El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día) celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and you’re encouraged to get in the spirit!
Día, sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is the 15th anniversary of the event, originally proposed by children’s author, Pat Mora. Libraries around the country recognize Día as a great opportunity to bring children together
Plans for the actual anniversary date–April 30, 2011–include a special presentation by Pat Mora at a library to be identified soon. The Día anniversary also will be celebrated at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on June 25th beginning at 10:30 a.m.
A great way to commemorate this occasion is by ordering your copy of El día de los niños/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community Through Día by Jeanette Larsen. This book will be available in early April from the ALA Store, but pre-orders are currently being accepted.
This year, Día encourages libraries to shape their programming around the new slogan, “Many Children, Many Cultures, Many Books!”
For planning ideas and to follow Día events as they happen, please visit the homepage at http://www.ala.org/dia/. Make sure you also visit the Facebook page and use our hashtag (#Dia11alsc) when tweeting!