Professor Peter Hayes (Northwestern U.) specializes in thehistory of Germany in the 20th century, particularly the Nazi period. He did an admirable speaking job, presenting a dark and serious topic while dealing gracefully with the challenges of a late evening audience digesting its dinner and a very noisy, joyful event happening in the room next door. Learn more about Peter Hayes at http://www.history.northwestern.edu/people/hayes.html.

Professor Hayes challenged eight widely-believed "facts" about the Holocaust, pointing out that when the public thinks it knows something, scholarship often has trouble making itself heard. His hope was that the audience at AJL might be more receptive than many others, and allow new ideas to penetrate. Here are the eight misconceptions that, when examined more closely, turn out to be untrue. (From notes scribbled during the keynote address, please forgive any errors.)

1. Anti-semitism played a major role in bringing Hitler to power.

Apparently we've put the cart before the horse. "More Germans became anti-semites because they became Nazis, than became Nazis because they were anti-semites."

2. Killing Jews was Hitler's goal from the beginning.

The original intention seems to have been to remove the Jews from German-held territory, but it soon became apparent that by gaining territory they were gaining Jewish residents. The more practical way to remove them was to kill them, but the Nazis realized this only after they started taking over other countries.

3. TheAllies could have saved many more Jews than they did.

Anti-immigrant sentiment was very strong at the time, and politicians who pushed for bringing in more Jews would have been voted out of office. Also, 3/4 of the six million were killed out of reach of Allied intervention in northeastern Europe, in a short period of time, while the Germans seemed to be winning the war.

4. Jews could have done more to save themselves.

Jews were a tiny percent of the population in all the countries where they lived, and being more assertive wouldn't have had much impact on the larger population's opinions/actions. The Jewish ghetto uprisings that did happen were quickly squashed and didn't really save lives, so more uprisings probably wouldn't have saved more lives.

5. Greater solidarity with or sympathy for Jews in Europe would have saved more Jews.

Individual people saved other individual people, but to really raise the numbers you would have needed institutions or governments working to save Jews. More Jews were saved by the collaborating French government than by individual righteous gentiles, just because governments have more power than individuals. But most of the governments in Europe had been taken over by the Nazis.

6. Killing Jews diverted resources and weakened the German war effort.

It didn't take large numbers of guards or even trains to deal with imprisoning/killing Jews, compared to the number of soldiers overall.

7. Persecution of Jews was driven by greed (ie the desire to take the Jews' possessions).

Taking Jewish possessions was a side benefit for the Nazis, not their main goal. They got more money by taking over banks in the countries they invaded than by taking Jewish possessions.

8. The Holocaust represents modernity and its dangers.

The image of mechanized murder has been overblown. "Auschwitz was a dis-assembly line, but more like a 19th century slaughterhouse than a modern factory." Most killing was done with simple tools: a gun, carbon dioxide from a car. And cultural genocide is certainly not a new idea.

Conclusion: the common denominator of all 8 myths is the desire to shield ourselves from the horror, to think that thinks could have been better or to find a place to lay blame. But these are prettifications of history.

--Heidi Estrin

Posted via web from The AJL Convention Blog

If you use Twitter, and you'd like to tweet about the AJL convention, please use the hashtag #AJL09 when doing so. This will allow readers to find all the AJL convention related tweets more easily.

If you don't even know what I'm talking about, you might enjoy this simple video, "Twitter in Plain English."

 

Heidi Estrin

Posted via web from The AJL Convention Blog

 

The New England regional conference brought together librarians from all over the Northeast. Sessions about social networking helped to expand the topic of maximizing library services through resource sharing. An excellent article highlighting the conference appeared in the Jewish Ledger. Read it at http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2009/06/24/news/news12.prt.

Heidi Estrin, AJL Public Relations Chair, has established a new blog for people to use at Convention. The blog is very easy to use. The subject of your email becomes the title of your post, and the body and attachments of the email become the content of your post. You can post text, photos, music, video, documents and all kinds of files, emailing it to post@ajl09.posterous.com. The blog can be read at ajl09.posterous.com.

Please look at the blog for a post about a podcast with Convention speaker Mark Blevis about social media. The podcast is also on Book of Life podcast site.

See you in Chicago!

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

The annual AJL Convention will begin on July 5th in Chicago at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. With almost 200 registrants despite the economy and a terrific program thanks to our hard-working Chicago team, it should prove to be a memorable few days. Here are some highlights that should not be missed:

The CEU this year is entitled: “Promoting Digital Research in the Jewish Library: Resources and Strategies” with  instructor  Michael Kay.

Jewish Authors Luncheon features over 35 authors including several Sydney Tayor Award Winners.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Peter Hayes will speak at Sunday dinner on "The Holocaust: Myths and Misconceptions"

Special Plenary Session Monday at 5:15: Barbara Schneider-Kempf, the Director General of the Berlin State Library in Germany, speaking on:"Stolen books: The Third Reich's Exchange Center and the Prussian State Library in the years 1933 till 1945. Aspects of the supply with literature under the control of National Socialism"

Mentor Mingle: Here is the "official" invitation:

You are cordially invited

TO:  Mentor Mingle for all prospective mentors and mentees

When:  Sunday, July 5^th, 2009 at 5:00 PM 

Where:  Parlor C

 Are you a seasoned librarian, library student, or newcomer to a library position? You'll find that the Mentor Mingle is a golden opportunity to meet new friends, share ideas, and participate in the zeitgeist of the times.  Full-year commitments are not mandatory.  This year we're inviting members to step forward and be mentors to newcomers for the duration of the Convention.  We'll pair you with a new member if you haven't met one already on your own. Are you interested in a greater challenge? Why not consider guiding a new professional throughout the coming year to establish contacts, learn about available resources, and build a long-lasting relationship?  Stephanie (Sara Leah) Gross, Chair of AJL Mentoring, will be on hand with a short presentation about the process, what it entails and some of the benefits of the program.  If you'd like to know more before the event, you may contact her directly at: ajlmentoring@gmail.com.  However, reservations are not required.  Please note: This year we're hoping to establish mentoring leaders at the local chapter or regional level in order to improve our effectiveness.  Your participation can make a great difference in someone's career!

Check out all the programmed events and look for new and exciting ways that AJL can help you!

See you in CHICAGO!

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

LIBRARIANS’ CONVENTION LUNCHEON FEATURES ILLINOIS AUTHORS

Association of Jewish Libraries Serves Up Authors at Sheraton Chicago on July 7

 

(Chicago – May 20, 2009) Teachers, librarians, educators and booklovers are invited to attend a gala Jewish Author Luncheon on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers at 12:00 noon. The event will feature over thirty-five authors and illustrators who create books for adults and children. A book signing and reception will follow the luncheon, which is being held in conjunction with the annual Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) national convention.

 

During the luncheon and reception, authors and illustrators will circulate among the attendees to highlight their works, ranging from children’s picture books, adult fiction and non-fiction, poetry, and short stories to cookbooks and scholarly works.  Several of these authors will also present sessions during the AJL convention.  On Monday, July 6, Esme Codell (Vive La Paris, Hanukkah Shmanukkah), Ilene Cooper (Sam I Am, Jewish Holidays All Year Round), Brenda Ferber (Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire, Julia's Kitchen), and Esther Hershenhorn (Chicken Soup By Heart) will explore “Writing the Jewish Children’s Book” and Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry, How to Ruin My Teenage Life) will discuss “Bat Mitzvah & Beyond: Jewish Girls Coming of Age in Fiction.”  On Tuesday, July 7, Peter Ascoli will speak about his book about his grandfather, Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South. 

 

Local authors will be joined by authors and illustrators from across the United States and Israel.  Richard Michelson (Northampton, Massachusetts) and Raul Colon (New City, New York), author and illustrator of As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom, the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Reader, Aranka Siegal (Williams Island, Florida), author of Memories of Babi, the 2009 Sydney Taylor Honor Award Winner for Older Readers, and Anna Levine (Jerusalem, Israel), author of Freefall, the 2009 Sydney Taylor Honor Award Winner for Teen Readers, will all present during sessions on Tuesday, July 7 and will also be recognized during the awards banquet on Tuesday evening.  Pearl Sofaer (San Francisco, California), author of Baghdad to Bombay: In the Kitchens of My Cousins, will speak about the gems of Mizrahi liturgy on Monday, July 6.

 

“The AJL convention will draw over 200 Judaica librarians from synagogues, day schools, community centers, seminaries, universities, and research institutions from across North America and around the world,” explains Rachel Kamin, a member of the local planning committee and chair of the Jewish Author Luncheon. “We want to showcase and celebrate the wealth of Jewish literary talent in the metropolitan Chicago community during the convention.”

 

Tickets for the Jewish Author Luncheon and Reception are available for $75.00 and include an elegant kosher meal and delicious dessert reception.  Copies of the participating authors’ works will be available for sale.  To purchase tickets, or for more information about the Association of Jewish Libraries and its Chicago convention, contact Marcie Eskin at mjeskin@comcast.net or (847) 676-1480, or visit www.jewishlibraries.org.

 

For more information, contact:

Rachel Kamin, Planning Committee

Association of Jewish Libraries Annual Convention

(847) 432-8903 x242

rachelkamin@gmail.com

www.JewishLibraries.org

 

Over Passover, I traveled to Israel to meet with AJL members, authors, illustrators, and publishers to see if we could reorganize a group there. My first day in Jerusalem, I met with Elhanan Adler at the National Library.

The library was very exciting. They are working on digitizing some of their collection to make it accessible to more people.

I stayed with Anna Levine, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Regional Advisor for the Middle East and Sydney Taylor honoree for her Young Adult novel Freefall . We went to the once in every 28 years Blessing of the Sun at the Kotel.

When in Jerusalem, I also met with Jeff at Jerusalem Books. He is looking forward to seeing everyone in Chicago where Jerusalem Books will be exhibiting.

Travelling north to Tsfat, I met with Esther Heller from Targum Press.

In Tel Aviv, I met Peninah Moed Koss, who is known in Israel for her picture books about Berale, a lovable snail. In the U.S. her young adult novel Real Time gives teens a thought provoking look at a suicide bomber and his victims. Peninah will be joining us in Chicago this summer and sent a present to each traveler to Convention-- a prayer to recite upon arriving safely.

David Elazar and Ya'akov Aronson were also very helpful in making suggestions about how to organize a group in Israel. Many thanks to everyone who met with me and offered me their hospitality and time and ideas. I hope to explore this in more detail when we all meet at Convention.

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

On behalf of the Research Libraries, Archives, and Special Collections Division of the Association of Jewish Libraries, I am pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Judaica Reference and Bibliography Awards:

Reference Award: Hundert, Gershon David. 2008. The YIVO encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe . New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press.

Bibliography Award : Richler, Binyamin, Malachi Beit-Arie, and Nurit Pasternak. 2008. Hebrew manuscripts in the Vatican Library: catalogue. Citta del Vaticano: Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana.

Bibliography Honorable Mention: Lubetski, Edith, and Meir Lubetski. 2008. The book of Esther: a classified bibliography. Bible bibliographies. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press.

I would like to thank the Judaica Reference and Bibliography Awards committee for their hard work: Jim Rosenbloom, Barry Walfish, Daniel Rettberg, Rachel Simon, Philip Miller, and Rachel Ariel.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Gershon Hundert and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research; Benjamin Richler, Malachi Beit-Arie, Nurit Pasternak, and the Staff of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts at the Jewish National and University Library (National Library of Israel); and our association member Edith Lubetski, and her spouse Meir Lubetski.

Rachel Leket-Mor

Chair of Judaica Reference and Bibliography Award Committee

Association of Jewish Libraries

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:

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

  The first AJL Northwest Regional Conference took place February 15th in Seattle. The event was organized to generate interest in the upcoming annual convention being planned for July , 2010. The regional conference had teachers, librarians and others interested in children's literature for a full day workshop featuring guest speakers Lisa Silverman and Rivy Poupko Kletenik. The conference was titled "From Word to Deed: Teaching Our Children Through Literature." AJL Chapter Relations Chair represented the National Association of Jewish Libraries Council at the conference.

The event was planned by Toby Harris, Janet Heineck, Rita Frischer, and Tessa Benion, Publicity was sent to local schools, synagogues, and libraries and attendees received credit from the Bureau of Jewish Education.

To see pictures of the event, click here.

Congratulations to everyone invloved in planning this outstanding event!

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

Seattle is the Evergreen State. AJL is starting to plan our 2010 Convention in this beautiful Northwest location. Consequently, David Hirsch, AJL Vice President/President-Elect, and I traveled up the coast to meet with our local Seattle committee, Janet Heineck, Toby Harris, and Rita Frischer, to check out hotels and lay some groundwork. We stayed at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront and the Fairmont Olympic. Both hotels are downtown, in easy walking distance of many classic Seattle sights. Both hotels are gorgeous and elegant and have great meeting space. We are waiting for the proposals and will go with the one that gives us the best rates (of course!). But either hotel will be a dynamite spot for the Convention and family vacations. Both hotels treated us royally and bent over backwards to impress--- the Fairmont even copied our AJL logo in chocolate as a welcome dessert! Check out the photos to whet your appetite for Seattle in 2010...

While in Seattle, I spoke at the public library in North East Seattle about "Libraries as Bridges." We were able to generate some interest in the Association of Jewish Libraries and to encourage some of the local Seattle people to participate in helping to plan the Convention (and be involved before and after!). Many thanks to Rita Frischer for arranging the program and to Marion Scichilone, Seattle Public Library Branch Manager  of

the North East Branch for making space available. Meeting in this location emphasized the broad application of this program to anyone interested in  books and libraries.

A very special treat at the program was a visit by an icon of Jewish Children's literature -- Chaya Burstein. She is now living in Seattle and still writing!

"til Next Time,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

2009 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS

ANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES

 

(New York—January 7, 2009) Richard Michelson and Raul Colon, author and illustrator of As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom, Karen Hesse, author of Brooklyn Bridge, and Valerie Zenatti, author of A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, are the 2009 winners of the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award. 

 

The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Chicago this July.

 

Michelson and Colon will receive the 2009 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers Category for As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom, published by Alfred A. Knopf.  Two very special clergymen, one a rabbi, the other an African-American reverend are raised in divergently different countries yet experience similar levels of persecution and bigotry that will one day bring them together. As colleagues in America’s struggle for civil rights, they march together from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965. Colon’s colored pencil and watercolor illustrations “offer a beautiful complement to the text, describing two unique paths from childhood to adult life – Martin’s in the rich, warm brown-tones of the American south and Abraham’s in cool blues and grays that reminded the illustrator of old World War II movies.  When the two exemplary men join in their march for tolerance, the palettes merge in full color harmony,” comments Debbie Colodny, a member of the Award Committee. This book is recommended for grades 2-5.

 

Hesse will receive the 2009 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Older Readers Category for Brooklyn Bridge, published by Feiwel & Friends. While his family left the anti-Semitism of Russia to build the American dream, Joey Michtom’s dream is to visit the glittering Coney Island. “Crafting a story from the spark of a true event, the invention of the Teddy Bear in 1903, Hesse masterfully weaves multiple themes of hard-work, survival, homelessness, and familial dedication with interlocking and parallel stories of families who live reasonably well opposite those less fortunate living in the shadows below the imposing Brooklyn Bridge,” comments Rita Soltan, a member of the Award Committee. This book is recommended for grades 5-8. Hesse also won the 1992 Award for Older Readers for Letters from Rifka, and a 2004 Honor Award for Older Readers for The Cats in Kransinski Square.

 

 

Zenatti will receive the 2009 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers Category for A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, published by Bloomsbury.  “This story about the relationship between an Israeli girl, Tal, and a Palestinian boy, Naim, via e-mail and instant messaging, is honest but hopeful.  Well-written and compelling, the tale of their relationship conveys the confusion, anger, exhaustion, and depression felt by many young people during the 2003 intifada,” comments Susan Berson, a member of the Award Committee. Zenatti’s memoir, When I Was a Soldier, was a 2005-6 AJL Notable Book for Older Readers.

 

Six Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2009.  For Younger Readers, Honor Books are: Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride by Deborah Bodin Cohen with illustrations by Shahar Kober (Kar-Ben), Sarah Laughs by Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Natascia Ugliano (Kar-Ben), A is for Abraham: A Jewish Family Alphabet by Richard Michelson with illustrations by Ron Mazellan (Sleeping Bear Press) and Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen with paintings by Jim Burke (Philomel Books).   Aranka Siegal’s Memories of Babi (Farrar Straus and Giroux) was named an Honor Book for Older Readers, and Freefall by Anna Levine (Greenwillow Books) was named an Honor Book in the Teen Reader Category.

 

In addition to the medal-winners, the Award Committee designated twenty-two Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2009: six in the Younger Readers Category, ten in the Older Readers Category, and four for Teens.  Genesis—the Book with Seventy Faces: A Guide for the Family by Esther Takac with illustrations by Anna Pignataro (Pitspopany Press) and Celebrating with Jewish Crafts by Rebecca Edid Ruzansky with photographs by Roberto Zeballos-Peralta (self-published) impressed the Award Committee with their uniqueness and range. They have been designated Notable Books for all ages. Notable titles, and more information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, may be found online at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org. Interviews with winning authors will be posted on prominent children’s literature blogs as part of a “blog tour” beginning on January 18, 2009; details will be posted on the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog at www.sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com.

 

BLOG TOUR

 

The Sydney Taylor Book Award, AJL's annual prize for Jewish children's and teen literature, will be celebrating and showcasing its 2009 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour! Here is the preliminary schedule:

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.

Posted by Heidi Estrin at 10:01 AM 0 comments

Labels: 2009, online resource , Sydney Taylor Book Award

 

 

  

On Sunday, February 1, 2009, seventy-seven people gave up watching part of the Superbowl to attend the 7th annual AJL Western Regional Conference on Jewish Literature for Children. This year the conference focused on using literature to teach about the Holocaust.

The morning started with coffee and rugellah. After all, what's a Jewish event without good food? Everyone registered in the library at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance and then heard a panel discussing using Holocaust literature. The panel was moderated by Adaire Klein, library director of the Wiesenthal Center. Other panelists were Lisa SIlverman from Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, Hamida Bosmajian from the University of Seattle, Talma Shultz from Facing History and Ourselves, and Eric Sundquist from UCLA. Each panelists shared some information and then answered questions from the floor.

Everyone then toured the Museum of Tolerance exhibit on the Holocaust including a look at some of the archival materials and primary documents.

After lunch, attendees chose to go to one of the small group sessions:

Viewing the Holocaust Through the Lens of Literature with Hamida Basmajian and Eric Sundquist

or Holocaust Literature as Part of the Curriculum in Elementary, Middle, and High School with Lisa Silverman, Talma Shultz, and Adaire Klein.

 

The day concluded with an autograph and dessert party. Authors in attendance were Sonia Levitin, Susan Goldman Rubin, April Halprin Wayland, Sylvia Rouss, Gretchen Woelfle, Ann Stampler, Joan Stuchner, Karen Winnick, Erica Silverman, and Barbara Bietz.

 

A copy of the full program is below. The panel and one of the sessions was taped and will be available as a podcast shortly on the AJL web page.

 

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

 

Jewish Literature for Children

Western Regional Conference

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Sponsored by Sinai Temple Blumenthal Library, Association of Jewish Libraries,

          Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California, Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance,

UCLA Department of Jewish Studies

 

PROGRAM

 

9:00 – 4:00                  Manuscript Consultations

                                               

9:00 – 9:30                  Registration and coffee

                                               

9:30 – 9:35                  Greetings and Introduction

                                               

9:35 – 10:45                Panel on Teaching the Holocaust through Literature

Adaire Klein, Moderator, is the founding Director of Library and Archival Services at the Simon Wiesenthal Center-Museum of Tolerance. She holds a B.A. in Hebrew Literature and a M.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University.

                                   

Hamida Bosmajian, Professor Emerita of the English Department at Seattle University, is the author of  Sparing the Child. Grief and the Unspeakable in Youth Literature about Nazism and the Holocaust  (Routledge , 2002) and Metaphors of Evil. Contemporary German Literature and the Shadow of Nazism (U. of Iowa Press, 1979). The Children’s Literature Association honored Sparing the Child with the ChLA Book Award in 2004.

 

Talma Shultz is an instructor and lecturer with Facing History and Ourselves, a nonprofit organization that offers teacher training programs for Middle School and High School Holocaust Education.

 

Lisa Silverman is the director of the Sinai Temple Blumenthal Library at Sinai Temple. She leads classes and book groups, along with organizing community programs on literature. She is the children’s editor of Jewish Book World magazine and also a reviewer of children’s literature for various other publications. She has often been a featured speaker at library conventions or literary conferences. She serves as a judge for the children’s division of the National Jewish Book Award and also for the “Once Upon a World” Book Award.

 

Eric J. Sundquist is the UCLA Foundation Professor of Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles.  Professor Sundquist received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.  He has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and Vanderbilt University and is the author or editor of twelve books, the most recent of which are King’s Dream (2009); Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America (2005), which received the Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute Book Award.

                                               

11:00 – 12:30              Museum Tour

Everyone will go through a metal detector when entering the Museum.  All bags and purses will be x-rayed.  We ask that the following items not be brought to the Museum: cameras, food, candy, gum, beverages, sharp objects, mace and electronic devices.

                                               

12:45 – 1:45                Lunch

 

2:00 – 3:30                  Small Group Sessions with Panel Members

 

                                    I. Viewing the Holocaust Through the Lens of Literature: Hamida                                                  Basmajian and Eric Sundquist

               

                FRAMING HOLOCAUST NARRATIVES AS CHILDREN’S LITERATURE—              AUTHOR, GENRES, AND READERS: Hamida Basmajian

o        Perception of “Children’s Literature” as an academic field of study.

o        Authorial motivation to write Holocaust narratives as children’s literature.

o        Contexts and readers of Holocaust narratives for North American children and youths. The aim of testimony in the context of children’s literature.

 

o        Structures, Conventions, Genres—

§         The survivor journal, memoir, or autobiography as privileged form –ethos of the survivor as hero, the testimony of the survivor as victim.

§         Fictionalized autobiographies based on authorial childhood memory.

§         Fictional Holocaust narratives and acquired memory—possibilities and limitations.

The following narratives will be referred to as examples during this session: The Diary of Anne Frank, Ruth Minsky Sender The Cage and The Holocaust Lady, Carol Matas Daniel’s Story, Gudrun Pausewang, The Final Journey, John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Doris Orgel, The Devil in Vienna, Jane Yolen, The Devil’s Arithmetic and Briar Rose. There will also be some handouts helpful to teachers and librarians.

 

ISSUES IN HOLOCAUST LITERATURE, THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE: Eric Sundquist

o        Early responses, before “the Holocaust.”  Hersey, Uris, and others.

o        Priority of testimony and its relation to fiction.  Elie Wiesel and others.

o       

The problem of authenticity and hoaxes.  Kosinski, Wilkomirski and others.

o        The Americanization of the Holocaust.  Anne Frank’s Diary and others.

o        Second-generation approaches.  Philip Roth, Thane Rosenbaum, and others.

Eric Sundquist will discuss the evolution of Holocaust literature, particularly from the American perspective, from the immediate aftermath of the war through late-twentieth-century responses by those of the second generation, including children of survivors.  Issues to consider include the priority of testimony and its relation to fiction; the problem of authenticity and hoaxes; the “Americanization” of the Holocaust; and the self-reflexive and sometimes postmodern strategies of some second-generation writers.

 

II. Holocaust Literature as Part of the Curriculum in Elementary, Middle,  

     and High School: Lisa Silverman, Talma Shultz, and Adaire Klein

 

TEACHING THE HOLOCAUST USING PICTURE BOOKS: Lisa Silverman

Lisa Silverman has prepared an extensive annotated bibliography of illustrated books dealing with the Holocaust and will present a PowerPoint presentation examining the good and not-so-good literature of the genre. Grade appropriateness and literary value will be discussed.

 

FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES: A MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM: Talma Shultz

                                   

3:30 – 4:00                  Autograph Party and Dessert

                                               

 

 

Please visit our Jewish Children’s Literature Marketplace and the Museum of Tolerance Gift Shop!

 

 

 

 

This conference has been made possible through the generous donations of Sinai Temple Blumenthal Library, The Association of Jewish Libraries , the Simon Wiesenthal Center-Museum of Tolerance, UCLA Department of Jewish Studies, and the authors, professors, and editors who have contributed their time and expertise.

 

 

**Manuscript Consultations available**

Last Sunday I attended the Once Upon a World Award ceremony at the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance. This award is funded by Sonia and Lloyd Levitin and presented through the Museum of Tolerance to promote literature for children and teens that exemplify courage, tolerance, and understanding. This year the two award winners were Gretchen Woelfle for her biography Jeanette Rankin:Political Pioneer and Ellie Crowe for her picture book Surfer of the Century: Duke Kahanamoku  On Monday, fourth grade students from two local elementary schools participated in a video conference with the author and a school in Hawaii to talk about Duke . On Tuesday, two high school classes video-conferenced with the author and a school in Missoula, Montana where Jeanette Rankin was from. What a great experience for all!

It seemed especially appropriate to be discussing Jeanette Rankin, the first woman to be elected to Congress (even before women were granted the right to vote in the greater United States) on a day when the first African American was elected President.

B'shalom,

Susan Dubin, President

Association of Jewish Libraries

Heidi Estrin, Association of Jewish Libraries' Public Relations Chair has issued the following press release:

                         NEWS RELEASE

ISRAEL@60 READING LIST RELEASED

November, 2008 

The Association of Jewish Libraries has released its new "Israel@60" suggested reading list, with over thirty titles on Israel for adults and children. The list includes fiction and non-fiction, and offers a brief description of each book. Websites and videos on Israel for adults and children are listed as well.The Israel@60 reading list is available in pdf format on the Association of Jewish Libraries website at www.jewishlibraries.org."Books about Israel are written from so many points of view, some friendly, some not," said Susan Dubin, President of the Association of Jewish Libraries. "With the sixtieth birthday of the state of Israel being celebrated this year, we felt the time was right to showcase books with a positive view of the country's history and achievements."

The Israel@60 reading list was compiled by Association of Jewish Libraries member Andrea Rapp, librarian at the Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio, and an expert on the topic of Israel. A Judaica librarian for over twenty years, Andrea holds a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in History from Northwestern University, and a Master's in Library Science from the University of Minnesota. Her article on  Israel-related literature, "Lies in the Library," was published in Reform Jewish Magazine (summer 2005).

This is an outstanding resource to learn more about Israel!

B'Shalom

Susan Dubin

AJL President

 

 

 

 

Author talks, lectures on Jewish literature, panel discussions, and workshops are among the offerings of the newly launched Association of Jewish Libraries Podcast. Available at

www.jewishlibraries.org/podcast, the program provides audio that enhances and enriches the listener's appreciation of Jewish book culture.

 

The podcast will include material recorded at the Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention, as well as recordings of Jewish literary events across North America. A wide range of topics will be covered, from the academic to the hands-on, from children's literature to technology.

 

"Jews are book lovers, and Jewish librarians even more so," says Susan Dubin, President of the Association of Jewish Libraries. "The AJL Podcast gives us a way to share our enthusiasm with others, without geographical or scheduling restrictions. Now everyone can learn and enjoy!"

 

New podcast episodes will be posted every few weeks. Listeners can hear the show online at

www.jewishlibraries.org/podcast, subscribe via iTunes or other feed readers (using the feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/ajlpodcast), receive episodes by email via FeedBlitz, or listen by phone at (651) 925-2538.

 



 

 

For the last week in August and the first two weeks of September I was visiting Turkey. While there, I managed to explore several ancient sites of famous libraries. Here I am at Pergamon, where the second largest library of the ancient world once stood. The library once rivaled the famous collection in Alexandria with over 200,000 volumes. It is said that Egypt stopped sending papyrus to Pergamon to keep the library from growing. The people in Pergamon met this challenge by inventing parchment to write on!

 The picture below is of the beautiful library in Ephesus. It was three stories high with a two story tall reading room! At its height, it contained 12,000 scrolls. Scrolls were kept in temperature controlled cupboards to preserve them. Although the card catalog is not still in existence :), historians tell us that the scrolls were organized by subject for easy retrieval.

 

 

Unfortunately, I did not get to see any Jewish libraries while there. There are still Jewish communities in Turkey (most Jews live around Istanbul), and Turkey has good trade relations with Israel. Historically, Turkey has provided a safe haven for Jews, offering sanctuary after the expulsion from Spain and during the Holocaust. Although most of the population are Muslims, Turkey's government is still a secular democracy. I found the people that we met to be very friendly and easy to talk to. It was definitely a marvelous trip!

Wishing everyone a joyous Sukkot,

Susan Dubin

AJL President

Right after returning from the AJL Convention, I headed out to Mickey Mouse Land  (Anaheim, California) to attend ALA. I spent all day on Friday at the Library Advocacy Workshop . It was very valuable even though much of the information had to do with influencing state and local governments to fund public and school libraries. There were some good suggestions for fundraising and a few good lists of how to present your case about the need for libraries and librarians. The AJL Convention also had a workshop on Valuing Libraries given by Joanne Roukens. If a chapter would like to bring Joanne Roukens to present a regional workshop, they should contact me to arrange it. It is well worthwhile!

I also spent time visiting the exhibits and speaking to some of the vendors about attending the AJL Convention next year in Chicago as well as trying to set up some agreements for AJL members to get discounts. More on that as agreements are worked out! For now, AJL members can get discounts from KarBenand Pitspopany Publishers.

'Til Next Time,

Susan Dubin, AJL President