The City of North Miami has named a playground next to the North Miami Public Library after Lucia Martinez Gonzalez, a School of Information distinguished alumna who graduated from the MA in Library and Information Science in 1988. The "Lucia Martinez Gonzelez Tot Lot" featured a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, March 28th with Councilwomen Kassandra Timothe.
Lucia is a Jean Key Gates Distingued Alumna (1998), was the Library Director at City of North Miami from 2010-2011, and a past president of REFORMA. She is the author of the award-winning bilingual book The Bossy Gallito, winner of the Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal and named one of New York Public Library's 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know. In addition, Lucia gave the School of Information's annual Alice Smith Lecture alongside Alicia Long in 2021.