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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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West End Neighborhood Library Center MINUTES FROM JULY 23, 2001, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Members Present: Mario A. Ascencio, Yuli Estler, Rachel Schneiderman, Elissa Miller, Juan Carlos Vega, Toni Bissessar, Mimi Hernandez, Patricia Pasqual, Nicole A. Edwards, Maria Elisa Martinez, Elena Tscherny, Maria Elena Niño, Maria Elizabeth Diaz, Bill Wilson, Guillermina Castellano, Carla Rossana R. Darios, Everette Larson, and Betty L. Valdés. I. Introductions A. We all introduced ourselves. We gave Toni Bissessar, former REFORMA President, a special welcome (bienvenida) to the DC Metro Area. Toni comes to us from the REFORMA Northeast Chapter. She was formerly at the Brooklyn Public Library where she created the Multilingual Center. She now manages two branches for the Arlington County Public Library in Virginia. We also had three guest members. Bill Wilson from the College of Information Studies, University of Maryland; Guillermina Castellano from Argentina, and Carla Rossana R. Darios from Brazil. Both Guillermina and Carla are interning at the Library of Congress’ Hispanic Division. II. Treasurer’s Report A. Maria Elisa reported that we have $236 in our chapter’s account. We currently pay $60 a year ($12/month) for our checking account with ChevyChase Bank. The Chapter suggested that we look for a bank that has a lower or no fee for non-profit organizations. B. The Chapter currently does not have a list of its paid members. Therefore, we don’t know when our individual members have to renew their membership. Maria Elissa will contact Al Milo in California to get a current list of our members with due dates. She will then send a letter to those members who need to renew their membership. Toni informed us that National would prefer for all members to renew by April of every year. III. Fiesta Musical Update A. Mario informed the attendees that Fiesta Musical at the National Zoo will take place on Saturday, September 22, 2001 in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. Last year’s event drew more than 40,000 visitors. This year, the Chapter has decided that it would be best if we would be next to participating libraries in order better distribute information, manage our booths, and have a stronger “library” presence. Volunteers are needed to staff the table. REFORMA is also seeking library materials/information/pamphlets that pertain to serving Latinos and Spanish speakers. A sign up sheet was passed around for people who want to volunteer for the event. B. Everett informed the attendees that on September 8 their will be a Book Fair and that it would be a good idea to have a flyer about REFORMA’s presence at Fiesta Musical. IV. Joint Ethnic Conference 2005 A. Toni spoke about the Joint Ethnic Conference to take place in 2005. The conference would include the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA), the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and REFORMA. As a tryout, there will be a joint ethnic preconference at ALA in 2002 in Atlantla, Georgia focusing on Health Issues. The preconference is being spearheaded by BCALA as they have already received a grant from the National Institute of Medicine. V. University of Maryland CIS Diversity Efforts A. Bill spoke about various initiatives that the University, the Library, and the College of Information Studies (CIS) have been working on, such as their mentoring program which has recently been open to all the students. B. Several chapter members expressed an interest in serving as mentors to students in the “library school.” An interest was also expressed to develop a curriculum that would address multicultural services. Bill will invite a representative from various organizations, including REFORMA, to speak about their organization and professional development. We also discussed the possibility of holding a brown bag or REFORMA meeting on campus to better attrack students to the meeting. VI. Chapter Web page A. There was not discussion on the Web page. This item was tabled for a future meeting. To visit the Web page go to https://www.angelfire.com/va2/reformametro/. If you would like to assist with the Web page, please contact Mario. VII. Chapter Survey A. There was no discussion on this issue. This item was tabled for a future meeting. VIII. Book Fair A. Elissa informed the attendees that she was invited to the Council on Government Agencies to discuss collection development. At the meeting, Elissa discussed the book fair that was sponsored by REFORMA and the Arlington County Public Library and consequently held at the Arlington County Public Library in January a day prior to ALA Mid-winter. Members of COG would like to see another Spanish language book fair for library professionals. IX. Los Nuestros A. Betty expressed an interest to partner up with other libraries to create joint programs. Although the calendar has been set for 2001, she would like to begin thinking about 2002. The partners should be willing to seek grants and allocate funding for travel expenses, accomodations, honorarium, etc. She would like to invite “big name” writers, such as Carlos Fuentes. X. Great Books Discussion in Spanish A. Pat announced that the DC Public Library is trying to create a Spanish language book discussion group. XI. Announcements A. Mario announced that there is still time to serve on the following ALA committees: Awards Committee, Literacy Committee, HRDR Advisory, Intern, OITP Advisory, Committee on Research and Statistics, Web site Advisory, CO-Committee on Organization, Pay Equity XII. Schedule Next Meeting A. The next REFORMA DC Metro Area Chapter meeting will take place on October 22, 2001. Bill suggested that we could meet at the University of Maryland, but that parking would be difficult around 3:00pm. He also suggested meeting at one of the local libraries in the area in order to attrack additional students. Betty also offered to host a meeting at one of the Montgomery County Public Libraries. We will decide a venue at a later time over email. The meeting was adjourned at 5:00pm. Respectfully submitted, Mario A. Ascencio,
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