Hordes of librarians to converge on Chicago June 23-29
More than 20,000 library workers, educators, writers, publishers and special guests are expected to attend the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, June 23 to 29, at McCormick Place. The conference features hundreds of meetings and discussions on such topics as: library funding, technology in libraries, the USA Patriot Act, and reading and literacy.
Conference highlights include:
* U.S. Senator Barack Obama keynotes the conference beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. "Funding and Privacy - Congress is in your Library" will be the subject of
his speech.
* Author Nancy Pearl ("Book Lust"), author Erik Larson ("Devil in the White City"), humorist David Sedaris ("Me Talk Pretty One Day") and actor Henry Winkler ("Happy Days") will each take the stage during the conference. Author Ray Bradbury ("Fahrenheit 451") also will speak via live
videoconference.
* Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Seymour M. Hersh ("Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib"), author Nathaniel Philbrick ("Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842"), Langston Hughes Medal-winning poet Nikki Giovanni ("The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998"), foreign correspondent Mark Kurlansky ("1968: The Year that Rocked the World") and new U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser ("Delights and Shadows") will share the stage at the Notable Books Breakfast
Sunday morning.
* First Amendment scholar and author Geoffrey R. Stone ("Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime") will lead a program on "Intellectual Freedom: A Casualty of War?" Monday afternoon.
* Winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Margaret Edwards, and Michael Printz youth literature awards will be honored during various celebrations. Francesca Lia Block, Kevin Henkes, Laurence Yep, Cynthia Kadohata, among others, are scheduled to appear.
* Hundreds of exhibits showcasing the latest book releases and library technology trends.
For more information on the conference, please visit
www.ala.org/annual. Headquartered in Chicago, the ALA is the oldest and largest library association in the world with over 64,000 members. |
