It’s a pleasure to introduce Angela Hubbard, the new ALSC program officer who is promoting and strengthening Día. Her wonderful smile and enthusiastic answers are new Día assets.
1. How does it feel to be coordinating ALSC’s 20th Anniversary Día initiative?
I am very excited to have the opportunity to coordinate Día activities for the Association for Library Service to Children this year. I firmly believe that it is important for children and their families to have access to books and other materials that both reflect themselves and expand their understanding of others. I look forward to helping librarians celebrate Día’s 20th throughout the year.
2. Had you heard of Día before joining ALSC? What excites you about Día?
Día was completely new to me when I started working with ALSC, but I quickly learned about the many Día supporters working to spread “bookjoy” as Pat Mora envisioned it all those years ago!
3. What do you think are our three challenges to really have Children’s Day, Book Day (Día) become a national tradition like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?
It seems to me that Día has already taken root as a national tradition and now we just need to keep spreading the word so more and more libraries and community partners bring attention to the necessity of sharing diverse content with the children and families they serve. Marking April 30 as the culmination of these activities is a great way to raise awareness and maintain ongoing engagement throughout the year.
4. What is your message to Día supporters who may not be ALSC or ALA members?
To Día supporters who are not (yet) ALSC or ALA members, I encourage them to explore the resources available to them through ALSC’s Día webpage, including the Día National Registry where they can locate and promote the activities taking place in their communities. There are also multiple resources available for free download to help support Día programming, including our most recent addition, the Build STEAM with Día Toolkit, which offers turnkey STEAM programs that intentionally incorporate diversity. Then, I would encourage them to head over to the ALSC website and discover all of the other resources, tips and discussions they could be involved in developing when they become a member!
