ALA Annual 2011: LJ Movers & Shakers Celebrated in New Orleans
By Rebecca MillerJune 24, 2011
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CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF MOVERS & SHAKERS Top row, l. Michelle Blankenship, Bloomsbury Publishing, with 2009 Mover Lauren Pressley and the afternoon's featured speaker, author Jesmyn Ward (Salvage the Bones); r. LJ's Cathy Hoey with Ward, as she signs books for attendees. Middle row, l. 2011 Mover Sue Polanka, 2010 Mover Lisa Carlucci Thomas, 2011 Mover Courtney L. Young, 2011 Mover Deb Noggle, and 2011 Mover Sarah Steiner; r. Polanka with fellow 2011 Movers Aaron Tay and Buffy Hamilton. Bottom row, l.: LJ's Francine Fialkoff introducing the 2011 "class" to the crowd; 2011 Joanna Axelrod (r.) proudly shows off her Mover & Shaker certificate. Photos Copyright 2011 Sean Gardner/Getty Images |
If you want to know if the future of libraries is bright, look no further than the LJ Movers & Shakers, now a full 500 innovators from across the field and around the globe.
LJ celebrated the class of 2011 today during a festive luncheon at New Orleans's French Quarter restaurant Broussard's, where representatives from all 10 years of the LJ award shared their early reactions to the ALA annual conference just getting underway on Friday.
The event was marked by a focus on the location. Broussard's owner, Gunter Preuss, thanked the group for coming back to New Orleans, noting that ALA was the first conference to return after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the city in 2005. Later, Jesmyn Ward spoke passionately about the source of her new novel, Salvage the Bones (Bloomsbury, Sept.), detailing her own experience of the devastating storms. Having grown up in a deeply troubled and impoverished family in DeLisle, MS, she said her work is shaped by a desire to find the meaning in the tragedies that she's witnessed, and to "pull some redemption from it."
Check out our Flickr slideshow of the Movers & Shakers who showed up for the event.
See our ALA Conferences site for complete event coverage from the editors of Library Journal and School Library Journal.
