REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, more commonly known as REFORMA, is an affiliate of the American Library Association formed in 1971 to promote library services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking. It is registered in Washington, D.C. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
History
Before the mid-1950s, there was very limited recognition of the Latino community within U.S. librarianship. By the 1960s, however, the need for information sources for the increasing Spanish-speaking population became more apparent, and some federal funding materialized for libraries to address this need. However, the mainstream profession and its associations remained indifferent to the Latino community, so Latino librarians developed a grassroots movement.
1968 saw the formation of the committee to Recruit Mexican American Librarians in Los Angeles, which founded a Graduate Institute for Mexican American Librarians at California State University, Fullerton. In 1972, Fullerton's Graduate Institute was joined by the Graduate Library Institute for Spanish-Speaking Americans (GLISA) at the University of Arizona. Both programs focused on recruiting Latino librarians, but were short-lived.
Dr. Arnulfo Trejo, Elizabeth Martinez, and REFORMA
The National Association of Spanish Speaking Librarians in the United States, which would later be called REFORMA, was founded in 1971 by Arnulfo Trejo and Elizabeth Martinez. In 1983, the Association's name was changed to REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish Speaking to better reflect the goal of the association. It is now known as REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, or just REFORMA.
REFORMA National Conferences
REFORMA holds national conference called RNCs: RNC I (Austin, August 22–25, 1996); RNC II (Tucson); RNC III "Bridging the Gaps: Juntos @ the Border"(El Paso, September 19–21, 2008); RNC IV (Denver), RNC V “Bibliotecas sin fronteras: creando nuestro futuro / Libraries without Borders: Creating Our Future.”(San Diego); RNC VI (San Juan,Puerto Rico-cancelled due to Hurricane Maria) and RNC VII, "Somos el cambio / We Are the Change" (Virtual, November 4–7, 2021). RNC VIII will be 2025 in Long Beach, CA and RNC IX will be in 2027 in Denver, CO.
REFORMA Highlights
In 1985 Susan Luévano-Molina became the first female president of REFORMA.
In 2006, REFORMA took part in the first Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, along with the American Indian Library Association, the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the Chinese American Librarians Association. This conference was the first national conference sponsored and held by those organizations, which are known as the Associations of Ethnic Librarians.
The Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC, Inc.) was founded in June 2015 as an organization “that advocates for and addresses the common needs of the American Library Association ethnic affiliates“; these ethnic affiliates include REFORMA, as well as the American Indian Library Association, the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and the Chinese American Librarians Association.
In 2019 the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art presented its Angel award to REFORMA for its work to support refugee and immigrant children, the Pura Belpré Award, and development of library collections to include Spanish-language and Latinx-oriented materials.
50th Anniversary
REFORMA celebrated 50 years with a virtual conference:Somos el cambio / We Are the Change November 4–7, 2021. This was also RNC VII. Proceedings of the 50th anniversary conference included presentations on "Increasing Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color (BIPOC) Voices at Conferences and Workshops;" "La Biblioteca is for Everyone: Using Collections and Programs to Build Connections with Your Spanish Speakers;" "One Book Sin Fronteras: Conectando Comunidades Locales y Transfronterizas Mediante Múltiples Expresiones de la Lectura;" "Pura Belpré Award 101: From Volunteer Forms to Celebración;" and "Telling Our Stories and Voices for Equity: Recruitment and Retention of BIPOC Library Workers."
The 2021 Alice G. Smith Lecture "Changing the Face of Librarianship: REFORMA and Library Services to Latino Communities" presented by Lucia M. Gonzalez and Alicia K. Long at the University of South Florida, School of Information was a 50-year assessment of the impact of REFORMA.