Readers’ advisory section in search of outstanding Jewish literature

Contact: Liz Markel


Marketing Specialist, ASCLA


312-280-4398

lmarkel@ala.org

NEWS


For Immediate Release


October 28, 2008

CHICAGO—The Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) seeks recently published works of Jewish literature for adults as candidates for the 2009 Sophie Brody Medal.

Endowed by the Brodart Foundation and Arthur Brody, the award consists of a citation and a medal, and pays tribute to Arthur’s wife Sophie, a recognized leader and philanthropist in the Jewish community.

The award enables readers’ advisory experts to recommend works of literary merit, as well as highlighting writing that promotes a comprehensive understanding of Judaism. Writers are chosen who explore Jewish characters, settings, themes or philosophies, expands the reader’s perspective about the Jewish experience or educate the reader about Jewish history, culture and identity. Past winners have achieved these goals by treating such topics as genocide, the search for family members lost during the Holocaust and the stereotypical Jewish mother.

The winner and up to three selected honor books will be announced at an awards ceremony at the ALA’s 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colo. Their authors will be invited to speak to a large audience of librarians at the 2009 Literary Tastes Breakfast, a ticketed event to be held Sunday, July 12, 2009 in Chicago as a part of the ALA Annual Conference.

Works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry published between Dec. 1, 2007 and Nov. 30, 2008 are eligible for consideration for the 2009 award. Those interested in submitting publications for consideration should review the complete award criteria and contact Barbara Bibel, chairperson for the award committee, at barbarabibel@earthlink.net for instructions.

Librarians and readers can find all previous winners and honor books listed in the Awards section of the RUSA website.

The Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) is a part of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (
http://www.ala.org/). CODES represents the interests of its members who work in collection development, evaluation, and readers’ advisory services, and provides ongoing networking and professional development opportunities for this group. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need.