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RUSA Town Hall at Midwinter 2015

Greetings RUSA Members!

The annual RUSA Town Hall meeting will take place at RUSA Board Meeting 1 in Chicago:

RUSA Board I

Saturday, Jan 31, 2015

01:30 pm 03:30 pm

Hilton Chicago – Grand Tradition Room

This meeting is open to all and we encourage all, especially our RUSA members, to participate.

If you can’t make it to Chicago, please feel free to join us virtually in Adobe Connect:

To join the meeting, click here:

http://ala.adobeconnect.com/r25ojgjqhqe/

There is a chat function within the meeting room to type comments and questions. Board members will be monitoring the chat and relaying the comments and questions back and forth between chatters and the group in Chicago.  Once you’re in Adobe Connect, you will see the chat box in the lower right corner. Simply start typing in the chat box to participate.

The board is seeking input from our membership on the following questions:

 

  • What are the big challenges that you’re facing at your library right now? 

 

  • How can RUSA help you address these challenges?

 

  • As we develop a new strategic plan for RUSA, where should RUSA focus the majority of its attention?

 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best Wishes

Susan Hornung

Executive Director, ASCLA/RUSA

shornung at ala.org

 

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RUSA’s Learning Options—Join us at Midwinter to help us plan the future!

Interested in RUSA webinars and other learning activities?  Tell us what you want. We are listening!  The Learning Opportunities and Knowledge Coordination Task Force wants your ideas and comments about RUSA continuing education—topics, how and where you want to learn, and ideas for web and print learning materials. Help us plan for the future of your RUSA learning opportunities.

Date:  Sunday, February 1, 2015 – 1:00 – 2:30 PM. Hilton Chicago, Marquette Room.

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Year’s best in books and media for adults unveiled at Midwinter

All ALA Midwinter Meeting attendees are invited to celebrate the announcements of adult literature’s next classics at the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) upcoming Book and Media Awards Ceremony and Reception in Chicago.

This year the event will host special guest Margaret Hawkins, author of “Lydia’s Party” (Viking, 2013). The Chicago-based author has written two previous novels, “A Year of Cats and Dogs” and “How to Survive a Natural Disaster” and a memoir about her sister, “After Schizophrenia: The Story of My Sister’s Reawakening.” Hawkins wrote about art for many years for the Chicago Sun-Times and is currently a senior lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Following the ceremony Hawkins will be there to sign books. You can find more information about the author at www.margarethawkins.com.

Tradition continues with the announcements of the Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration, Reading List and Notable Books List—lists that are selected and used by readers’ advisory librarians nationwide—as well as the winners of the Dartmouth Medal for a significant reference source, Sophie Brody Medal for excellence in Jewish literature, Outstanding Reference Sources and many more. Avid readers and book lovers alike are sure to expand their own To-Be-Read lists.

The reception will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1 in the Williford Room of the Hilton in Chicago and will offer food and a cash bar. For those who cannot attend, information about the winners will be posted on the ALA homepage, RUSA blog and tweeted via @ala_rusa and #literarytastes. This event is made possible by our sponsor, NoveList, a division of EBSCO.

The winners announced at this event will shape the author lineup for the Literary Tastes event at ALA’s 2015 Annual Conference in San Francisco. Attendees at this free event will enjoy a light breakfast while listening to authors speak about the art and craft of writing. Immediately following the event, authors will be available for book signings. This event is free to all Annual Conference attendees; registration opens Jan. 12, 2015 at www.ala.org/annual.

 

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