ALA Cognotes Midwinter Seattle Wrap-Up - (Page 9)
Cognotes • Page 9
Seattle — ALA Midwinter Meeting Highlights
Lisa Genova’s Work Sheds Light
On the Personal Side of Disease
By Stacey Flynn
University of Maryland
A
W
ith a Harvard Ph.D. in neuroscience, Lisa Genova has
brought her research skills
and medical knowledge into the fiction
arena. Author of New 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.
AILA, APALA Announce Continued
Sponsor: Toyota Financial Services
T
he 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
Paula Poundstone to Headline “The
Laugh’s On Us Sponsored by SAGE”
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.
uthor 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 FairHaired 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 McBride, 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). Onsite 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.
Joint Youth Intellectual
Freedom Committee Meets
O
n 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.
http://www.ala.org/united
http://www.talkstorytogether.org
http://www.talkstorytogether.org
http://www.ailanet.org
http://www.apalaweb.org
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