Library Stories: Greg Mortenson
In this video interview, author and education pioneer Greg Mortenson discusses the value of libraries. He describes his early reading experiences in Tanzania, East Africa. He also recalls the joy of his early experiences with a library in St, Paul, Minn.
“It was like going into the candy shop, the first time I went into a library,” he says. He goes on to talk about setting up schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which involves creating libraries.”A book is so precious,” he said.”The life of a book in a rural village in Pakistan or Afghanistan is about one or two years, because everybody wants to read the book.”
According to the Web site threecupsoftea.com, “Greg Mortenson is the co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org, founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org, and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Three Cups of Tea,” which has been a New York Times bestseller since its January 2007 release, and was Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.”
Contributed by Steve Zalusky, Manager of Communications, ALA Public Information Office
Attention all librarians attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver: you’re invited to stop by the Campaign for America’s Libraries’ exhibit space in the convention center (follow the signs for “@ your library” - in the B lobby, street level) to meet with a Thinkfinity trainer and take a tour of the site Thinkfinity.org.
Thinkfinity.org is Verizon Foundation’s online portal to 55,000 educational resources. With a trainer, you’ll learn more about the site and discover ways to use its content. Thinkfinity content has been developed by 11 of the nation’s leading education and literacy organizations.
The Coretta Scott King Awards honor African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults that demonstrate sensitivity to “the African American experience via literature and illustration.” This year marks the 40th year that the Coretta Scott King Awards will be presented. The awards are administered by the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS). Winners receive a framed citation, an honorarium of $1,000 and multiple formats of the Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book Encyclopedia. Certificates are given to authors and illustrators of books receiving honor awards or for new talent.
The ALA Public Information Office (PIO) collaborates with other ALA units in its media outreach efforts on behalf of the Youth Media Awards. One of those units is the 