Celebrating Pura Belpré’s Birthday! February 2nd is Pura Belpré’s birthday – for those of you playing along at home, she’d have 119 candles on the cake! Continuing my unofficial, non-sequential series of how to incorporate multicultural offerings in every program, we’re going to see how we can make Pura’s award winners come to life! But first… Who was Pura Belpré? For those of you just joining us, Pura Belpré was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico. By serendipitous circumstances, she ended up in New York City for her sister’s wedding and was hired by a public library. Huge emphasis on this, folks: it was 1920 and they were looking to hire young women from ethnically diverse backgrounds! Imagine that! Almost 100 years ago! Her career took her from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, where she spread the love of stories in English and Spanish – which had never been done before. As…
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Pura Belpré – Twenty Years of Conceptual Continuity
My wife was born in the same town, Cidra, the town of eternal springtime, in the east central mountains of Puerto Rico. I remember her delight when she learned of Pura, years later, when she was studying for her MLIS, and her joy at knowing of her connection with this legendary woman, that they had the same hometown. I am sorry, New York, though Pura called New York her home, like so many Nuyoricans, Puerto Rico will always be their spiritual home, even if they were born en la gran manzana.
2016 Pura Belpré Awards at #alaac2016
The moving speeches at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Pura Belpré Awards brought tears to the eyes of illustrators, authors and attendees.
ALSC Celebrates #Diversity at #alaac14
ALSC invites you to celebrate diversity in children’s books and library programs at ALA Annual Conference. Learn more about the Día initiative and how to incorporate diversity into your library programs and collections for children. On Sunday, June 29th stop by the How do YOU Día?: An Interactive Showcase of Culturally Diverse Children’s Library Programsposter on the Exhibit Hall floor between 12:30-2pm PT. ALSC’s Public Awareness Committee members will be showcasing successful a variety of successful Día programs and will be sharing materials and ideas to help you get started in your own community. Continue to learn more about how to incorporate Día into your programming at Dynamic Digital Día: Promoting Cultural Competence in Digital Storytimes. The program will be held at the Las Vegas Hotel in Pavilion 11 on Sunday, June 29th from 3-4pm. Speakers will discuss ways in which librarians can provide broader access to culturally responsive materials. The program will…