91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – Virginia (Ginny) Bradley Moore, former longstanding chair of the 91´«Ã½ Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force and retired librarian from the Prince Georges County Memorial Library System in Oxon Hill, Md., will deliver the 2014 Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture. The lecture will take place from 8:30-10 a.m. on Monday, June 30, in room N231/233 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, during 91´«Ã½’s 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

Her lecture, titled “Equality…Equity…Diversity: Libraries, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Mission,” will look at how the library profession has respected and promoted the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr., through the Midwinter Sunrise Celebration, and beyond. The MLK Jr. Multicultural Idea Exchange and its practical applicability to promote Dr. King’s ideals during the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as well as throughout the year will be examined in detail. Moore will discuss reports of participants of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) MLK Task Force King Holiday Multicultural Idea Exchange (2000-2012), as well as the promotion of equity of access through their activities, programs, reading lists, etc. She will also address the Office of Literacy and Outreach Services’ history of recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the incorporation of the National Library Involvement Committee into 91´«Ã½ via SRRT. In looking to the future, a forum for dialogue about the ways libraries observe the event must continue, in order to empower individuals and communities through literacy, life-long learning and conserving valuable connections to the past and future, so that libraries lead in this observance as an American celebration.

Moore has been a leader in the library profession for over four decades. A member of 91´«Ã½ since 1972, she was instrumental in the establishment and institutionalization of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration as chair of the 91´«Ã½ Social Responsibilities Round Table Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force. She has served on many committees and round tables of the association throughout the years, including 91´«Ã½ Council as councilor-at-Large and director-at-large of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. In August 2013, Moore received the Distinguished Service to the Library Profession Award from the Black Caucus of the 91´«Ã½ during its 8th National Conference of African American Librarians in Cincinnati. Ms. Moore received her MLS from the University of Maryland, and her Bachelor of Science degree from Winston-Salem Teachers’ College in North Carolina.

The lecture series honors Dr. Jean E. Coleman, the first director of the 91´«Ã½ Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), for her leadership in focusing the association's attention on issues affecting traditionally underserved and underrepresented people in libraries.

The Jean Coleman Lecture is open to all Annual Conference attendees. This year’s event is coordinated by the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services Advisory Committee, Fantasia Thorne (chair), Taliah Abdullah, Jill Abood, Barbara Flynn, Jerri Heid, Maija Meadows, Nancy Pack, Susan Polos, Roberta Craig Reasoner, John Sandstrom and Donna Shannon.

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The Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) serves the Association by identifying and promoting library services that support equitable access to the knowledge and information stored in our libraries. OLOS focuses attention on services that are inclusive of traditionally underserved populations, including new and non-readers, people geographically isolated, people with disabilities, rural and urban poor people, and people generally discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, language and social class. The Office ensures that training, information resources and technical assistance are available to help libraries and librarians develop effective strategies to develop programs and service for new users.