ALA Cognotes 2016 Midwinter Meeting Highlights - (Page 1)

COGNOTES MIDWINTER MEETING & EXHIBITS January 8-12, 2016 MIDWINTER HIGHLIGHTS Edition BOSTON, MA USE THE TAG #ALAMW16 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Senator Booker Delivers Impassioned Address on Libraries as Sanctuary, Equalizer Fiona Soltes, Cognotes I n 2010, dealing with an $83 million budget gap, then-Mayor of Newark Cory Booker found himself faced with cutting 25 percent of the New Jersey city's government jobs. Libraries were particularly hard hit, with reductions in services as well as workers. The man who addressed a standing-roomonly crowd at the ALA President's Program during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Bos- ton, however, spoke passionately about what libraries had meant in his own life, how a particular high school librarian had been one of the "greatest heroes" of his education, and how libraries were "treasures for all." It was the state, he said, that forced cut after cut - including those at the libraries. "I'm standing before people who understand, who are in the trenches every day... that libraries are not something that it's nice to have, but they are an essential, bedrock element of this democracy," he said. Booker, now a U.S. senator, gave a rousing, impassioned speech, often interrupted by applause from the audience. His first book, United, will be released in February, and seeing it on the shelves of that same high school library, he said, will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. ALA President Sari Feldman, in introducing Booker, noted that his call for transformation fit with the librarian perspective on open access, freedom, and democracy. Booker was educated at Stanford University, Yale Law School, and the University of Oxford. But his parents, among the first African-American executives at IBM in the 1960s, never let him forget the family's roots. As such, he has championed causes such as internet access for all; individual opportunity; the importance of second chances for the formerly incarcerated; and being personally involved in improving the rights of others. Some of those lessons have been hard- U.S. Senator Cory Booker YMA Awards Announced Attendees applauded as winners were announced during the Youth Media Awards (YMAs) on Monday January 11. The YMA - a can't-miss event at the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits - drew more than 1,500 attendees. (See pages 8 and 9 for the complete list of winners). see page 10 Chelsea Clinton Inspires Librarians at Closing Session New book encourages kids to make a difference in their communities Terra Dankowski, American Libraries Y ou might think Chelsea Clinton's famous political parentage inspired her sense of action, but truth is, she's been curious, passionate, and engaged since before her dad and mom got to the White House. Clinton spoke of her inspirations and her new book at the Midwinter Closing session on Monday January 11. As a child, Clinton read the newspaper with her Cheerios in the morning. She wrote a letter to Ronald Reagan about the Bitburg Cemetery controversy, stamped with rainbow and heart stickers "as a gesture of goodwill," she said. Her grandmother, Dorothy, was a big influence, particularly when it came to education access issues. And she cites 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save the Earth as the book that empowered her to care for the environment. These inspirations are evident in Clinton's latest children's book, It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired, and Get Going! (Penguin Young Readers, 2015), which she promoted to a packed room at the Closing Session. Penguin distributed complimentary copies of the book, recommended for ages 10-14, which covers topics such as poverty, homelessness, gender equality, and epidemics. The book encourages see page 12 2016 MIDWINTER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS http://2016.alamidwinter.org/news-0 http://www.alamidwinter.org

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ALA Cognotes 2016 Midwinter Meeting Highlights