Cognotes 2017 Annual Conference Highlights - 4

COGNOTES

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2017 CHICAGO HIGHLIGHTS

A Follow-up to Hamilton: Grant Takes the Spotlight
Michelle Kowalsky/Rowan University

undreds of librarians attended the ALA Keynote Address on June 25 by Ron Chernow,
author of the book on which "Hamilton" the
Broadway musical was based. Chernow also served as
historical consultant for the show, and worked closely
with its writer and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The
author's discussions with Miranda centered on psychology of the characters, the essence of their relationships,
and timing of Hamilton's introductions to them.
"Resisting the urge to croon rhymed couplets,"
Chernow endeared "his first all-librarian audience"
with little-known tales of former president Ulysses
S. Grant. Chernow said that his biography reflects
"an extraordinarily important figure in American
history, whose record on important issues has been
trivialized in our historical memory." Not many
know, for example, the role of Grant in protecting
rights of African Americans during the Civil War and
Restoration, or that a civil rights movement in New
Orleans in 1867 led to desegregation of transportation well in advance of similar commonly known
events of the 1950s.
Chernow selected Grant, Hamilton, George
Washington, and others, because he felt they were
misrepresented or not fully represented in our history and culture. These famous personalities embody
grand trends in American history, and their places as
central figures in essential American experiences need to
demystified, to some degree. When asked by an audience
member about the process of writing a biography for a
figure who attempted to write his own autobiography,
Chernow explained his treatment was true to Grant's
written military history, while addressing the silences

Saujani
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the Banned recording booth and the Global
Literature booth were also highlighted.
The featured speaker, Reshma Saujani,
CEO and founder of Girls Who Code,
demonstrated the importance of inspiring
young girls to be involved in the technology and science fields. As she looked in on
a computer science class, she saw a class-

Ron Chernow on History, Presidents, Truth

in Grant's version of his personal story.
Of particular interest to the audience was the author's visit
to the Library of Congress to view the president's handwritten
manuscripts, in which Grant's handwriting became clearly
more wobbly and slanted as his health failed. Similarly, the
description of his notetaking and organizing system of 4" x
6" notecards, which numbered 30,000-40,000 by the end of

room full of young boys and asked herself,
"Where are the girls?" This is a question
Saujani continues to ask. Even though
technology is one of the fastest growing
fields with many potential job openings,
the number of women in computer science
is decreasing. The problems stem from a
societal bias, without media images of
women in coding.
Echoing the sentiments of her TED Talk,
Saujani thinks that it has become fashion-

his research, led ALA President Julie Todaro to offer her
archiving services on behalf of those in attendance.
At the conclusion of his talk, the author signed for the
librarians 200 free copies of his new book, Grant (Penguin
Press, 2017). Chernow is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize
for his biography, Washington: A Life, and has won multiple
awards in history and the humanities.

able for girls to say, "I hate math/science."
She put forth the idea that we teach boys
to be brave and girls to be perfect. If a
young girl is focused on "perfection or her
bust, they will be unlikely to try to learn
skills that they don't perceive they will be
good at." This concept prevents women
from being fearless, willing to take big
risks and fail. Girls Who Code makes use
of three central concepts when teaching
young women: capabilities, careers, and

Reshma Saujani on Bravery, Librarian Impact

community. This community, a sisterhood,
Saujani explained, is created when the average graduate of a Girls Who Code program
goes out and teaches four other girls what
they have learned.
As the creator of a series of 13 books,
featuring five diverse female characters who
meet in a coding club, Saujani hopes to
change the image of coding in the media,
making it more accessible for young girls
today. Her forthcoming book, Girls Who
Code: Learn to Code and Change the World,
aims to appeal to every girl.

Michael Kruse shows an interactive
activity for children during
the "Program Speed Dating:
Programming Librarian Interest
Group" session.

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