we did a Google search on the title that we learned the kit, "created to provide parents with information about their critical role as teachers and the difference they can make by becoming actively involved...during their children's first years," is produced by your employer and apparently available free of charge to libraries that contact you.

The Spring 2002 issue of the ALA's Reference & User Services Quarterly has an article titled, "Service to Day Laborers: A Job Libraries Have Left Undone," a guest column in the Community Building section hosted by the profoundly progressive and humane Kathleen de la Peña McCook.  Check it out, and ask yourself if your library could perhaps have a role in enhancing the lives of these hard-working participants in your local economy.

The much- (and justly) honored McCook is co-author of Library Services to Youth of Hispanic Heritage  (McFarland, 2000), will soon publish Community-Based Public Librarianship (Neal-Schuman), and spends a portion of her relentless energy on the enlightening A-Librarian-At-Every-Table electronic newsletter and website.

Dear all:  As many of you already know, Dr. Chu has been named as the  recipient of the ALA Equality Award, to be given at this year's annual conference.  The official ALA press release celebrating this achievement  follows below. 
  
Clara M. Chu receives 2002 Equality Award -- Clara M. Chu is the 2002 recipient of the American Library Association (ALA) Equality Award, which recognizes contributions for promoting equality in the library profession. The award, given to an individual or group, consists of a citation and $500 donated by Scarecrow Press, a member of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. Chu, associate professor at the Department of Information Studies, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), is the only full-time faculty member of color in her department.  She specializes in the social construction of information systems, institutions and access to help understand the usage of and barriers to information in multicultural communities.  Current projects include: the role of librarians and educators in facilitating the mediation activities of immigrant children; multicultural information on the Internet; and infrastructure for the preservation of Chinese culture in Latin America.  UCLA students in her department submitted Chu's winning nomination. "Dr. Chu strives toward social justice and information equity in her endeavors both within and outside of academia," Todd Honma wrote. Chu is an active and supportive member of the American Library Association (ALA).  She successfully lobbied the UCLA Graduate Division to allocate funds to match those given out by the Spectrum Initiative Scholarship Awards.   She also is active in REFORMA, Asian/Pacific American Library Association, Chinese American Librarians Association, Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), and a board member of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Section on Library Services to Multicultural Populations "The ALA Equality Award Jury was particularly pleased that Dr. Chu's nomination came from her students," said Chair Ann Symons.  "Dr. Chu is committed not only to the education of her students, she also works within ALA and her library community to assure the importance of diversity within the library community." Chu holds a Ph.D. and M.L.S. from Western Ontario, and a B.A. from British Columbia. The Equality Award will be presented Tuesday, June 18, during the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta.