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Special Events

Details on Special Events, Speakers and other Events occuring during the Annual Conference will be added as they are confirmed. All events below are included in a full conference registration unless the description indicates that addition registration is required.


ALA President's Program
"A Contract With Our Future"
Featuring Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Sunday, June 24, 2007, 3:30-5:30 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Robert Kennedy, Jr. Join ALA President Leslie Burger as she welcomes Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for a discussion of the important role that our natural surroundings play in our work, our health, and our identity as Americans. In "A Contract With Our Future," the concluding program in the Annual Conference Presidential Transformation Track series of programs, Kennedy will explore why good environmental policy is good business policy, good economic policy, and good policy for posterity. By taking steps to ensure that our libraries follow sound environmental policies and procedures, we can contribute to the transformation of our communities, our nation and our planet, enabling future generations to live in an environment that is safe, clean, and beautiful.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions. Kennedy was named one of Time magazine's “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. The group's achievement helped spawn more than 125 Waterkeeper organizations across the globe.

Kennedy serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant district attorney in New York City.

He has worked on environmental issues across the Americas, and has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands. The New York City watershed agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development.

Among Mr. Kennedy's published books are the New York Times bestseller Crimes Against Nature (2004); The Riverkeepers (1997); and Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr: A Biography (1977). His articles have Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Nation, Outside magazine, the Village Voice, and many other publications.


Opening General Session
Featuring Bill Bradley

Saturday, June 23, 2007, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Washington Convention Center Hall D
Bill Bradley Senator William W. Bradley, 63, is a Managing Director of Allen & Company LLC. From 2001-2004, he acted as chief outside advisor to McKinsey & Company’s nonprofit practice. He was a Senior Advisor and Vice Chairman of the International Council of JP Morgan & Co., Inc. from 1997-1999. During that time, he also worked as an essayist for CBS evening news and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, University of Notre Dame and the University of Maryland. Senator Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 – 1997 representing the state of New Jersey. Prior to serving in the Senate, he was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and a professional basketball player with the New York Knicks from 1967 – 1977 during which time they won 2 NBA championships. Currently, Senator Bradley hosts American Voices, a weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio that highlights the remarkable accomplishments of Americans both famous and unknown. His new book is The New American Story, which asks “What will it take to make America a better, stronger, truer country?" Bradley believes that America is at a teachable moment when we are compelled to reevaluate our political system, our leadership, our agenda as a nation, and ourselves as citizens. With clarity and urgency, Bradley shows why the story we are being told now about who we are as a people is not true. He then offers a new story about our nation, based on America’s rich heritage and his belief in the character of the American people. Bradley explores what changes need to be made in our parties, in our politics, and in citizen activism to ensure America’s future.


Closing Session
Featuring Garrison Keillor

Tuesday, June 26, 2007, 8:00 – 9:00 am
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Garrison Keillor Garrison Keillor is the author of more than a dozen books, including Lake Wobegon Days, The Book of Guys, Love Me and Homegrown Democrat. He is also the creator, host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac heard on public radio stations across the country. He was born in Anoka, MN in 1942 and graduated from the University of Minnesota. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and daughter, and has two grandsons. He won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters. 2006 marked the release of the film, A Prairie Home Companion as well as the independent bookstore that Garrison opened in St. Paul, Common Good Books.


Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Ken Burns

Saturday, June 23, 2007, 8:30 – 10:00 am
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Ken BurnsKen Burns has been making documentary films for more than thirty years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. The late historian Stephen Ambrose said of Burn’s films, "More Americans get their history from Ken Burns than any other source." Burns's films are among the most watched on public television, including The Civil War, which had audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990, and the critically acclaimed JAZZ (2001) and Baseball (1994). Burns’s next film, The War, which is co-produced and co-directed by his long-time colleague Lynn Novick, will air on PBS in September, 2007. The War is a seven-episode series that tells the story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of nearly 40 men and women from four quintessentially American towns. The series explores the most intimate human dimensions of the greatest cataclysm in history — worldwide catastrophe that touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America—and demonstrates that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives. Burns was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1953. He graduated from Hampshire College Amherst, Massachusetts in 1975 and went on to be one of the cofounders of Florentine Films.
Sponsored by PBS

Khaled Hosseini will not be appearing at the Annual Conference due to a scheduling conflict.

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Patricia Cornwell

Saturday, June 23, 2007, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Patricia CornwellPatricia Cornwell’s first crime novel, Postmortem, was published by Scribner’s in 1990. Initially rejected by seven major publishing houses, it became the first novel to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure in a single year. In Postmortem, Cornwell introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta as the intrepid Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1999, Dr. Scarpetta herself won the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author. Following the success of her first novel, Cornwell has written a string of bestsellers featuring Kay Scarpetta, her detective sidekick Marino, and her volatile niece, Lucy. The most recent is Predator, published in 2005. In addition to the Scarpetta novels, she has written three best-selling novels featuring Andy Brazil, two cook books, and a children’s book. Intrigued by Scotland Yard’s John Grieve’s observation that no one had ever tried to use modern forensic evidence to solve the murders committed by Jack the Ripper, Cornwell began her own investigation of the serial killer’s crimes. In Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed (2002) she narrates her discovery of compelling evidence to indict the famous artist Walter Sickert as the Ripper. A new edition of Portrait of a Killer with new and startling evidence will be published in the near future. Her newest novel, Book of the Dead, featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, is due to be published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in October 2007.
Sponsored by Penguin Group

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring David Baldacci

Saturday, June 23, 2007, 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
David Baldacci For the past ten years, number one New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci’s riveting and incisive novels have thrilled countless readers, taking them to the heights of government power and into the minds of those who pull the strings, and to the wonders of small town America and into the hearts of characters we love. He is the author of twelve best-selling novels, Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, and The Collectors.
The tremendous success of his first novel, Absolute Power, which was adapted into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman, turned Baldacci into an instant household name. This year, Warner Books will publish three new novels: a re-packaged edition of the Baldacci gem, Wish You Well; a new novel in the popular King/Maxwell series, Simple Genius; and a third installment in Baldacci’s thrilling Camel Club series, Stone Cold.
Baldacci is passionate about keeping families reading. In 1999 he founded, along with his wife, the Wish You Well Foundation. The organization’s mission is to support family literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. His foundation has recently partnered with America’s Second Harvest, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the U.S., to donate books to families in need. The joint initiative is called “Feeding Body and Mind.”
Sponsored by Hachette Book Group USA

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Nancy Pearl

Sunday, June 24, 2007, 8:30-10:00 am
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Nancy Pearl The former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book, and author of the best-selling Book Lust, Nancy Pearl celebrates the written word by speaking at libraries, civic groups, fundraisers, and various literary events across the country. She is also a regular commentator about books on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” and NPR affiliate stations KUOW in Seattle and KWGS in Tulsa. Her book reviews appear in the “Reader’s Shelf” column of Library Journal. Readers clamored for the Book Lust sequel, appropriately titled More Book Lust, making it an easy pick for The Today Show Book Club. Aspiring readers were also treated to the ultimate book lovers’ tool in the Book Lust Journal where they could record all of their own reading adventures. Now readers great and small can indulge in the newest addition to the series, the highly anticipated Book Crush: For Kids and Teens-Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest. This essential guide for parents, teachers and librarians will inspire a lifelong love of reading through Pearl’s recommendations for all of the best books for children and teens. In 2004, Pearl became the 50th winner of the Women’s National Book Association Award for her extraordinary contribution to the world of books. Pearl continues to bring her recommendations and knowledge of books to students of her “Book Lust 101” course at the University of Washington. She is also the host of the television show “Book Lust” on the Seattle community channel.
Sponsored by Sasquatch Books

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Anthony Romero

Sunday, June 24, 2007, 10:30-11:30 am
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Anthony Romero Anthony D. Romero took the helm of the American Civil Liberties Union in September 2001, a week before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Under his leadership, the ACLU has worked tirelessly to protect civil liberties through its Safe and Free campaign and its efforts to hold government officials accountable for the treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and in Afghanistan. Other new ACLU initiatives developed under Romero¹s leadership have focused on racial justice, religious freedom, gay rights, reproductive freedom and privacy. Born in New York City to parents who hailed from Puerto Rico, Romero was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He is a graduate of Stanford University Law School and Princeton University¹s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs. Romero was a Dinkelspiel Scholar at Stanford, a Cane Scholar at Princeton, and a National Hispanic Scholar at both institutions. He is a member of the New York Bar Association and has sat on numerous nonprofit boards. His new book is In Defense of our America. Against the backdrop of post-9/11 America, Romero takes readers behind the scenes to tell seminal stories from the frontlines of the war on terror and looks at the rise of fundamentalist politics in America. With unparalleled access to key players in some of the landmark tests of the Bill of Rights in this country, Romero weaves together a compelling narrative that provides an unusually full look at the state of civil liberties as America struggles to protect the rights of its citizens and advance national security.
Sponsored by HarperCollins

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Judy Blume

Sunday, June 24, 2007, 1:30-2:30 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Judy Blume Born in 1938 and raised in Elizabeth, NJ, Judy Blume is now one of America's most noteworthy children's authors. Her books have sold over 75 million copies in over 20 different languages. Blume is known for her humorous, true-to-life depictions of childhood and adolescence, as in her enormously popular Fudge series. She is known also for not shying away from the tough issues that confront youths. Blume was one of the first children's authors to deal with controversial topics such as racism (Iggie's House), menstruation (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret), and teenage sexuality (Forever), and she did so in a way that continues to speak to readers over 30 years later. Her frank portrayals of these issues have made her one of the most frequently banned authors. As such, she has lead fights against censorship, editing a collection of pieces by banned authors entitled Places I Never Meant to Be. In 1996, the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association awarded Blume the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has also been honored by the National Book Foundation with the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award.
Sponsored by Penguin Group

ALSC Charlemae Rollins President's Program,
part of the Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Marian Wright Edelman

Monday, June 25, 2007, 8:00-10:00 am
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Marian Wright EdelmanMarian Wright Edelman, Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families. The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. She founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense Fund. For two years she served as the Director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University and in 1973 began CDF. She received Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings which include: Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change; Stand for Children; Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors; Hold My Hand: Prayers for Building a Movement to Leave No Child Behind; I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children; and I Can Make a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children.

American Libraries presents Julie Andrews,
A special program celebrating the magazine's centennial

Monday, June 25, 2007, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Julie Andrews An entertainment icon the world over, Julie Andrews has enchanted generations, on stage, screen, and television for over 50 years. Her films Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music are two of the most beloved productions of all time. Her unparalleled career in musical theater introduced the world to My Fair Lady and Camelot, two of the most successful Broadway shows ever produced. Recently, she has garnered a new generation of fans with her role as Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries. She published her first children's book, Mandy, in 1971 and as Julie Andrews Edwards she and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton recently published a series of books, including The Great American Mousical, from HarperCollins, where she has launched her own imprint, "The Julie Andrews Collection." A longtime advocate for children and literacy, she works with UNICEF and Save the Children.
Sponsored by American Libraries Magazine and HarperCollins

Auditorium Speaker Series
Featuring Irshad Manji

Monday, June 25, 2007, 1:30-3:30 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Irshad ManjiThe New York Times has dubbed Irshad Manji “Osama Bin Laden’s worst nightmare.” She takes that as a compliment. Manji is the best-selling author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. She also travels the globe to lecture about the liberal reformation of Islam. Her audiences include Amnesty International, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the United Nations Press Corps, the Democratic Muslims of Denmark, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the International Women’s Forum, the Swedish Defense Research Agency, the Pentagon, the Jean Jacques Rousseau Institute, and universities from Cambridge to Notre Dame. Currently, Manji is a Senior Fellow with the European Foundation for Democracy. She writes columns that are distributed worldwide by the New York Times Syndicate. She is also making a feature film about Islam. Among the ideas it will showcase is “ijtihad,” Islam’s lost tradition of independent thinking.
Sponsored by St. Martin’s Griffin, Holtzbrinck Publishers

PLA President's Program and Awards Presentation,
part of the Auditorium Speaker Series
featuring Armistead Maupin

Monday, June 25, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Washington Convention Center Ballroom C
Armistead Maupin PLA President Susan Hildreth invites you to attend PLA’s premiere event at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference featuring acclaimed author Armistead Maupin. Due to a campaign-related scheduling conflict, Elizabeth Edwards will not be attending the PLA President’s Program.
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, and Further Tales of the City have been the basis of three highly acclaimed TV miniseries. He also is the author of Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Maybe the Moon, and The Night Listener, which is being released as a major motion picture by Miramax starring Robin Williams and Toni Collete. His new novel, Michael Tolliver Lives, will be published in summer 2007.
PLA is pleased to present Armistead Maupin through the generous support of HarperCollins, as part of the ALA Auditorium Speakers Series. Following his talk and the awards presentation, attendees are welcome to join PLA President Susan Hildreth for a gala, music-filled reception.


ALA Awards Ceremony
All ALA recognition awards will be presented at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 26 at 5:45 pm, immediately preceding the Inaugural Banquet. (Tickets not required for Awards Ceremony)

Inaugural Banquet
Join us for the Inaugural Banquet to honor incoming president Loriene Roy and the Divison Presidents-Elect at the Grand Hyatt DC on Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 7:00pm. The theme for this year's event is "Celebrating Community, Collaboration, and Culture.” Attire for the evening is Black Tie or Cultural Dress. Make sure to buy your tickets in support and celebration of ALA's first American Indian President. Tickets are $85.00 and available through registration.


Council and Membership Meetings
The following schedule is preliminary and may be subject to change.
All sessions take place in the Washington Convention Center Ballroom A

ALA Council/Executive Board/Membership Information Session
Sunday, June 24, 9:00-10:00 am

ALA Membership I
Saturday, June 23, 4:00-5:00 pm

ALA Membership II
Monday, June 25, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

ALA Council I
Sunday, June 24, 10:45 am - 12:15 pm

ALA Council II
Tuesday, June 26, 9:15 am - 12:45 pm

ALA Council III
Wednesday, June 27, 8:00 am - 12:30 pm

ALA-APA Information Session
Sunday, June 24, 10:00 - 10:30 am

ALA-APA Council
Monday, June 25, 10:15 - 11:15 am


LAMA President's Program
featuring Frances Hesselbein

Sunday, June 24, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Image Frances Hesselbein is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Leader to Leader Institute, and was the Founding President of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation and CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, 1976-1990. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honor, in 1998 by President Clinton “as a pioneer for women, diversity and inclusion.” In 2002, Mrs. Hesselbein was the first recipient of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Security Series Award for her service “to national security and the nation.” Hesselbein is the author of Hesselbein on Leadership, and introduces Be, Know, Do: Leadership the Army Way with General Eric K. Shinseki. She is the co-editor of 21 books in 28 languages, and is Editor-In-chief of the award-winning Leader to Leader journal. She is the recipient of 18 honorary doctoral degrees and has spoken on leadership, ethics and transformation in 67 countries as well as to leaders in all three sectors across the United States.


Third Annual Bookcart Drill Team World Championship
Sunday, June 24, 2007, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Washington Convention Center Hall D
The Third Annual Bookcart Drill Team World Championship will take place during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The event is always a good time!

Registration for teams is now being accepted, or just come out and enjoy the show!


World Premiere of "The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians Through Film"
Friday, June 22, 2007, 8:00 pm
Doors open at 7:30 pm with a red-carpet walk.
The film premiere will begin at 8:00 pm.
Washington Convention Center Hall D

This is a no-charge event, however attendees must have a conference or exhibits badge, or be the guest of a person with a badge. Black Tie optional.

The Hollywood Librarian is the first full-length film to focus on the work and lives of librarians in the entertaining and appealing context of American movies. American film contains hundreds of examples of librarians and libraries on screen -- some positive, some negative, some laughable and some dead wrong. Dozens of interviews of real librarians will be interwoven with movie clips of cinematic librarians and serve as transitions between the themes of censorship, intellectual freedom, children and librarians, pay equity and funding issues, and the value of reading. Join us for the premiere of this film! Click here to view the film's trailer.


Get Involved!

The following events are free or require a small fee, but due to the nature of the events, require registration. Registration for these events is available through the online registration form.

The Insider's Guide to Capitol Hill
PLA-IC
Monday, June 25, 2007, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
The PLA Legislative Committee proposes to lead an insider's tour of Capitol Hill and surrounding environs designed to demystify the halls of government and remove some of the intimidation that may keep some ALA and PLA members from attending National Library Legislative Day. The plan includes a guided tour through the House and Senate Office Buildings, the Capitol, and other government buildings in the Capitol complex. This fun and entertaining trip will include a stop at a Congressional Office, a look at a committee room, and stops for refreshments at the cafeterias in the bowels of the Capitol complex. This event is free but has limited availability. (NOTE: This event is now full and is no longer accepting registrations)

Library Day on the Hill
Tuesday, June 26, 2007, 12:00 - 6:00 pm
Join hundreds of fellow attendees for the rare opportunity to show the value of libraries to the Members of Congress. The day will include a unique display on the importance of all types of libraries, informing legislators and passers-by about each type of library and the services they provide. Buses will take participants to the Hill in the afternoon to visit your members' offices with colleagues. You'll be prepped with informational handouts, perfect for educating Members on the impact libraries have on people's lives. For more information, please visit www.ala.org/dayonthehill.

Librarians Build Communities!
ALA-CRC
Friday, June 22, 2007, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
OR
Tuesday, June 26, 2007, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Participate in one or both of these daylong community service efforts on Friday and Tuesday. Exact jobs to be determined as we work with the Washington, D.C. Public Library and community service groups. All participants will be notified in advance of the various projects and be able to pick the one in which they wish to participate. Your registration fee will be contributed to local library funds. Lunch, transportation and a participation t-shirt are included. Tickets are $10. To register, use the online registration form.


Washington D.C. Tours

ALA offers tours of Washington D.C. attractions, through the tour management company Accent on Arrangements. Details about tours is available on this PDF and registration is available at www.accentoca.com/alatours07.


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