Cognotes 2018 Midwinter Meeting Denver December Preview - 2

DENVER

COGNOTES

DECEMBER PREVIEW

Are Libraries Neutral? Have They Ever Been? Should They Be?
The question of neutrality in librarianship
is an old one. ALA's 1939 Code of Ethics for
Librarians calls for unbiased "recommendations." This is seen in the ALA Library Bill
of Rights principles that present the library
as content neutral, open and accessible to
all. We will explore the following questions
with the aim of challenging our thinking
and practices:
Were libraries ever neutral?
Has the time come to question neutrality?
Are libraries through their practices,
collections, services and technologies
able to be neutral?
Can libraries be neutral as part of societies and systems that are not neutral?
Rather than neutral, should we advocate for a distinct set of values?
How can we do so and maintain trust
in our communities?
A group of ALA members from academic
library, public library, and library education
backgrounds engage the issues. The ALA
President's Program will include a formal
debate - with two speakers in the affirmative and two in the negative - followed
ALA President's Program
Sunday 2/11, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
CCC Mile High Ballroom 2&3

tensively on the future of research libraries,
diversity and inclusion in higher education,
and the role libraries play in advancing social
justice and democracy.

by commentary from a reactor panel and a
conversation with attendees, moderated by
ALA President, Jim Neal.
Debate [Affirmative]
Em Claire Knowles
Em Claire Knowles serves as the Assistant
Dean for Student and Alumni Affairs at the
Simmons School of Library and Information
Science. She is serving for a second term as a
trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation,
and as the foundation's Vice President.

James LaRue
James LaRue is the Director of the ALA's
Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the

Junot Díaz to Speak Sunday Morning
Junot Díaz is the author of the critically
acclaimed Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life
of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer
Prize and the National Book Critics Circle
Award; and This Is How You Lose Her, a
New York Times bestseller and National
Book Award finalist. By self-admission,
Díaz is an agonizingly slow writer and
a chronic procrastinator. He once spent

Debate [Negative]
Chris Bourg
Chris Bourg is the Director of Libraries
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), where she also has oversight of the
MIT Press. She has written and spoken ex-

Commentary Panel
Emily Drabinski
Emily Drabinski is the Coordinator of Library Instruction at Long Island University,
Brooklyn, where she also serves as secretary
of the Long Island University Faculty Federation. She also edits Gender and Sexuality
in Information Studies, a book series from
Library Juice Press/Litwin Books.

Kathleen de la Pena McCook
Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a distinguished university professor at the School of
see page 6

Author and Poet, Elizabeth Acevedo
to Present Arthur Curley Lecture
Elizabeth Acevedo
Saturday 2/10, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
CCC Mile High Ballroom 2&3

Junot Diaz
Sunday 2/11, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
CCC Mile High Ballroom 2&3

five years working on a 15-page story. But
he said, "In my view, a writer is a writer
because even when there is no hope, even
when nothing you do shows any sign of
promise, you keep writing anyway." The
session will take place on Sunday, February
11 from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. at the ALA
Midwinter Meeting.
Islandborn is Díaz' first work of fiction
for young readers, a picture book illustrated
by Leo Espinosa, scheduled for release in
February 2018. Little Lola is asked to draw
a picture of her home country for school.
To help with her assignment, she asks her
family, friends, and neighbors for their
recollections of the Island. What emerges
is a stunning portrait of a place that Lola
once called home, and the magic that
comes when culture, tradition, and stories
are passed down and shared. The book
offers a diverse portrait of characters who
have migrated to New York from all around
the world, and shows the importance of
community as they support each other,
and their respective cultures.

Freedom to Read Foundation. Author of The
New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges, LaRue
was a public library director for many years,
as well as a weekly newspaper columnist and
cable TV host. He has written, spoken, and
consulted on leadership and organizational
development, community engagement, and
the future of libraries.

R. David Lankes
R. David Lankes is the Director of the
University of South Carolina's School of
Library and Information Science, and recipient of the American Library Association's
2016 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting
Librarianship. His book. The Atlas of New
Librarianship, won the 2012 ABC-CLIO/
Greenwood Award for the Best Book in
Library Literature. Lankes is a passionate
advocate for librarians and their essential
role in today's society.

Junot Díaz
(Photo by Nina Subin)

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican
Republic and raised in New Jersey. He
serves on the board of advisers for Freedom University, a volunteer organization
in Georgia that provides post-secondary
instruction to undocumented immigrants.
An immigrant himself, this is a topic he is
very passionate about, and one he considers
very timely.
A graduate of Rutgers University, Díaz is
currently the fiction editor at Boston Review,
and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor
of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
Díaz's appearance at the meeting is
sponsored by Penguin Young Readers. Get
details and add to your schedule now.

Elizabeth Acevedo was born as the youngest child of Dominican immigrants. Raised
in New York City, her poetry is infused with
Dominican bolero and her beloved city's
tough grit. With over 12 years of performance experience, Acevedo has been a featured performer on BET and Mun2, and has
delivered several TEDTalks. She has graced
renowned venues, such as the Madison
Square Garden, the Kennedy Center of the
Performing Arts, South Africa's State Theatre,
The Bozar in Brussels, and the National Library of Kosovo. The session will take place
on Saturday, February 10 from 4:00 - 5:00
p.m., at the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting
& Exhibits in Denver.
Her passion for poetry has manifested in
an increasing body of popular poetry videos,
most of which have gone viral and been
picked up by PBS, Latina Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Upworthy Magazine. She said, "I commit wholeheartedly to
the mission that my mother's stories will not
die with her. I believe wholeheartedly telling

Elizabeth Acevedo

my own story is an act of love and survival."
Many of her poems have been published,
or are forthcoming in Puerto Del Sol, the
Callaloo Journal, Poet Lore, Notre Dame
Review, and others.
Acevedo is a National Slam Champion,
Beltway Grand Slam Champion, a Cave Canem Fellow, Cantomundo Fellow, and participant of the Callaloo Writer's Workshop.
She is the author of two poetry collections:
Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths and Medusa
Reads La Negra's Palm, winner of the 2016
Berkshire Prize. A novel, The Poet X I is
scheduled for release in early 2018.
Acevedo's appearance is sponsored
by HarperCollins Children's Books. Get
details and add to your schedule now.

https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336430 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336432 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336433 https://2018.alamidwinter.org/registration/register-now https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336433 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336432 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336433 https://www.eventscribe.com/2018/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=336432

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cognotes 2018 Midwinter Meeting Denver December Preview