Salvador Güereña

Professional Biography

An archivist, librarian, and writer, Güereña specializes in ethnic and multicultural archives. He is a native of Santa Barbara, California. His B.A. degree is from Westmont College. He received the MLS from the University of Arizona, where his emphasis was in library services to Latinos, and in library administration. Since 1989 he has been Director of the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, in the Davidson Library of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously, he headed the Colección Tloque Nahuaque (Chicano research library) in that institution, where he also served as assistant head of the Reference Department, overseeing the ethnic studies units and the Curriculum Laboratory, as part of the department's management team. As an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Chicano Studies, he has taught the course Documentary Research Methods in Chicano Studies. While with the Santa Barbara Public Library System (1980-1983) he directed the system's multicultural outreach program and managed one its branch libraries.

He is a past president of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, and in 1992 REFORMA honored him with its "Librarian of the Year" award. He has served on the governing Council of the American Library Association, chaired various ALA committees including the Reference and Adult Services Division's Committee on Library Services to the Spanish-speaking, and has served on several ALA Presidential Program planning committees. Most recently he has served on the executive board of the Society of California Archivists. He is currently active with the Archives and Archivists of Color Round Table of the Society of American Archivists.

His publications include several books and numerous articles in the field of library science, bibliography, and in archives. His latest edited books include Latino Librarianship: A Handbook for Professionals (McFarland, 1990), Latino Periodicals: A Selection Guide (McFarland, 1998), and Library Services to Latinos: an Anthology (McFarland, 2000), along with the forthcoming, Pathways to Progress: Issues and Advances in Latino Librarianship (Libraries Unlimited, 2008). He has been a conference speaker and organizer on topics such as ethnic archives and manuscripts, library services to Latinos, library cultural diversity, community analysis, and digitizing for diversity.
He makes his home in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife Linda, and his youngest son Alex. In addition to his academic writings he has written commentaries, and is collaborating with his wife on writing a bilingual children's book.

Email: guerena@library.ucsb.edu
To California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives

Listen to his lecture "Delivering or dabbling? diversity initiatives at
the University of California, Santa Barbara" presented at the University
of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, April 2001.
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Text author: Salvador Guerena; Page Maintained by: Alexander Hauschild. Last modified: July 9, 2007
Direct questions or comments about this page to the author or to cema@library.ucsb.edu