ALA Press Release

Librarian swims again to support Spectrum in memory of Ann Bianchini

CHICAGO — Miriam Tuliao, assistant director of Central Collection Development at the New York Public Library, announced that she will participate in the fourth annual Liberty Island Swim in support of the Spectrum Presidential Initiative.  The event, to be held June 29, 2012, is a 1.2 K race around the Statue of Liberty.

Tuliao is a United States masters swimmer who has participated in several long-distance open water events, including the Big Shoulders 5K Swim in Chicago in September 2007. Tuliao participated in the New Jersey State Triathlon in 2008 and the 5.85-mile Little Red Lighthouse Swim in 2009, both times raising funds for the ALA Spectrum Scholarship Program. Tuliao has also participated in two United States Masters Swimming 2-Mile Cable Open Water National Championships in support of the Spectrum Presidential Initiative. Tuliao is delighted to continue her annual tradition of raising funds for the Spectrum Scholarship Program.

ALA President Molly Raphael, Immediate Past President Roberta Stevens, President-Elect Maureen Sullivan and ALA Past President Dr. Betty J. Turock, chair of the initiative, coordinate a special campaign to raise $1 million for the Spectrum Scholarship Program known as the Spectrum Presidential Initiative (SPI). Through SPI, ALA 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. Tuliao’s fundraising efforts on behalf of Spectrum are just one example of how individuals can maximize their contribution to the Spectrum Presidential Initiative.

“I will be swimming around the Statue of Liberty in memory of Mrs. Ann Bianchini, former adult services librarian of The New York Public Library,” said Tuliao. “I deeply admired Ann for her unwavering energy and passion for public service. A long-standing book group leader, she was committed to growing reading communities across New York City.”

The Spectrum Scholarship Program is ALA’s national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of under-representation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession.  Spectrum Scholars improve service at the local level through the development of a representative workforce that reflects the communities served by all libraries.  Spectrum has provided more than 780 scholarships to qualified applicants enrolled in an ALA-accredited graduate program in library and information studies or an AASL-approved school library education program. To learn more about the Spectrum Scholarship Program, visit www.ala.org/spectrum.

For more information about the Spectrum Presidential Initiative or to make an online donation, visit www.spectrum.ala.org. 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.