REFORMA

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.

[3] 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 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.

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.

[25] "The Legacy of REFORMA: the First 50 Years," a documentary produced by Mario A. Ascencio and Carlos Rodriguez for REFORMA's 50th Anniversary includes interviews with REFORMA's founders and leaders including Elizabeth Martinez, John Ayala, Roberto Trujillo, Cesar Caballero, Luis Herrera, Albert J. Milo, Sandra Rios Balderrama, Roxana Benavides, Lucia M. Gonzalez, Tess Tobin, Romelia Salinas and Nicanor Diaz.

National activities include a scholarship drive which funds graduate education in librarianship for students sharing REFORMA's goals and the publication of a biannual newsletter.

[29] REFORMA has provided scholarships to graduate library school students who plan to work with the Latino community since the early 1980s.

[33] The Rose Treviño Memorial Scholarship is open to Latinos and/or Spanish speakers pursuing a degree in children and young adult librarianship, and the REFORMA Scholarship is open to students who qualify for graduate study in Library and Information Science who are Spanish-speakers or interested in serving Latinos or the Spanish-speaking.