ALA Cognotes San Diego Midwinter Highlights Issue - (Page 2)

Page 2 • San Diego Midwinter Highlights Cognotes he 2011 Stonewall Book Awards were announced at the Midwinter Meeting in San Diego by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association. The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. The awards will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans in June. “The list of books we had up for consideration for the 2011 Stonewall Book awards was an embarrassment of riches to say the least,” said Committee Chair, Lisa Johnston. The Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award was presented to Almost Perfect written by Brian Katcher. Four Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Award Honor Books were named: will grayson, will grayson, written by John Green and David Levithan; Love Drugged, written by James Klise; Freaks and Revelations, written by Davida Wills Hurwin; and The Boy in T Stonewall Book Awards Announced the Dress, written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake. The Barbara Gittings Literature Award was given to More of This World of Maybe Another by Barb Johnson. Three Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books were named: Probation by Tom Mendicino; The More I Owe You by Michael Sledge; and Holding Still for As Long as Possible by Zoe Whittall. The Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award was given to Inseparable: Desire between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue. Four Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Books were named: A Great Unrecorded History: A New Life of E.M. Forster by Wendy Moffatt; Just Kids by Patti Smith; The Right To Be Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in America’s Public Schools by Stuart Beigel; and The Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade by Justin Spring. For more information about the Stonewall Book Awards, please visit http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/stonewall/index.cfm. 2011 Midwin ALA President Roberta Stevens and Chair of the Exhibits Roundtable Gene Shimshock open the Exhibits on Friday, January 7 as the ALA Executive Board looks on. Rhodes Presents Librarians with a Reverie on the Effect of Technological Innovations on Words and Thought Processes social rather than a solitary, meditative experience. Students in ancient times recited passages of works they wished wentieth-century historian to remember near particular buildings Richard Rhodes, the author or and conjured up images of those struceditor of 22 books including the tures when they sought to remember Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, those passages. Socrates and many of and National Book Critics Circle his contemporaries feared that learnAward winning The Making of the ing to write would foster forgetfulness Atomic Bomb (1986); Dark Sun: The because, in their opinion, writing was Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (1995); a lazy way to remember. The great and his latest The philosopher considTwilight of the Bombs ered writing to be like (2010), delivered the painting, that is, only 12th annual Arthur an approximation of Curley Memorial reality. Lecture on Saturday, The introduction of January 8. the printed book creatRhodes paid homed even more turmoil age to our profession. than writing. Some While going through argued that books a difficult childhood should still be copied in Kansas City, Misby hand, despite the souri, during which introduction of printhe often had to live ing, allegedly because on the street, Rhodes parchment would last recalled that “the lilonger than paper but brary for me was a also because “copyrefuge – literally, for ing by hand involved safety and security” more diligence and and also a place pro- Richard Rhodes industry.” viding possibilities to Rhodes quer ied reach out to the world. He learned to why reality writing – “a narrative read at the age of four, instructed by prose that requires external facts for the landlady of a rooming house. Not authentification” is called “non-fiction,” at all convinced that authorship can be a term defined by what it is not. He taught in specifically-designed classes, disclosed (and deplored) that this term he instead is a self-taught scribe who was invented by a librarian in 1867 in learned to write from reading. Good the annual report of the Boston Public libraries, as well as bad ones, have Library. He prefers to call this category served the purpose of conveying the art of writing “verity,” a term taken from the of writing to many authors. Although French, which only sounds odd because he today taps into online historical it is new. Rhodes considers himself prisources, according to Rhodes , “there is marily to be a verity writer, although no substitute for working in libraries.” he has also written four books of fiction. The author took his audience back With ever newer methods of conveyto what reading was like and what it ing information, he stated that “the last had meant in earlier centuries. St. Au- generation’s trash is the next generagustine , when visiting Italy from the tion’s treasure.” And so the innovations provinces of the Roman Empire , was associated with conveying information surprised when he observed St. Am- continue to develop, from writing, to brose reading silently since the custom printed books, to comic books, movies, had always been to read aloud, a more and even video games. By Frederick J. Augustyn, Jr. The Library of Congress AASL Announces Preconference Lineup he American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will offer two preconferences in New Orleans during the ALA Annual Conference. The preconferences will be held Friday, June 24. The full-day interactive preconference, “AASL’s Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning: Categories, Criteria, and Collaborative Strategies,” will offer an in-depth look at the 2010 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. During this fast-paced, hands-on, collaborative workshop attendees will learn which websites best support the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, inquiry learning and the curriculum. The presenters will keep attendees actively involved as they Skype, tweet, survey, organize, create, click, video and have fun learning about the Web 2.0 tools. Laptops are essential to get the most out of the session. Be prepared to leave energized with resources to implement these exciting tools in your school. You might T even get a sneak peek at the newest top 25 websites! Terry Young and Nancy Teger will lead a panel of school librarians in a discussion on disaster preparedness at the preconference, “Disaster Preparedness for School Librarians.” Attendees will gain valuable insight to disaster planning as experts share their experiences, successes and lessons learned. Learn the ups and downs of disaster recovery as they apply to the school librarian and the library. Discover the subtle differences of planning and recovery as they apply to public and private schools. Use the knowledge and experience of this panel to devise a plan in the event of a disaster. AASL’s preconferences will not only benefit school library media specialists, but all librarians that work with children and young adults. For more information, including registration fees, visit www. ala.org/aasl/annual. T Cognotes Published five times annually in conjunction with the ALA Midwinter Meeting, and six times annually in conjunction with the ALA Annual Conference ISBN: 0738-4319 Volume 2011, Issue 5 Reporters Frederick J. Augustyn, Jr. – The Library of Congress Brad Martin – LAC Group, New York, NY Stacy Voeller – Minnesota State University, Moorhead William Risser Managing Editor Deb Nerud Vernon Photography Curtis Compton Production Jenn Waters and Tim Mercer, CustomNEWS, Inc. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/stonewall/index.cfm http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/stonewall/index.cfm http://www.ala.org/aasl/annual http://www.ala.org/aasl/annual

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ALA Cognotes San Diego Midwinter Highlights Issue

ALA Cognotes San Diego Midwinter Highlights Issue