Tell Us What You Think And Fill Out The RUSA Review Survey!

Below, please find a link to The RUSA Review: Summer 2014 Survey of our Members

The 2014-2015 year will be one of great opportunities and potential change for RUSA.  We will be developing a new strategic plan, which offers us the chance to craft a new vision for our association and determine how we will focus our attention over the next 3-5 years.

We ask that you please take a few minutes to answer seven questions.  Tell us what you value most about your RUSA membership and share with us how you want to be involved.  http://tinyurl.com/2014-RUSA-Survey
Your responses to this survey are extremely important and will provide us with key data that will be used as we enter the strategic planning process.

Any information you include will be managed confidentially. We are committed to continuous improvement in all areas of our association and your participation in this survey is very much appreciated.

Please note that the deadline is July 18th.
Thank you for your time and participation!

The members of the RUSA Review Task Force
Denise Forro
Joseph Thompson (RUSA President)
Kathleen Kern (RUSA Past President)
Kate Kosturski
Chris LeBeau (Task Force Co-Chair)
Cindy Levine
Mary Mintz
Liane Taylor
Christina Thompson
Joseph Yue
Diane Zabel (Task Force Co-Chair)

Showcase the Andrew Carnegie Medals For Excellence In Fiction And Nonfiction At Your Library, Bookstore And Reading Group!

Only two winners are picked from a shortlist of six titles, from the previous year’s  Booklist  Editors’ Choice and RUSA CODES Notable Books list.

Here’s how

  • Use social media, websites, newsletters, and other communication channels
  • Tweet using #ala_carnegie and join the conversation.
  • Include the link ala.org/carnegieadult  for more information on the award.
  • Show us your #shelfie! Invite readers to Tweet a shelfie (self + shelf = shelfie) with one of the fiction shortlist titles (pictured below) with #ala_carnegie hashtag! Be sure to track the #ala_carnegie to keep up with current announcements about this year’s awards!

Create Displays

  • Use the free downloadable poster, bookmark it in the “Resources” tab and use the annotations for each title as listed below and quotes from the Booklist reviews.
  • Awards seals are available from the ALA online store.
  • See the links to the publishers’ websites (often including reading guides) with detailed information, discussion questions, and insights on each title.

And The 2014 Finalists Are . . . A Drum Roll Please . . .   

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Finalists:

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

In the wake of his nefarious father’s abandonment, Theo, a smart,13-year-old Manhattanite, is extremely close to his vivacious mother—until an act of terrorism catapults him into a dizzying world bereft of gravity, certainty, or love. Tartt writes from Theo’s point of view with fierce exactitude and magnetic emotion. More information about the author/book. Read the Booklist review.

Claire of the Sea Light, by Edwidge Danticat
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

In interlocking stories moving back and forth in time, Danticat weaves a beautifully rendered portrait of longing in the small fishing town of Ville Rose in Haiti. The stories flow seamlessly one into another and are distinguished by Danticat’s luminous prose. More information about the author/book. Read the Booklist review.

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

To the women in the hair-braiding salon, Ifemelu seems to have everything a Nigerian immigrant in America could desire, but the culture shock, hardships, and racism she’s endured have left her feeling like she has “cement in her
soul.” Americanah is a courageous novel of independence, integrity, community, and love.
More information about the author/book, a Reader’s Guide and an author Q&A. Read the Booklist review.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists:

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, published by Simon & Schuster.

This masterful study examines the complex relationship between two presidents, Roosevelt and Taft, who played major roles in the Progressive movement of the early twentieth century. Acclaimed historian Goodwin offers a superb re-creation of a period when many politicians, journalists, and citizens of differing political affiliations viewed government as a force for public good. More information about the author/book. Read the Booklist review.

On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand Year History, by Nicholas A. Basbanes, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Combining crisp technical explanations with vivid historical and contemporary profiles, Basbanes unfolds the two-thousand-year story of paper, revealing in the process that paper is nothing less than an embodiment of humanity.
More information about the author/book Read the Booklist review.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, by Sheri Fink, published by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,a division of Random House, Inc.

As the floodwaters rose after Hurricane Katrina, patients, staff, and families who sheltered in New Orleans’ Memorial Hospital faced a crisis far worse than the storm itself. Fink’s breathtaking account of the storm and what happened at
Memorial offers a fascinating look at how people behave in times of crisis. More information about the author/book. Read the Booklist review.

For more Information on the Andrew Carnegie Medals and How you can Showcase them, click here.

About Booklist
Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers’ advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online includes a growing archive of 160,000+ reviews available to subscribers as well as a wealth of free content offering the latest news and views on books and media.
About the Awards
These awards were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year, and are ALA’s first single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction. The finalists and eventual winners reflect the expert judgment and insight of the seven-member selection committee of library professionals who work closely with adult readers.

The awards are co-sponsored by Booklist and RUSA (Reference and User Services Association,) who provide the longlists of selected titles from the previous year’s RUSA CODES Notable Books and Booklist’s Editors’ Choice. The awards are funded through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in recognition of Andrew Carnegie’s deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world.

 

 

Join us in the Conversation: RUSA’s Discussion Groups in Las Vegas!

Engage in powerful, solution-oriented member communities through a variety of discussion groups where librarians and library workers can come together to share ideas, programs, best practices, trends, stay up to date on emerging issues, and network with the best in the field.

Join us at any of RUSA’s Discussion Groups with topics ranging from a discussion of various strategies for best serving job seekers in the public library to the controversial topic of homework help in libraries. For a complete list of RUSA Discussion Groups being held in Las Vegas, go here.

RUSA Discussion Groups are open to all. Please join us in the conversation!