At the Midwinter meeting of the Board and Council of the Association of Jewish Libraries held in New York January 11 and 12, we voted to support the Convention with national funds so that the registration fee could be held at last year's price of $450 even though actual costs will be somewhat higher this year. The hotel rate will be $159 per night which is much cheaper than the ALA rates the following week. In addition to subsidizing the registration fee, we also our Convention subsidy budget to $30,000 to provide funds for those who need them. Forms for convention subsidies will be online very soon. If you need funding to get to the Convention this year, please be sure to apply!
Besides increasing budget lines to help our members, the Council voted to establish an advocacy award for the decision makers in institutions who support their library programs. A new committee will work on the details and present them at the annual meeting at Convention. It is our hope that recognizing those who support libraries will encourage more support.
Two regional conferences are planned for February --
Western Regional Children's Literature Conference on using Holocaust literature will be held at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance on February 1st. Contact Lisa Silverman at
lsilverman@sinaitemple.org for information.
Northwest Regional Conference "Teaching Values Through Children's Literature" will take place on February 15 in Seattle. Contact Tessa Bennion at
ajlnw@earthlink.net for more information.
Ten AJL members will be presenting as part of two panels at the World Jewish Congress this August. We also are planning a joint program with ALA this summer. If you are planning to present at any upcoming conferences, please list AJL as one of your organizations. It is great PR!
The Blog tour with
Sydney Taylor Award winners is underway. Congratulations to all the award winners and thanks to those hosting them on their blogs. The schedule is below:
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Karen Hesse, author of
Brooklyn Bridge
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at
Jewish Books for Children
Monday, January 19, 2009
Richard Michelson
Author of
As Good As Anybody, Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
and
Author of
A is for Abraham, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
The Well-Read Child
Monday, January 19, 2009
Ron Mazellan, illustrator of
A is for Abraham
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
Tales from the Rushmore Kid
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jane Yolen, author of
Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
The Boston Bibliophile
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Anna Levine
Author of Freefall, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category
and
Author of Jodie’s Hanukkah Dig, Notable Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Abby (the) Librarian
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jim Burke, illustrator of
Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
The Page Flipper
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jacqueline Jules, author of
Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
Chicken Spaghetti
Friday, January 23, 2009
Deborah Bodin Cohen, author of
Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
Becky’s Book Reviews
Friday, January 23, 2009
Shahar Kober , illustrator of
Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at
Into the Wardrobe
Please be sure to visit these blogs on and after these dates to read interviews with these amazing authors and illustrators.
Two new AJL publications are available on Amazon and Createspace -- Creating a Collection by Merrily Hart and Jewish Classics for Kids by Linda Silver.
The Accreditation Committee is designing a logo that accredited libraries can post on their websites. In addition, a committee is exploring the idea of offering Judaic Librarian certification through online courses at teh University of Maryland.
JTN, Jewish Television Network, is providing AJL a link to their programming so that AJL members can access author interviews and other programs of interest. The reader will be on a page that can be accessed through the AJL web page.
A full report of the business transacted at Midwinter will be in the next AJL Newsletter. Please read it and share your thoughts!
B'shalom,
Susan Dubin
AJL President