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CHICAGO — Satia Marshall Orange, former director of the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), is the recipient of the 2017 ¾«¶«´«Ã½ Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) Distinguished Librarian Award. The Distinguished Librarian Award recognizes significant accomplishments in library services that are national or international in scope and include improving, spreading, and promoting multicultural librarianship.

Under Orange’s passionate leadership and advocacy, OLOS broadened the association's support and celebration of traditionally underserved library staff and library communities, developed new ¾«¶«´«Ã½member units and increased participation in events and activities, including the initiation of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration. Orange was the driving force behind the inception of the Sunrise Celebration, as well as its continued observance as a revered tradition at Midwinter.

As the Director of the Arthur Ashe J. Foreign Policy Library, TransAfrica Forum, Orange coordinated lectures, special events, and receptions highlighting Africa and the diaspora. In addition to directing OLOS, Orange also served as the ¾«¶«´«Ã½staff liaison to the Social Responsibilities (SRRT), the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBTRT), and the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange (EMIERT) round tables for over a decade. Nominator Dr. Lori Mestre wrote that “even in retirement Orange continues her advocacy such as providing guidance and training to library staff in St. Maarten in 2015.” Mestre also noted that “through all of Orange’s challenging work, dedication, and efforts, she remains humble, poised and positive, a true inspiration for us all.”

"Satia Marshall Orange is a part of a long tradition of leadership in black women’s history that includes Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin so eloquently described by historians Dr. Clark Hine and Dr. Paula Giddings," said EMIERT Chair Dr. Leslie Campbell Hime. “EMIERT is pleased to honor her more than 30 years of work on behalf of traditionally underserved populations and the field of librarianship."

As recipient of the 2017 Award, Orange will receive a commemorative plaque and a $500 honorarium to be presented during EMIERT President’s Program, Integrating Diversity Initiatives and Community Engagement: The Human Library at Penn State University, Saturday, 3:00pm, room W187b in McCormick Place, during ALA’s 2017 Annual Conference in Chicago.

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Founded in 1982, the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) serves as a source of information for recommended ethnic and multilingual collections, services, and programs.