ALA Cognotes Interactive - July 2009 - (Page 1)

American Library Association 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Palatine, IL 60095 Permit No. 27 2009 ANNUAL CONFERENCE — HIGHLIGHTS ALA Cognotes Philadelphia and Cincinnati) and its message out. The Soloist encourages its readers to “look past generalizations and stereotypes.” Lopez recounted his search for a story and his initial encounter and later growing friendship with Ayers, a street artist in LA who performed on a two-string violin, not for JULY 2009 Lopez Speaks of Acceptance, Endurance and Redemption Through Arts at Closing Session By Frederick J. Augustyn, Jr. The Library of Congress J ournalist for more that 30 years, author of three novels and of an acclaimed work of non-fiction, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, recently adapted as a motion picture, Steve Lopez spoke movingly of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a homeless violinist on Los Angeles’s Skid Row who is gradually confronting the challenges of schizophrenia through a dedication to his craft. Lopez was the Closing Session speaker of the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago July 14. He first noted his own connection to libraries and librarians. “You could not have picked a more appropriate speaker. Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times columnist and author of The Can you believe that Soloist, addresses the audience during the Closing Session. I was married in a library?” That happy venue was the Free monetary contributions, but for joy and Library of Philadelphia, Logan Circle. solace just a few blocks from the Walt “There is no better place to get married, Disney Concert Hall. Once a brilliant in a beautiful building surrounded by student at the Cleveland Music School Settlement and Julliard, mental illness books.” Lopez teased that he would like “one derailed Ayers’ career. Lopez’s first person here to agree to retire so that my article in the Los Angeles Times led to son, who just graduated from McGill a book, and a movie version of this artUniversity [with a library degree], can ist’s story of “just trying to get back on get a job.” Seeing no one offering to track.” Publicity facilitated newspapers step aside for his son, who has been on readers’ donations of several musical the library job market for about a year, instruments; Ayers’ involvement with Lopez nevertheless thanked librarians the Lamp Community local health for the roles that they played in get- care facility; a move into an apartment; ting his book (which has been featured and invitations to attend concerts and in One Book, One City programs in » see page 13 ProQuest CEO Marty Kahn and scholarship recipients kick off the ALA/ProQuest Scholarship Bash, Great Impressions at the Art Institute of Chicago July 11. The Brain is a Beautiful Thing by Stacy L. Voeller Minnesota State University Moorhead LA’s Auditorium Speakers’ Series author, Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., a Harvard-trained neuro-anatomist, engaged her audience July 13 by relating her own experiences with neuroplasticity. Bolte Taylor has spent her life studying and teaching others about the complex beauty of the human brain. On the morning of December 10, 1996, her life took an unexpected turn: she experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel broke in the left side of her brain. In her book My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, Bolte Taylor tells of her unique, and somewhat ironic, journey into and back out of the silent abyss of the wounded brain. The book shares details of her stroke and the eight years it took to completely repair her mind and recalibrate her understanding of the world, according to the insights she gained from her intimate A experience with an injured brain. Bolte Taylor began her talk, excitedly addressing the audience with “I’m thrilled to be here, but more than that I’m thrilled to be here to talk about the brain. Nothing thrills me more than talking about this beautiful organ inside our head. As I lost my left hemisphere, I lost my ability to connect with the outside world in words.” Having » see page 12 Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. NEW www.TLCdelivers.com • 800.325.7759 • Visit Booth #1434 LS2 Kids NEW LS2 Circ LS2 Pac Solutions that Deliver http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/2009/cognotes.cfm http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/june2009/scholarshipbash_confsvcs.cfm http://www.stevelopezonline.com/ http://drjilltaylor.com/ http://www.tlcdelivers.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ALA Cognotes Interactive - July 2009

ALA Cognotes Interactive - July 2009