{"id":7620,"date":"2022-12-19T19:25:45","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/?p=7620"},"modified":"2022-12-20T19:48:34","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T19:48:34","slug":"elizabeth-martinez-ala-executive-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/2022\/12\/19\/elizabeth-martinez-ala-executive-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Martinez, ALA Executive Director"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Portrait<\/a>
Portrait of ALA Executive Director Elizabeth Martinez
Found in 12\/1\/4, Box 2, Folder: Martinez, Elizabeth, 1995-97<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who was one of the first Mexican American librarians in California? Who was one of the co-founders of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking? Who was the first Mexican American women to hold the office of ALA Executive Director? If you answered, \u201cElizabeth Martinez,\u201d you\u2019d be correct!<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Martinez was born on April 14, 1943 in Pomona, California. Growing up in Orange County, she always wanted to promote cultural understanding no matter what field she worked in. Martinez didn\u2019t originally focus on working in libraries, but they held a special place in her heart since she was a child, as she often went to her local public library. However, while pursuing her Bachelor\u2019s degree in Latin American studies at UCLA, she took a course in children\u2019s literature to fulfill a credit. This course opened her eyes to the world of librarianship and her goal was set. She then graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master\u2019s in Library and Information Science in 1966, becoming one of California\u2019s first Mexican American librarians.[1]<\/p>\n

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From 1966 to 1994, Martinez worked as a librarian in different capacities in Orange County as well as a lecturer at California State University and as the head of both federal and local projects. One of these projects, \u201cThe Way Out Project,\u201d was a federally funded project with the goal of improving library services for Spanish-speaking and African American communities. [1] Martinez and the project staff sought to both increase the recruitment of \u201cSpanish-speaking, Mexican American, and African American librarians\u201d and create more diverse collections and programs aimed at these communities.[3] In 1971, Martinez, along with Dr. Arnulfo Duenes Trejo, co-founded REFORMA<\/a>, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. While she worked tirelessly, she obtained a Certificate of Management at the University of Southern California in 1978 and a Certificate from the Executive Management Program at the University of California in Irvine in 1986. After solely working and studying in California, Martinez went national when she became the first Mexican American woman Executive Director of ALA in 1994.[1]<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the first time Martinez worked with ALA as she was an involved member. She was an Elected Councilor from 1971 to 1974, a member of the Accreditation Committee from 1985 to 1987, a member of the President\u2019s Commission on Library Service to Minorities in 1987, and a member of the Intellectual Freedom Committee from 1991 to 1993.[1] As ALA Executive Director, Martinez spearheaded several programs, including the ALA Goal 2000 and the Spectrum Scholarship Program. The ALA Goal 2000 was \u201ca five year plan to position the association and profession for the 21st<\/sup> century and to ensure the public\u2019s right to a free and open information society.\u201d With the plan, Martinez created the Fund for America\u2019s Libraries, a charitable foundation for the ALA, accumulating over $8 million in its first year of existence; and increased membership to an all-time high by that point of around 57,000 members.[1] The Spectrum Scholarship Program<\/a> was created as the Spectrum Initiative in 1997 to provide funds to 50 BIPOC library science students and create a more diverse profession.<\/p>\n

After ALA, Martinez continued working with libraries, and in 2007, she moved to Salinas, California, to revamp the library system. From 2007 to 2013, Martinez revived the Cesar Chavez Library<\/a>, inviting children and adults to use new features of the library such as \u201ca special room with collections from nearly all the cultures that have lived in the area, from the Ohlone to the Irish to the Korean.\u201d She retired in December 2013 after establishing a long career that demonstrates the reach that librarians can have in their communities and beyond.[2]<\/p>\n

The ALA Archives holds materials related to Martinez in Record Series 12\/1\/4, Box 2, Folder: Martinez, Elizabeth, 1995-97, and Record Series 81\/1\/20, Box 3, Folder: Women of Color in Librarianship: An Oral History – Martinez. Her personal papers are held at Stanford University\u2019s Special Collections and University Archives: http:\/\/www.oac.cdlib.org\/findaid\/ark:\/13030\/c8n58t77\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Below are selected lists of Martinez\u2019s awards and honors, her publications, and publications referencing\/about her.<\/p>\n

Awards and Honors:<\/p>\n