District of Columbia Public Library chosen as site for the 2015 Arbuthnot Lecture

 

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced that the 2015 May Hill Arbuthnot Committee has chosen DC Public Library, Washington, D.C., as the site of the 2015 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture featuring author/illustrator Brian Selznick. The honor lectureship will be held in spring 2015 in The Great Hall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, following several months of innovative programs sponsored by the library and numerous partners, including the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University.

 

“The library plans to have art, manipulatives, archival material, media stations and graphics displayed in exhibits related to the author’s works, and will seek the advice of the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History,” said Arbuthnot Chair Sue McCleaf Nespeca. “Some exhibits will be interactive and will be layered for children and adults, with the purpose of creating a wonder-filled space of literature-based materials.” 

 

Selznick was chosen to be the 2015 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture presenter at the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting held January 24-28 in Philadelphia. Born and raised in New Jersey, Selznick cannot remember a time when he was not drawing and making things. He graduated from Rhode Island School of  Design intending to be a set designer for the theater, but a stint at Eeyore's children's bookstore in New York City changed his mind and his first book was published while working there. He left to pursue a full-time career in children's book illustration but still designs theater sets and is a professional puppeteer. Among his award-winning works are illustrations for two Sibert Honor Books, a Caldecott Honor and “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, which was awarded the 2008 Caldecott Medal and adapted into a five-time Oscar-winning film titled Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.

 

The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture celebrates May Hill Arbuthnot, who served as a strong voice for children’s literature. Each year a lecturer is chosen who will prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature. This paper is delivered as a lecture each spring, and is subsequently published in Children & Libraries, the journal of ALSC.  ALSC established the lecture series in 1969 with sponsorship from Scott, Foresman and Company The lectureship is now funded by the ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Endowment, and administered by ALSC. 

 

ALSC, a Division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC visit www.ala.org/alsc. 

 

Member of the 2015 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Sue McCleaf Nespeca, Kid Lit Plus Consulting, Gettysburg, Pa.; Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, N.Y.; Daniel L. Meyer, Queens Borough Public Library, Kew Gardens Hills, N.Y.; Bina Williams, Bridgeport (Conn.) Public Library; and Gail Zachariah, Keene (N.H.) Public Library.