The American Library Association (ALA) maintains partnerships with external organizations through its affiliates program. One of those is REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. For more than 50 years, the two associations have been partners in the goal of providing better library services to Latino communities.
ALA’s mission includes equity of access and library services for all, especially for those who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by libraries in the United States. Historically, however, this commitment was not always a priority.
The first step by ALA to formalize the role of libraries in serving the underserved was taken in the 1970s with the creation of the Office for Services to the Disadvantaged (OSD), which later became the Office for Diversity, Literacy & Outreach Services (ODLOS.) Starting with its first director, Jean Coleman, this office actively provided opportunities for committed leaders to organize publications, events, and literacy projects addressing different sections of the population that had been neglected.
As part of those years, which former ALA Executive Director Mary Ghikas called “that whole period of foment within the Association in the 1960s and 1970s,” the Black Caucus of the ALA was formed in 1970, followed by four other associations representing different ethnicities. One of them, known as REFORMA, provided ALA with a vital opportunity to partner with library leaders from Hispanic/Latino cultures or heritage to get a more active role in improving library services for this population, the biggest minority demographic in the United States.
REFORMA was created in 1971 by library professionals of Latino origins who were active in ALA but did not see their people represented in its leadership or actions. Documented quotes from one of its founders, Chicano librarian and library professor Dr. Arnulfo Trejo, include his frustration with the lack of representation of Spanish-speaking and Hispanic voices in the field. As cofounder Elizabeth Martinez explained, their intention of “changing the face of librarianship” implied making room for all the different faces of our multicultural nation.
Trejo, Martinez, and a few other leaders established the association at the ALA Annual Conference of 1971, and they originally called it National Association for Services to the Spanish-Speaking, or REFORMA. A few years later, they applied to officially become an affiliate of ALA. It is now called REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, a long name that clearly incorporates its mission and objectives.
As an ALA affiliate, REFORMA represents the voice of Latinos in the national professional organization, with the goals of increasing, expanding, and improving library services to Latino communities. The partnership provides REFORMA with opportunities and spaces to meet during the ALA conferences and events and the invitation to send representatives to ALA Council and other ALA committees, while maintaining its independence as an organization.
Since its creation, REFORMA has grown to become an active and impactful library association at the national level. From the beginning, REFORMA established a structure with regional or state chapters, allowing its members to be active locally while still sharing their experiences nationally. The association’s members and leaders have had a profound impact on services to Latinos. Examples of some of these programs that became nationally utilized include literacy initiatives, such as Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), which later was adopted by the ALA’s Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) as DIA: Diversity in Action and Noche de Cuentos/Night of Stories, a family literacy storytelling program created during the ALA presidency of Dr. Camila Alire .
REFORMA partnered with ALSC (and later YALSA) to establish the main children’s books award for Latino authors and artists, the Pura Belpré Award, which has been consistently presented since 1996, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. REFORMA also provides advocacy regarding the needs of Latino communities, including the preparation of resources (bibliographies, lists, library materials) to promote Hispanic and Latino cultures and literature and advocacy to address the socio-political situation of Spanish speakers, immigrants, or refugees.
With the knowledge that advocating for Latino communities in librarianship implies increasing the number of librarians and library staff from Latino cultures, REFORMA has been instrumental in the recruitment of Latinos to become library workers and professional librarians. In this way, REFORMA leaders partnered with ALA to establish opportunities like the Spectrum Scholarship, created when REFORMA co-founder Elizabeth Martinez was ALA’s Executive Director.
REFORMA members have played active roles in ALA leadership, from being elected ALA president or presidents of its divisions, to representing the association in ALA Council, on the Executive Board, and in many other leadership roles embedded within ALA to help create change and bring in different perspectives.
The active role played by REFORMA in ensuring that Latino voices were included in all professional conversations and decisions, as well as providing resources for all library workers to use when serving Latino communities, has infused ALA with authentic representation. The affiliation between these two associations has been mutually beneficial for the past 55 years, and REFORMA leaders look forward to a renewed ALA commitment to always ensure that the needs of Latino communities are considered in all types of libraries for the next 150 years and beyond.
REFORMA leaders congratulate ALA on its sesquicentennial, and cheer for many more years of working together. ¡Adelante!
Sources
American Library Association. (2018). ODLOS & affiliate collaborations, https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/diversity/odlos-affiliates-collaborations
Lippincott, K. (1996). 25 years of outreach: A bibliographic timeline of the American Library Association, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED396755
Ford, B. J. (2000). Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture, by Barbara J. Ford: Libraries, literacy, outreach and the digital divide, American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/olos/olosprograms/jeanecoleman/00ford
Cardenas-Dow, M. I. (2016). Interview: Mary Ghikas on merging the ALA Office For Diversity and the ALA Office For Literacy and Outreach Services. SRRT Newsletter Social Responsibilities Round Table, 194(12).
Long, A. K. (2025). “A mighty fist”: The birth of the national associations of librarians of color in the United States, 1970-1980. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 9(1): 24-44. https://doi.org/10.5325/libraries.9.1.0024
Dawson, P. J. (1990). The history and role of REFORMA. In S. Güereña (Ed.), Latino librarianship: A handbook for professionals. McFarland, 121:134.
Long, A. K. (2025). “A mighty fist”: The birth of the National Associations of Librarians of Color in the United States, 1970–1980. Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 9(1): 24-44. https://doi.org/10.5325/libraries.9.1.0024
Ascencio, M. A. (2023). REFORMA’s legacy: The first 50 years. https://youtu.be/kevlI8pMliI?si=vzZSp_z0xqUEyRAO
American Library Association. (2018). ODLOS & Affiliate Collaborations, https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/diversity/odlos-affiliates-collaborations
American Library Association. (2010, January 5). ALA and President Dr. Camila Alire launch family literacy focus. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/alire_ols
Mlawer, T. & Beullens-Maoui, N. (Eds). (2016).The Pura Belpré Award 1996-2016: 20 Years of outstanding Latino children’s literature. Rosen.
Prellwitz, W. (2018, January 3). Reflections on Spectrum’s beginnings. Advocacy,
Legislation & Issues. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/spectrum/beginningsreflection
Authored by Alicia K. Long, PhD, MLIS, Assistant Professor of Instruction at University of South Florida, School of Information, and Ady Huertas, Youth, Family, & Equity Program Manager at San Diego Public Library and President of REFORMA.
