Effectively Dealing with Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Got computer with Internet Connection? Then you can participate! Free WebinarTitle:  Effectively Dealing with Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Language of Webinar: English

June 12, 10:00-11:30 AM PST/ 1:00-2:30 PM EST / 0:00-11:00 AM PST/ 1:00-2:00 PM EST (New York Time: 1:00pm)

Join us for the next WebJunction Spanish Language Outreach Program webinar

Join Loida Garcia-Febo, Assistant Coordinator Special Services at Queens Library; Emily Sheketoff, Executive Director of the Washington office for the American Library Association; and Isabel Espinal, Librarian for Afro American Studies, Native American Indian Studies & Information Literacy, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. They will discuss how libraries can create effective strategies for ensuring access to information to all people in their communities. The presenters will discuss advocacy, federal legislation, issues and options for academic, public, and school libraries. There will be extra time at the end of the webinar for participants to share their experiences and strategies with each other.

Instructions for Joining http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=14184

To read more about the webinars and to see archived editions of previous webinars http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=15431

Successful Joint REFORMA NE, AILA, APALA, BCALA and CALA Mini-Conference

For the third consecutive year, librarians and library students meet yesterday for a REFORMA Northeast joint mini-conference with ALA ethnic caucus. In 2005, REFORMA Northeast and BCALA presented its first joint event. In 2006 CALA joined them. This year, for the first time ever in the Northeast, all ALA ethnic caucus, AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA and REFORMA successfully presented “Breaking Down Barriers to Serve our Diverse Communities.”

All programs received good comments and attendees found them useful and relevant to the work they do. A most interesting session was Diversity Counts: Where do we go from here? where attendees exchanged ideas and suggestions on how to best use results from the Report produced by ALA Office for Diversity and Office for Research and Statistics. A more complete report on the conference will be posted later! …Although I understand that the conference was blogged. (Note to blogger: send me the link to post it here!) Click righ here for more information on Diversity Counts.

 Kudos to our speakers:

   * Working with Teens on Detention by Vikki Terrile, Brooklyn PL

   * Serving Persons with Disabilities by Carrie Banks from Brooklyn PL and Barbara Klipper from Ferguson PL, Connecticut

   * Yoshio Kishi & Irene Yah Ling Sun Collection of Asian Americana: New collection at NYU (presented by APALA) by Dylan Yeats, Graduate Assistant at NYU 

   * NYPL/ Donnell Library (presented by CALA) by Hung-Yun Chang, NYPL, and Songqian Lu, NY City College of Technology
 
   * Arlington County Public Library, Mariela Aguilar, Arlington PL,Virginia

   * Black Heritage Collection at Langton Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center (Presented by BCALA) by Andrew Jackson and B. Johnson 

* Diversity Counts: Where do we go from here? by Mario Ascencio, George Mason University, and Loida Garcia-Febo, Queens Library

Big thanks to Mr. Ronald Chan, library manager of Chatham Square Library and its wonderful staff. They were very enthusiast and cooperative from day one. Thank you for receiving and holding packages for the conference, purchasing coffee supplies, setting technology equipment, setting meeting rooms, and much more!

Thanks to Michel Baildon from APALA, Andrew Jackson from BCALA, Maria Fuong from CALA, Kelly Webster from AILA, and Miguel Garcia-Colon and Libbhy Romero from REFORMA. And all the beautiful people who helped to set-up, clean, register, post notes on the walls, and trouble-shoot technology equipment. 

Thank you to Bilingual Publications and its President Linda Goodman for providing lunch.
Attendees came from 

Library Schools and Academic Libraries: Rutgers University in New Jersey, University of Illinois, Simmons College, Rhode Island University, New Jersey  City University, MIT Humanities Library in Mass., Palmer School of Long Island University in N.Y., New York City College of Technology, Union County College in New Jersey, Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., New York University and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia

Public Libraries: New York PL, Brooklyn PL, and Queens Library in New York City; Ferguson PL, Hartford PL, West Hartford, and New Britain PL in Connecticut, Westchester Library System, Nassau Library System, Springfield PL in Massachusetts, St. Paul Public Library in Minnesota, Long Branch PL in New Jersey, Arlington PL in Virginia

Vendors/Publishers: Bilingual Publications, Lectorum, Random House, Greenwood Press

Joint REFORMA NE, AILA, APALA, BCALA and CALA Mini-Conference

Joint REFORMA Northeast, AILA, APALA, BCALA, and CALA

May 18, 2007

Chatham Square

Library

FREE Conference includes Lunch  10:30-11:00 Library Tour

11:10-12:00

How to coordinate new services @ your library: real-life successful cases Working with Teens on Detention by Vikki Terrile  Serving Persons with Disabilities by Carrie Banks and Barbara Klipper  Yoshio Kishi & Irene Yah Ling Sun Collection of Asian Americana: New collection at NYU (presented by APALA) by Dylan Yeats

12:00-1:00

*Lunch & Networking

1:10-2:10

Libraries Serving Multi Ethnic Populations

NYPL/ Donnell Library (presented by CALA) by Hung-Yun Chang and Songqian Lu  Arlington County Public Library, Virginia by Diana Gates, Multicultural Services Manager at

Arlington PL

Black Heritage Collection at Langton Hughes Library and Community Center (Presented by BCALA) by Andrew Jackson and B. Johnson 2:10-3:00

Diversity Counts: Where do we go from here?   

by Mario Ascencio Visual Arts Liaison Librarian, University Libraries, George Mason University and Loida Garcia-Febo, Assistant Coordinator, Special Services at Queens Library

 3:10-3:30          

Reflections and conclusion of the Mini-Conference

*Lunch provided by The Bilingual Publications Company and its President, Linda Goodman.

Librarians reaching out to Legislators

On Saturday, April 28 and for the first-time ever, librarians from Queens, Brooklyn and New York public libraries serving Latinos and the Spanish speaking presented a panel program at Somos el Futuro Legislative Conference (We are the Future Legislative Conference), a three-day event part of The 2007 Annual Conference of the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.  I represented Queens Library at this panel and shared information about how we serve Spanish speakers.  I was able to secure assistance from a community associate who staffed a booth on Friday, April 27 to distribute flyers, brochures and other printed materials about programs and services for this population in English and Spanish. Our participation was coordinated by the New York Library Association and Michael Borges, Executive Director. The New York City Dream Team: Ismael Alicea, Vilma Alvarez from NYPL, Rosana Benavides and Libbhy Romero from BPL, and Loida from
Queens Library. I was proud of participating on this effort and hope it is the beginning of a productive relation between
New York libraries and the State elected officials.  During the first week of May, librarians from all over the USA flew to
Washington D.C. for the annual National Legislative Day ‘to speak with their Members of Congress about the needs of libraries in the areas of funding, telecommunications, copy right and government information. Over a hundred more library supporters participated in Virtual Federal Library Legislative day by calling, faxing letters, and emailing Congress on May 1st and 2nd.’  

Yes! Librarians are taking matters on their hands and approaching policy makers to encourage approval of new measures that will allow more funds and resources to continue providing services to our communities. I do believe that as librarians we have a social responsibility with our community and applaud efforts by
ALA and its Washington D.C. Office to support and keep active the annual Legislative activities. Read information about REFORMA activities on National Legislative Day!

I was not able to attend the main ‘National’ days but I met with Mario Ascencio, Vice-President of REFORMA (National) who lives in D.C. for an update about important and new initiatives and progress achieved during the week. As a member of REFORMA Executive Board, I am proud to say that REFORMA was well represented, Mario, Carol Brey-Casiano, Camilla Alire!, and that librarians in general are uniting their voices to approach the House. Bravisimo!

*I must thank Mario for being a wonderful host, for driving me everywhere around D.C. in his Audi convertible (love it!), for wonderful meals and walks. And of course, Dwayne, Mario’s lovely partner who welcomed me in their beautiful three-floor house in the center of D.C.  

Oustanding Women 2007 – Loida’s pics

By popular demand: just added pictures from Outstanding Women 2007 to my flickr.  Pictures with Ana Ortiz from Ugly Betty and Patricia Velazquez are included. check them out http://www.flickr.com/photos/45964032@N00/sets/72157600159912062/show/