ALA Cognotes Midwinter Highlights 2010 - (Page 3)

2010 Midwinter Meeting Highlights • BOSTON Cognotes • Page 3 Sunrise Speakers Series Brighten Midwinter Other authors speaking during the “Sunrise Series” included Atul Gawande, M.D. A surgeon and a writer, and a staff member of Brigham and Women’s he Sunrise Speakers Series Hospital, the Dana Farber Cancer Inclosed on Monday, January 18, stitute, and the New Yorker magazine. with award-winning playwright, In 2002, his book Complications: A Surtelevision writer geon’s Notes on an and documentary Imperfect Science filmmaker Adriwas a finalist for ana Trigiani. Her the National Book bestselling books Award. His book, include the Big Better: A Surgeon’s Stone Gap series, Notes on PerforLucia, Lucia, The mance is a New Queen of the Big York Times bestTime, Rococo, and seller and one of Very Valentine. Amazon’s ten best Her latest book, books of 2007. His Brava Valentine, is newest book, The the sequel to Very Checklist ManifesValentine, and deto, is one of Amabuts in February. Author, playwright, television writer, and zon’s best books Tr i g i a n i e n - documentary filmmaker Adriana Trigiani of the month for December 2009. tered the room, shines at the Sunrise Speaker Series. Also presenting larger than life. When she took the podium, she said, “I was Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, am deeply, deeply honored to be here. Pray, Love, which was number one on I would have come by dogsled if I had the New York Times best seller list for to because I love my librarians. In our over a year and was also named to the country, librarians are really and truly American Booksellers Association Acthe protectors of our cultural life. You claimed Best Seller list. In 2008, Gilbert are the soul of our country, and the was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. protectors of the words.” She told the audience that her mother is a librarian. “We grew up reading our books right in front of us and barely opening them up. Don’t break the spine my mother said, don’t break the spine.” When Trigiani wrote the first book in the Big Stone Gap series, she never thought it would get published. Her mother, and her high school librarian, Billie Jean, were not completely pleased. When she next saw Billie Jean, she said to Trigiani that “she didn’t mind being portrayed as racy in the book Big Cherry Holler, she did deeply mind, however, being portrayed as speaking improper English.” Trigiani spoke fondly of her high school librarian and said she was the one that introduced her to Walden. Her favorite quote from Thoreau’s book is, “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws will be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.” She said librarians have the ability to hook people in with books, and if “you hook ‘em, you’ve got ‘em for life.” In closing, Trigiani told the audience, “You really are in charge of this going forward, we need you. You connect the reader to the subject, for the kids and the adults. Thank you, the authors get it, and we love it!” By Stacy L. Voeller Minnesota State University Moorhead T ALA presidential candidates Molly Raphael, left, and Sara Kelly Johns, right, come together for a campaign debate January 16. ALA Holds Forum for Candidates for President and Treasurer By Adrienne Chamberlin Simmons College LA members got to see and hear from four candidates running for office: Molly Raphael and Sara Kelly Johns running for ALA President and Jim Neal and Alan Kornblau running for Treasurer at a forum January 16. Molly Raphael has been active in ALA for 35 years as President of LLAMA, President of District of Columbia Library Association and has chaired many committees within the organiza- tion. Raphael believes libraries are “essential for learning; essential for life.” Her vision includes strong advocacy for libraries and the communities they serve, recruiting and retaining an ever increasing diverse library workforce, and an unwavering commitment to protecting libraries’ core values of intellectual freedom, privacy, and open access to information. Raphael believes she and libraries should be innovative thinkers and collaborators within their communities to increase funding and » see page 6 http://www.adrianatrigiani.com http://www.kikimag.com http://www.kikimag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ALA Cognotes Midwinter Highlights 2010

ALA Cognotes Highlights Issue 2010

ALA Cognotes Midwinter Highlights 2010