Midwinter Meeting attendees invited to celebrate 2014 adult book and media awards

CHICAGO — All ALA Midwinter Meeting attendees are invited to celebrate the winners of numerous adult reading awards — including the Notable Books, from which selections are chosen for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Non-Fiction; the Reading List, announcing the best in genre fiction; and the Listen List, announcing the best in audiobook narration — at the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Book and Media Awards reception.

In addition to the Reading List and Notable Books selections — lists that are used by librarians and readers’ advisors nationwide — winners will also be announced for the Dartmouth Medal, Sophie Brody Medal, the Zora Neale Hurston award and other professional resource lists, including Outstanding Business Reference Sources, Best Reference Sources, Best Free Websites, Best Business Websites and Best Historic Materials.

“RUSA is a leader in collection development and readers advisory services in libraries, serving librarians who are committed to the creation of excellent collections across a range of subject areas and formats. We are happy to present to all adult readers “the best of the best” in fiction and non-fiction selected by our expert librarians,” said RUSA President, Kathleen Kern. “Sunday night’s awards reception has become the place to be for those interested in learning about the best titles and resources published each year. I am pleased to invite all those interested in library collections for adult readers to this exciting and fun event hosted by RUSA.”

The reception will be held from 5 - 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, in the Liberty Ballroom A at the Sheraton Philadelphia, 201 N. 17th St., and will offer food and a cash bar. Meeting attendees will find this event listed in the meeting program as the RUSA Book & Media Awards Ceremony and Reception. This event is made possible by the generous support of Novelist.

The literary winners announced at this event will shape the author line-up for the Literary Tastes author panel at ALA’s 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Attendees at this event will have the opportunity to listen to our favorite authors speak about their works and writing process. Authors will be available for book signings immediately following the event.

More information about the awards winners and the Literary Tastes event are available on the RUSA website and RUSA blog following the January event.

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. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.