2015 Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish literature names winner, honorable mentions

CHICAGO — The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selection for the 2015 Sophie Brody Medal, an honor bestowed by the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of RUSA at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting.

This Year’s winner is "A Replacement Life" by Boris Fishman, published by HarperCollins. This is a story about the immigrant experience and committing fraud for the right reasons: family, love and Holocaust reparations.

The Sophie Brody Medal is funded by the Brodart Foundation and is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish Literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year are eligible for the award.

Honorable mentions include "The Mathematician’s Shiva" by Stuart Rojstaczer, published by Penguin, and "In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist" by Ruchama King Feuerman, published by the New York Review of Books.

This year’s winner and honor books were selected by the Sophie Brody Medal Committee; Barbara Bibel, Oakland Public Library, chair; Donald Altschiller, Boston University; Emily A. Bergman, University of Southern California; Jack Forman, Mesa College (San Diego); Kathleen Gallagher, University City (Mo.) Public Library; Elliot H. Gertel, University of Michigan; Edward Kownslar, Texas A&M; Mary M.D. Parker, MINITEX; Adela Peskorz, Metropolitan State University (St. Paul, Minn.); Nonny Schlotzhauer, Pennsylvania State University; and Barry Trott, Williamsburg (Va.) Regional Library.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory, and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.