In this era of ever-expanding inclusion, Italian Americans have long been the odd community out. That may soon change in Illinois if Diana Hartmann has anything to do with it. An educational administrator of Italian descent, Hartmann has watched as books about Italian and Italian-American history and culture have disappeared from the shelves of school libraries. Last fall, she took action to reverse the trend.

“I wanted to make sure that our contributions and experiences received the credit they were due,” says Hartmann, who was recently elected the regional superintendent of schools in McHenry County. “But I wanted to make sure we weren’t reinventing the wheel.”