The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

Dear RUSA Members:

Hopefully you have heard about two new awards sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation, the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. RUSA and Booklist are co-sponsoring and administering the awards. The first winners of these new annual literary prizes will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim this June. 

These new awards are an incredible accomplishment and it is a testament to the hard work of many people in RUSA, particularly many past CODES members, that we were the division selected to administer the grant, together with Booklist.  I’d also like to convey a special thanks to our reader’s advisor stars – Joyce Saricks and Neal Wyatt – who made this possible, to Nancy Pearl who is serving as the chair of the awards committee and who will bring national recognition to this award, and to Susan Hornung and the RUSA staff who, together with others in ALA, worked incredibly hard on making this award possible. 

The awards will be given to the author of the best book for adult readers in two categories—fiction and nonfiction— each year. Two additional authors will be shortlisted as finalists in each of the categories.  Winning authors will receive a $5,000 cash award, and finalists will each receive $1,500. The list of finalists will be announced in May.  The awards are made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York on the occasion of the foundation’s centennial and in recognition of Andrew Carnegie, one of the greatest benefactors of libraries both in the United States and around the globe, who recognized libraries as indispensable to the progress of society.  The 50 titles under consideration for the prize are being drawn from the annual Booklist Editors’ Choice and RUSA CODES Notable Books lists.

This is the first time that ALA will offer single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction.  All of us at RUSA are incredibly thrilled about these new awards and we hope that you will be able to join us this June to see the first winners. The Carnegie Awards reception will be held Sunday, June 24, 2012, 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm. See you there!

Sincerely,

Gary White

RUSA President

Don’t Miss These Events in Dallas!

Dear RUSA Members:
 
With the beginning of a brand new year, I invite you to participate in upcoming events at the Midwinter 2012 conference, if you will be in Dallas. We are starting the new year off right with some fun and interesting events:
 
RUSA Midwinter Social at Midwinter Conference, Dallas
What better way to kick off the new year than having an opportunity to eat, drink, catch up with old friends, make new friends, and learn more about RUSA!  Past, present and future RUSA members are all invited to this event, which will be held Saturday, January 21, 2012, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Adolphus Hotel, Century Ballroom A. Appetizers and drinks will be available, and RSVPs are not required. This event is generously sponsored by Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, and Endnote. More information is available at www.endnote.com.
 
Book and Media Awards at Midwinter Conference, Dallas
The Book and Media Awards reception is one of RUSA’s signature events at Midwinter, co-sponsored with our CODES section. We will share the results of our member volunteers’ hard work selecting the best publications of the year and honor those who have won awards relating to book reviewing, promotion, or publishing. The reception is a lovely event, a great party and our way to thank member volunteers for their hard work and a celebration of the best books and resources of the year. The reception will be held on Sunday, January 22, 2012, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at the Fairmont Hotel in the Oak Room. Past, present and future RUSA members are invited!
               
Town Hall Session at RUSA Board Meeting 1, Midwinter Conference, Dallas
Don’t miss our Town Hall at the beginning of RUSA board meeting, Session I. All RUSA members are invited to come and share constructive insights, perceptions, comments, and thoughts about RUSA at the first RUSA Midwinter board session, which takes place at the beginning of the meeting on Saturday, January 21, 2012, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm at the Dallas Convention Center (DCC), room D161. We want to hear from you and will use what we hear to help plan the strategic direction of RUSA. Both board meetings are open to all and take place at the following times:

  • Session I, Saturday, January 21, 2012, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Dallas Convention Center (DCC) – D161
  • Session II:  Monday, January 23, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Dallas Convention Center (DCC) – D161

 
If you’re not able to attend in person, we plan to have chat rooms open in ALA Connect and monitored by volunteers during the Town Hall session, who will be conveying ideas and comments from members using the chat rooms. The public chat rooms are here: http://connect.ala.org/node/64406.
 
More than one chat room will be available to accommodate all who wish to participate, so please participate at the beginning of the meeting and share your thoughts!
 
If you will be in Dallas, I would love to hear from you while at conference so don’t hesitate to say hello!  I wish you all a 2012 filled with happiness and good health!
 
Best Wishes,
Susan Hornung
RUSA Executive Director
shornung@ala.org