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MAY 2015 PREVIEW COGNOTES • 5
The iconic Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco, as seen from the Marin Headlands. (© 2010 Scott Chernis Photography).
Honor the Best in the Profession at the AASL Awards Ceremony
The 2015 AASL award recipients will be honored at the AASL Awards Ceremony during the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. The ceremony will be held from 9:00 — 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27. All are welcome to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers during this recognition event taking place prior to the AASL President's Program. AASL awards and grants recognize excellence and showcase best practices in the school library field in categories that include collaboration, leadership and innovation.
Also included in the Awards Ceremony will be the announcement of the 2015 Best Apps for Teaching & Learning and the 2015 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning. Dedicated sessions on the recognized apps and websites will take place independently.
Congratulate Your Colleagues on Their Milestones
Members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will be wearing their AASL membership proudly at the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. New members of the association now receive an AASL membership pin, featuring the AASL logo, with their welcome packet upon joining. Pins have also been distributed to lifetime members and those who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of continuous membership. Lifetime and milestone pins include a bar recognizing their service — be sure to congratulate them on their dedication to the association and the school library profession!
Nick Offerman, Actor, Author, Humorist, and Woodworker to Offer Plenty of Laughter Saturday
Actor Nick Offerman — best known for his role as Ron Swanson on NBC's “Parks and Recreation” — promises conference attendees plenty of laughter when he appears as an Auditorium Speaker on Saturday, June 27, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Offerman is also a humorist, woodworker, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living and the forthcoming Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers (Dutton, May 2015).
As a lifelong reader coming from a family of librarians, he credits his aunt, Michelle Houchens, the local history librarian at the Three Rivers Public Library in Minooka, Illinois, with encouraging his love of reading. His Aunt Michelle still works at the Three Rivers Public Library, where his sister Laurie is Assistant Director.
Offerman acted with Chicago theatre companies, worked as a fight choreographer and master carpenter at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has appeared in numerous films. Prior to “Parks and Recreation,” for which he received the Television Critics Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, his most prominent role was as factory worker and Benny-Lopez-love-interest Randy McGee on “George Lopez.” In 2007, he co-starred in the Comedy Central series “American Body Shop.” Other TV appearances include as a plumber on “Will & Grace,” as a hobo on “The King of Queens,” in “24,” and in an episode of “The West Wing.”
Attendees can look forward to a humor-filled hour if the introduction on Offerman's professional woodshop's website is any indication: “We like to carve spoons, chainsaw stumps, plank canoes, keep our chisels sharp with stones, build pinball machines, and fine furniture. From refined modern designs to enormous Middle-Earth masterpieces, we build it all while smiling a lot.”
Offerman's appearance at ALA Annual Conference is sponsored by Dutton, a division of Penguin Publishing.
Nick Offerman (Photo © Emily Shur)
PLA Member Welcome Breakfast Featuring Al Roker Set for Saturday
Complimentary Breakfast for PLA Members
Public Library Association (PLA) members are invited to join PLA on Saturday June 27, for an exclusive, members-only breakfast in San Francisco. The “PLA Member Welcome Breakfast” will include recognition of the 15 individuals and libraries that received PLA awards this year. These award winners demonstrate the best in public library service, innovation and outreach. In addition to the awards presentation, PLA will present a special recognition to the Ferguson (Mo.) Public Library and its director Scott Bonner for their response to recent events of civil unrest and school closures in their community.
The event will also feature a special appearance by Al Roker. As a host and weatherman of NBC's Today Show, Roker has the undivided attention of the nation every weekday morning as America prepares for work. Roker will share a gripping account of the Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in American history as told in The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster; The Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900. Don't miss this opportunity to meet one of America's most beloved TV hosts!
You must RSVP to receive a ticket for this PLA members-only event, and space is limited. Click here for more information.
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