The 2016 Arbuthnot Lecture will be delivered by Pat Mora on April 15, 2016
Pat Mora, author and literacy advocate, will deliver the 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. The announcement was made today by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting held Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, in Chicago.
Pioneering author and literacy advocate Pat Mora has written more than three dozen books for young people that represent the Mexican American experience. “Mora’s commitment to literacy for all children of all backgrounds motivated her to found El día de los niños/ El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), or ‘Día,’ a celebration of children, families and reading. This flourishing family literacy initiative culminates annually on April 30th,” stated 2016 Arbuthnot Committee Chair Julie Corsaro.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Mora grew up bilingual and bicultural. With degrees in English and speech, she was a teacher and university administrator before writing children’s books. Known for her lyrical style, Mora’s poetry and prose have won numerous awards, including a 2005 Belpré Honor Medal for text for “Doña Flor: A Tall Tale of a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart,” published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, and illustrated by Raul Colón. Her generosity for sharing bookjoy, the phrase she coined for the power and pleasure of words, led Mora to launch “Día,” which will observe its 20th anniversary in 2016.
The lecturer, announced annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, may be an author, illustrator, editor, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, of any country, who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature. This paper is delivered as a lecture each April or May, and is subsequently published in Children and Libraries, the journal of ALSC. Once the name is made public, institutions wishing to host the lecture may apply. A library school, department of education in a college or university, or a public library system may be considered. Applications to host the 2016 lecture will be available online from ALSC at www.ala.org/alsc this spring.
Members of the 2016 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Julie Corsaro, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Tracy Alley, Madeira Elementary School, Cincinnati; Holly Camino, Medina (Ohio) County District Library; Elizabeth Poe, Morgantown, W.V.; and Cindy Welch, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit their website at http://www.ala.org/alsc.
