Children's services champion Virginia Mathews dies

Virginia Mathews, 86, renowned advocate for family and early-childhood literacy and outreach programs, consultant and author who was respected in the publishing and library worlds, died May 7. Instrumental in the success of both the 1979 and 1991 White Conference on Library and Information Services (WHCLIS), Mathews navigated a career that bridged the worlds of publishing and library advocacy. In particular, her leadership during the 1991 conference resulted in the creation of the Omnibus Children's and Youth Literacy through Libraries Initiative, which emerged as the highest-priority goal of the conference. The achievement was cited as one reason ALA's Association for Library Service to Children gave Mathews its Distinguished Service Award in 1995, the year after ALA awarded her Honorary Membership, the highest honor given by the Association