Nayeri, whose A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea tells the story of twin sisters separated at age 11, one to grow up in America, the other to remain in Iran. Nayeri, who moved to Oklahoma from Iran when she was ten, said “Maybe Iranians think that I don’t have enough authority to write about Iran.” Having lived in the United States since the 1980s, she explains, “The Iran I experienced is worlds away from the Iran that exists now.” Ultimately, she says, “You write what comes to you and you do the best with it.” Stories are not anyone’s property, she maintains, concluding that “It belongs to you if you write it and you do the work.

— Debut Authors Discuss Authenticity and Research at ALA Midwinter

Wrinkle, whose novel, Wash, follows Washington, a slave who worked as a “sire,” talked about how she, as a white woman, came to write a novel about an enslaved black man. “I didn’t even think about anyone reading it,” she began, but “I’ve been challenged by the question, ‘Why do you have the right to talk about this story?’” It’s a question she’s sought to answer through her own family history: Wrinkle is a descendant of slave-owners, and one of her own ancestors was rumored to sell the services of his male slaves as sires. “Having slave-holding ancestors means that it’s my story too,” Wrinkle said. “This is something that needs to be written about.

— Debut Authors Discuss Authenticity and Research at ALA Midwinter

Douglas Lord keeps making me laugh really loud in my cubicle.

The big news in reference was that the Dictionary of American Regional English, edited by Frederick Cassidy and Joan Houston Hall and published by Belknap/Harvard Univ. Press, won the Dartmouth Medal. The Dartmouth is RUSA’s (ALA’s reference and user services division) top honor, but as part of it’s user-services beat, RUSA also recognizes many other works; see the entire list at Wyatt’s World.

Reference publishers had many new products and announcements at the show, which ranged from the unveiling of massive efforts that took years to produce, down to innovative marketing efforts surrounding existing materials.

Reference News from the Show | ALA Midwinter 2013

The buzz around the conference was a natural evolution of the preoccupations that have dominated librarianship recently, with no major new issues coming out of left field: the disruptive and transformative potential of new technologies continued to dominate the conversation, from ebooks to maker spaces (an incredibly well-attended track on Monday).

The technology theme continued at LJ’s own events, both held at Seattle’s Metropolitan Grill. The Librarian of the Year dinner, honoring Jo Budler, state librarian of Kansas, featured many testimonials by attendees to her groundbreaking work on ebook ownership for libraries (along with her straightforward demeanor and profusion of pets). And Lilia Pavlovsky, honored at the reception for the LJ Teaching Award 2012, is renowned for both teaching effective use of cutting edge technology, and using new technologies to teach.

Likewise, meeting efforts were devoted to wrestling with stubborn evergreen conundrums of the field, like how best to serve homeless patrons — something the Intellectual Freedom Committee declined to enshrine in the Library Bill of Rights this conference — and raise enough money to address ongoing needs, let alone expand the library mandate through new initiatives like ALA’s The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, a partnership with the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, kicked off at Midwinter by ALA President Maureen Sullivan via a press conference and series of related conversations.

I wrote up the most fun, but also the least newsworthy, session I went to at Midwinter—Library Family Feud—90 percent because I took the trouble to gif it.

Team Librarian came back with “Things You Bring to the Beach.” The number one answer, “book,” was not their first guess, but they were able to successfully fill out the whole board, with answers like “umbrella” and “sunglasses.” I have to hand it to librarians for being a surprising bunch: “bathing suit” did not make the list at all.

Douglas Lord, LJ’s “Books for Dudes” columnist, got riled up on behalf of Team Librarian, which did not win, and left the best comment I have ever received in my career at LJ.

3 Great Tumblarian Conversations

Too much to reblog, folks! You guys are all over these topics, but I wanted to point them out for readers who may not have seen them yet.

Over at pandamans: YA Programming Budgets.

Over at icarntspell: Gender-related reading materials.

Over at thelifeguardlibrarian: What does ALA mean to you?

This last one has garnered a lot of interesting responses, in particular this one from ehbeesea3.

thebronzemedal:

Look what my awesome coworker brought back from ALA!

Virtually Attending Conferences

From A Librarian’s Guide to Etiquette:

If you are unable to attend the ALA Midwinter Meeting, but still want to experience it virtually, just dim the lights in your office, crank down the temperature to 55 F, and spend the day Tweeting non sequitur notes to yourself (e.g., “Lack of consistency in ebook lending policies,” or “I wish they would do something about the temperature in these conference rooms.”)

This also works if you are suffering from conference withdrawal.

thepinakes:

I may not be at #alamw13, but I support #sweatervestsunday from a thousand miles down the coast. The defense of intellectual freedom crosses state lines!

Daniel is repping the vest!

fancylibrarian:

Pike Place Market. I love it but I have to say most of the ones I know are pretty loud.

This is a true fact.

ala-midwinter:

Woot! The teaser for the #SweaterVestSunday looks pretty sweet! Way to go Intellectual Freedom Fighters!!!

Etta & I.

mollitudo:

Creatures of the sea!

Stephanie / bookavore and I went on a lunch adventure.

Yes, kellymce lent me a sweater vest for Sweat Vest Sunday.