The Spanish Section of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) is known as OEPLI (Spanish Organization for Children and Young People’s Literature).

OEPLI was formally constituted in July 27, 1982. It’s a non-profitmaking organization, that attends to the execution and coordination of all kinds of promotional activities about books for children and young people, as well as the promotion of reading activities.

OEPLI is organized in four territorial branches that obey to four Spanish cultural and linguistic realities: CLIJCAT, for the Catalonian branch; GALIX, for the Galician branch; GALTZAGORRI, for the Euskal Herria branch; and the CSL, for the Castilian branch. In this way OEPLI develops its activities over the whole Spanish Country.

As a member of IBBY, OEPLI also intervenes on an international-wide basis, as much in fairs (as the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna), as in Congresses (such as the World Congresses organized by IBBY). In this respect, and accordingly to its cultural history, OEPLI maintains and promotes steady relations with the countries of Latin America, by means of contributions, donation of books, etc.

OBJECTIVES

The main objectives of OEPLI are:

1.- The defence, promotion and coordination of the professional interests of its members.

2.- To collect, promote, plan and execute projects, initiatives and actions tending to the promotion and diffusion of children and young people’s books as well as reading among children and young people over the whole Spanish Country.

3.- To give advice and full cooperation to all the organizations or persons, central or local governments and professional sectors interested or coincidental on these specific aims, as well inside Spain as abroad.

4.- To assume the Spanish representation in IBBY with all the responsibilities and duties that it involves.

5.- To establish the necessary agreements with public and private organizations for the best fulfilment of its aims.

ACTIVITIES

Even though OEPLI performs many activities, the main are:

1. Exhibitions of Children’s Books organized by each territorial branch.

2. Itinerant exhibitions of Children’s Books throughout the whole country in order to diffuse the books exhibited previously by each territorial branch.

3. The International Children’s Book Fair.

4. Exhibitions.

5. National Congresses on Books for children and young people.

6. Organization of the Prize Lazarillo to the best unpublished literary or illustrated works for children and young people.

7. Celebration of the International Day of the Book for Children.

8. Edition of dictionaries about authors and illutrators of children’s books.