Pura Belpré at the Center For Puerto Rican Studies. A Librarian at Every Table. No. 309.

The Center for Puerto Rican Studies has a superb set of pages dedicated to Pura Belpré. Pura Belpré(circa 1899-1982) was a talented author and storyteller who wrote and re-interpreted Puerto Rican folk tales. As the first Puerto Rican librarian in the New York Public Library system she pioneered the library's work with the Puerto Rican community.
The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA Affiliate.
[Thanks IE].