91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — Librarians and library supporters in Northern California came together to raise more than $1,000 for the Spectrum Presidential Initiative through a recent fundraiser and mixer at the Redwood City Public Library. Organized by Sandy Wee, president of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (AP91´«Ã½), and Maria Kramer, president of the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA), the fundraiser brought together REFORMA and AP91´«Ã½ members from a 100-mile radius north and south of the Redwood City Public Library.

91´«Ã½ President Molly Raphael, Immediate Past President Roberta Stevens, 91´«Ã½ President-Elect Maureen Sullivan and 91´«Ã½ Past President Dr. Betty J. Turock, chair of the initiative, continue the Spectrum Presidential Initiative as a special campaign to raise $1 million for the Spectrum Scholarship Program. Through this initiative, 91´«Ã½ aims to meet the critical needs of supporting master’s-level scholarships, providing two $25,000 doctoral scholarships, increasing the Spectrum Endowment to ensure the program’s future and developing special programs for recruitment and career development. This contribution from REFORMA and AP91´«Ã½ librarians in Northern California will allow 91´«Ã½ to continue to support master’s-level Spectrum Scholarships.

Sandy Wee and Maria Kramer said of the event, “This event had two goals—helping the Spectrum Scholars, who are the future librarians and leaders of AP91´«Ã½ and REFORMA, and increasing the social collaborations between our two associations of ethnic librarians. This was a great event that allowed members of both groups to socialize, reunite, network and raise awareness of the Spectrum Scholarship Program.”

The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (AP91´«Ã½) was founded in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to working together toward a common goal: to create an organization that would address the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities. For more information about AP91´«Ã½, visit .

Established in 1971 as an affiliate of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), REFORMA has actively sought to promote the development of library collections to include Spanish-language and Latino oriented materials; the recruitment of more bilingual and bicultural library professionals and support staff; the development of library services and programs that meet the needs of the Latino community; the establishment of a national information and support network among individuals who share our goals; the education of the U.S. Latino population with regard to the availability and types of library services; and lobbying efforts to preserve existing library resource centers serving the interests of Latinos. Nationally, there are 26 REFORMA chapters. For more information on REFORMA, please visit .

The Spectrum Scholarship Program is 91´«Ã½’s national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of underrepresentation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession while serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity issues in the future. Since its founding, Spectrum has provided more than 700 scholarships to qualified applicants enrolled in an 91´«Ã½-accredited graduate program in library and information studies or an 91´«Ã½-recognized NCATE School Library Media program. To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program, visit .

For more information about the Spectrum Presidential Initiative or to make an online donation, visit . To learn more, get involved, or to make a pledge to the Spectrum Presidential Initiative, contact Miguel A. Figueroa, Director, Office for Diversity & Spectrum at mfigueroa@ala.org, or Kim Olsen-Clark, Director, Development Office at kolsen-clark@ala.org.