My First Day as an APALA’s Emerging Leader at ALA Midwinter Conference in Dallas
As an early career librarian, it is important for me to learn leadership and problem solving skills, network with my peers, and be involved with ALA. ALA’s Emerging Leaders program does just this. I am honored to be selected to the 2012 Class of Emerging Leaders and to be APALA’s Emerging Leaders sponsorship recipient.
At ALA Midwinter in Dallas, the Emerging Leaders received a daylong leadership orientation and training, as well as an opportunity to meet fellow Emerging Leaders. My team members include a library assistant at a community college in Florida, a director of a public library in Arkansas, and I (a reference and instruction librarian at a college in upstate New York). We are a small group compared to others who are in groups of four or five. Our project is working with REFORMA’s Noche de Cuentos, a family literacy focus program. The purpose of the project is to create a website to serve as a national clearinghouse for Latino programming resources that will help librarians plan Latino heritage programs for their communities.
After getting to know my team members, we received training on project management and intentional leadership. Some of the things we learned about intentional leadership are that intentional leaders are self-aware and socially aware and that leaders influence others and are influenced by others. We then worked on a team exercise, where we were given straws, pins, and thumbtacks. Our assignment was to connect the straws using the pins and thumbtacks, with the goal of building the straws as high as possible, standing for 30 seconds. You can imagine the problem solving, creativity, and humor involved. A picture of our finished product is shown. My team members and I worked great together as we were open to suggestions and were flexible. It was a great exercise to demonstrate how we will work together on our Emerging Leaders project.
We also worked on a personal learning plan and a team communication plan. It was beneficial to outline these in person and in writing before we begin our project. Additionally, we learned about ALA’s organizational entities as some of ALA’s leaders spoke about the work of their units and how their work fits in the overall ALA structure.
Later that evening, ALA President Molly Raphael and President-elect Maureen Sullivan held a reception to celebrate Emerging Leaders and ALA leadership. I had the opportunity to meet more Emerging Leaders, ALA leaders, and other library professionals. I was in the company of good people and good food.
I had a wonderful time at the Emerging Leaders training. I feel invigorated after meeting everyone, and I look forward to beginning my project with my team members. I am extremely thankful to APALA for sponsoring me. It is an honor to be the Emerging Leaders sponsorship recipient.
Tina Chan, 2012 APALA Emerging Leader
APALA Announces Winners for 2012 APALA’s Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
APALA Literature Awards Committee announced 2012 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature winners at the American Librarian Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting, held January 20-24 in Dallas.
The press release was made in Cognotes during the Conference on Monday, January 23, 2012 and also in American Libraries. The full press release statement can be found in the link below.
The winners in each category are:
- ADULT FICTION CATEGORY
- Winner: “The Submission” by Amy Waldman and published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Honor: “Leche” by R. Zamora Linmark and published by Coffee House Press
- ADULT NON-FICTION CATEGORY
- Winner: “The Woman Who Could Not Forget: Iris Chang Before and Beyond the Rape of Nanking – a Memoir” by Ying-Ying Chang and published by Pegasus
- Honor: “The Bangladeshi Diaspora in the United States after 9/11: From Obscurity to High Visibility” by Shafiqur Rahman and published by LFB Scholarly Publishing, LLC
- CHILDREN’S LITERATURE CATEGORY
- Winner: “The Great Wall of Lucy Wu” by Wendy Wan-Long Shang and published by Scholastic
- Honor: “Vanished” by Sheela Chari and published by Hyperion
- YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE CATEGORY
- Winner: “Orchards” by Holly Thompson and published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
- Honor: “Level Up” by Gene Luen Yang and published by First Second Books
- PICTURE BOOK CATEGORY
- Winner: “ The House Baba Built: An Artist’s childhood in china” by Ed Young and Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Honor: “Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji” by F. Zia, illustrated by Ken Min and published by Lee & Low Books
Special thanks to the APALA Literature Awards Committee, including Jury Chair Dora Ho; Adult Fiction Chair Michelle Baildon and members Suhasini L. Kumar, Karen Fernandez, Eileen Bosch and Jerry Dear; Adult Non-Fiction Chair Buenaventura “Ven” Basco and members Eugenia Beh, Samanthi Hewakapuge, Monica Shin and Yumi Ohira; Children’s Literature Chair Ngoc-Yen Tran and members Shu-Hsien Chen, Tamiye T. Meehan, Laksamee Putnam, Katrina Nye and Maria Pontillas; Young Adult Literature Chair Lana Adlawan and members Jade Alburo, Lessa Pelayo-Lozada, Karla Lucht and Candice A. Mack and Picture Book Chair Susan Hoang and members Jeannie Chen, Kate Vo-Thi Beard, Amber Painter and Danielle Date Kaprelian.
An affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) was founded in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to working together toward a common goal: to create an organization that would address the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities. For more information about APALA, visit www.apalaweb.org
TWO EXCITING APALA EVENTS DURING ALA MID-WINTER IN DALLAS!
APALA social dinner will be held on Sunday, January 22 at 6:00pm at Zenna Thai & Japanese Restaurant, 1914 Laws Street Dallas, TX 75202. The menu is available at:http://zennarestaurant.com/
Please fill out the form below and let us know if you are coming. Space is limited so please RSVP soon: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGJZMVZscnI2U240VDVUVlJMZDJFX3c6MQ
In addition, APALA will be touring the Crow Collection of Asian Art on Friday, January 20 at 12:50 PM. The Crow Collection is located at 2010 Flora Street Dallas, TX 75201 and is near the Aloft Hotel, which is APALA’s hotel block.
The tour will include the exhibits, Qiu Anxiong: Animated Narratives, Fabled Journeys in Asian Art: South and Southeast Asia and East Asia, and the Crow’s signature collection of Chinese Jade. Each tour will last approximately 45-55 minutes.
Directions to the Crow Collection can be found at http://www.crowcollection.org/. Admission is free and lunch is on your own.
If you would like to attend the tour, please RSVP at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFZVMVh0bF9tYXR3WVdYMXBBY2VxOHc6MQ
For additional questions, please contact Eugenia Beh, our local arrangements chair – Dallas,eugenia_beh@yahoo.com
Article about APALA’s 30th Anniversary
Asian Fortune has an article online about the 30th Anniversary of APALA. Check it out!
http://www.asianfortunenews.com/site/article_0810.php?article_id=2
Family Literacy
Dale P. Lipschultz from ALA’s Office of Literacy and Outreach Services shares a post about family literacy.
From the OLOS blog:
