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Seattle — ALA Midwinter Meeting Highlights      Cognotes • Page 9

Lisa Genova's Work Sheds Light On the Personal Side of Disease

By Stacey Flynn University of Maryland

With a Harvard Ph.D. in neu-roscience, Lisa Genova has brought her research skills and medical knowledge into the fiction arena. Author ofNew York Times bestseller, Still Alice, and Left Neglected, Genova explored the world of Alzheimer ‘s disease from the perspective of the patient with early onset. “As a scientist, I study disease but as a novelist, I contribute to the world by sharing my understanding of the person,” she said during the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture.

After her grandmother walked into a bowling alley in the middle of the night, looking for her team, she began researching the disease and understands the differences between “normal forgetting” and “Alzheimer's forgetting.” But as she watched the disease disassemble her grandmother, she could find no description of how it actually felt to be slipping into dementia.

To better understand her subject, Genova's research took her to The Dementia Advocacy and Support Network, an online resource for patients and caregivers where she could interact directly with those who could shed light on the disease. “The fear and stigma associated with the Alzheimer's Disease reminds me of the stigma associated with cancer fifty years ago when we could barely say the word aloud,” she said. “Fiction gives people an avenue to talk about topics that they are really scared about, to drag Alzheimer's Disease and other stigmas out of the closet and into the living room where we can talk about it.”

Genova began writing at a local coffee house and, when she received no “bites” from publisher's, she self-published Still Alice and began selling it from the trunk of her car. Eventually, it was picked up by Simon & Schuster and subsequently spent 40 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. It will soon be made into a full-length feature film. Her second novel Left Neglected was published in 2011. Her newest novel, Love Anthony, is based on her family's experience when her nephew was diagnosed with autism.

Paula Poundstone to Headline “The Laugh's On Us Sponsored by SAGE”

Author and standup comedian Paula Poundstone will headline “The Laugh's On Us sponsored by SAGE,” on Sunday, June 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m. during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Ill.

Paula Poundstone (There's Nothing in this Book That I Meant to Say, Three Rivers Press/Random House), is a frequent panelist for NPR's “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!” Paula was the first woman to win an ACE Award for Best Standup Comedy performance and the first woman to be invited to perform at the distinguished White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. An outspoken advocate for libraries, Paula works with Friends of the Library groups around the country to help them fundraise and raise awareness of the importance of libraries.

Selene Coppock (The New Rules for Blondes: Highlights from a Fair-Haired Life, HarperCollins), will join Paula Poundstone along with other comedians and humorists for this fall-off-your-seat laughing event. Selena is a standup comedian, writer, and storyteller based in New York City. Her storytelling abilities have been showcased at shows throughout New York and Boston, and she has been featured at comedy festivals across the country.

The event is sponsored by United for Libraries corporate supporter SAGE Publications, Inc. “As a United for Libraries board member and a personal contributor I know that fine work this organization provides for libraries across the country,” said Ed Mc-Bride, United for Libraries board member and Executive Director of Library Sales for SAGE Publications, Inc. “I am pleased to be associated with SAGE, a company that is committed to libraries and supporting organizations like United for Libraries. I'm especially pleased that SAGE is underwriting “The Laugh's On Us,” a fun and important fundraiser for the organization.”

Wine and cheese will be served, and a book signing will follow. Some books will be given away free and others will be available for purchase at a generous discount. Advance tickets to “The Laugh's On Us sponsored by SAGE” cost $49, $45 for United for Libraries division members (event code UFL1). On-site tickets cost $55. Early ticket purchase is recommended as the event often sells out. More information about the event, including additional authors as they are added to the lineup, is available on the United for Libraries website at www.ala.org/united.

AILA, APALA Announce Continued Sponsor: Toyota Financial Services

The American Indian Library Association (AILA) and the Asian/ Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) are pleased to announce their continued sponsorship from Toyota Financial Services. Toyota Financial Services will sponsor the “Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture” program by providing funding for the second year for mini-grants that will be awarded in early 2013.

“Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture” (www.talkstorytogether.org) is a literacy program that reaches out to Asian Pacific American (APA) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children and their families. The program celebrates and explores their stories through books, oral traditions, and art to provide an interactive, enriching experience. 2013 will be the fourth year that AILA and APALA have partnered on the project and allocated grant funding to libraries to implement programs geared towards the APA/ AIAN communities.

To date, thirteen Talk Story grants have been awarded. This will be the second year that Toyota Financial Services has sponsored grant funding for Talk Story and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to work with them now and in the future. “Toyota Financial Services has been such a wonderful sponsor to work with and their continued support will allow us to fund deserving libraries for another year” said Liana Juliano and Lessa Pelayo-Lozada, chairs of the Talk Story committee for AILA and APALA.

Grant applications will be available beginning in December and will be due February 15, 2013.

An affiliate of the American Library Association, the AILA is a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Members are individuals and institutions interested in the development of programs to improve Indian library, cultural, and informational services in school, public, and research libraries on reservations. AILA is also committed to disseminating information about Indian cultures, languages, values, and information needs to the library community. Additional information about AILA can be found at www.ailanet.org.

APALA was established in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to create an organization that would address and support the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/ Pacific American communities. In addition, over the years, APALA has granted numerous scholarships and awards. Additional information about APALA can be found at www.apalaweb.org.

Joint Youth Intellectual Freedom Committee Meets

On January 27, members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and other parties concerned with intellectual freedom for youth met informally to share key issues.

Those attending the meeting took advantage of the opportunity to share agendas created by the Intellectual Freedom Committees of AASL and ALSC. They reported on problems discussed in prior meetings. For instance, AASL and ALSC committee members had raised concerns about Internet filters in libraries, as well as the separate issue of labeling books by reading level - a practice that may compromise privacy in schools. Meeting attendees also indicated potential problems with promoting library sponsors during reading campaigns - is product promotion a moral issue? they asked.

Meeting attendees raised still larger questions about public - and librarian - awareness of intellectual freedom issues. Several current library and information science students noted that their curriculum had not prepared them adequately to address problems with intellectual freedom. ALSC committee members remarked, in addition, that ALA committees concerned with intellectual freedom no longer collaborate as they once did in the past. “Intellectual freedom is foundational to what we do,” said Megan Schliesman of ALSC's Intellectual Freedom Committee, adding that intellectual freedom is so basic to libraries that it is sometimes overlooked by library advocates. Others remarked that intellectual freedom should not be handled in a top-down manner; rather, librarians should feel empowered to advocate for intellectual freedom on a regular basis in their day-to-day work.

As they concluded their discussions, meeting members resolved to work more collaboratively in the future, cross-pollinating their blog posts and engaging in discussions on ALA Connect. Offering advice to the younger members present at the meeting, Schliesman noted the importance of discussing intellectual freedom issues with colleagues. On this point, all present at the joint meeting on youth intellectual freedom agreed.