Get Ready for El día de los niños/El día de los libros on April 30
RSSBy SLJ Staff
Libraries across the country will host family programs, bilingual story hours, book giveaways, and other literacy events to help celebrate the 15th anniversary of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day) on April 30. Simply known as Día, the celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds and is an expansion of Children's Day, which began in 1925 and was designated as a day to bring attention to the importance and well-being of children. "I am thrilled to have this opportunity to visit the site of one of the first libraries in the nation to embrace El día de los niños/El día de los libros," says Mora. "Libraries play such a key role in supporting family literacy within diverse communities. From bilingual story hours for children to adult literacy and English as a Second language programs- libraries are truly part of the American Dream and are an important key to lifelong learning." Librarians are encouraged to register their Día events in a database so that their colleagues around the country can search for Día programming ideas. Those that do so will receive complimentary stickers for their celebrations. Also available is a Día Map to help librarians, teachers, parents, and kids search for local celebrations in their communities. Those interested in promoting Día celebrations can check out press releases, announcement templates, a media kit for librarians, and other resources. Día's 15th anniversary also is on Twitter and Facebook, where daily exchanges of Día ideas are already taking place. Eight lucky libraries serving a population of 75,000 or less are winners of the El día de los niños/El día de los libros mini-grants worth $4,000 each. Meanwhile, seven libraries serving a population of more than 75,000 are winners of mini-grants worth $6,000 each. The mini-grants are part of ALSC's Everyone Reads @ your library grant, which is funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The grants were awarded to libraries that demonstrated a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities. The libraries winning $6,000 each are: Bloomington Public Library in Bloomington, IL; Brevard County Library System in Cocoa, FL; Hall County Library System in Gainesville, GA; Jefferson Parish Library in Metairie, LA; Longmont Public Library in Longmont, CO; Richland County Public Library in Columbia, SC; and Sachem Public Library in Holbrook, NY. The libraries winning $4,000 each are: Forest Hill Public Library in Forest Hill, TX; Fremont Public Library District in Mundelein, IL; Nacogdoches Public Library in Nacogdoches, TX; Paramus Public Library in Paramus, NJ; Paul E. Griffin Library in Camden, MS; Poughkeepsie Public Library District in Poughkeepsie, NY; Rachel Kohl Community Library in Glen Mills, PA; and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal Library in Mount Pleasant, MI.
In 1996, children's book author Pat Mora proposed linking the celebration of children with literacy and help found El día de los niños/El día de los libros, sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Mora will be on hand April 30 in Tucson, AZ, along with ALSC members, for the national kick-off of Día's 15th anniversary at the Valencia Branch of the Pima County Library System from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for an afternoon filled with children's reading events and a discussion on the history of Día.
