COSWL Cause

NEWS
For Immediate Release,
November 25, 2008

ALA joins NWHM National Coalition

The American Library Association (ALA) has added its name to the list of national organizations supporting the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) project.

The NWHM raises public awareness and access to the historical contributions women have made in the United States and is advocating for the creation of a permanent national museum in Washington D.C. To date, more than 33 other national women’s organizations with a reach of more than 8.5 million members have officially expressed their support of the NWHM.

Based in Alexandria, Va., the museum researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of the United States. It communicates the breadth of women’s experiences and accomplishments to the widest possible audience through innovative and engaging means, including its CyberMuseum, educational programs and outreach efforts.

In 1999, The President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History called for a women’s history museum on the Mall in Washington, DC, and specifically cited the NWHM in that role. A site bordering the National Mall has been proposed, and a bill, HR 6548, was introduced in July by Rep. Carolyn Maloney.

In June of 2008, the ALA’s Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) received a request by the NWHM project to support the NWHM and its goal to create a permanent museum in Washington D.C. The NWHM sought COSWL’s endorsement through then ALA President Loriene Roy in June because of COSWL’s mission to represent women’s issues in the library profession.

COSWL presented a formal proposal to ALA's Executive Board, which voted unanimously in support of the NWHM project and made COSWL the official point of contact within ALA.

“As a predominantly women’s profession, librarians have contributed a great deal to women’s history,” ALA President Jim Rettig said. “We are pleased to support this effort.”

Mary Callaghan "Cal" Zunt, COSWL chair, said, "COSWL is delighted with the Executive Board's decision to join the NWHM coalition of supporters. ALA's endorsement recognizes the great and continuing contribution of women in the United States to our national identity and to women in librarianship.

“Members of COSWL, (then) President Loriene Roy, longtime supporter Kathleen de la Peña McCook and others advocated for this endorsement. It was really a group effort."

NWHM said the connection with ALA would increase the visibility of both organizations by making available their respective Web sites. It would also offer the possibility of joint programs and exhibits on major contributions to women in the profession, as well as share historical materials such as those provided by Coalition members for the NWHM Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II exhibit.

Joan Wages, NWHM president, said, “The National Women’s History Museum is very proud to add the American Library Association to our National Coalition. ALA is a tremendous resource and we greatly appreciate their support for our efforts to honor women’s many contributions to our nation.”

Although women constitute a majority of the population, their lives, achievements, and contributions are underrepresented in museums. Recognition of the achievements made by American women will promote a better understanding of our history and culture for all who visit Washington, D.C.

Air is rarefied at the top for Silicon Valley women.
Women in the top rungs of California's major corporations are a rare breed. According to a UC Davis survey, women comprised just 11 percent of directors and senior executives in the state's 400 largest public companies. Guess which California county ranks the worst? Santa Clara, home to "cutting edge" Silicon Valley.
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Google comes in at No. 105, with 15.8 percent of top management being women.
Apple Inc., ranked No. 262 on the list, where women account for 5.9 percent of top management.
2008 UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders.

AND MORE:
Almost one-third of women at the "middle level" of their high-tech careers are planning to quit primarily because of perceived barriers to advancement. This according to a study by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology in Palo Alto and the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. The study looked at program managers, software engineers, researchers and such who have spent between 10 and 20 years on the job.

"Very few women reach top technical positions such as Technology Fellow or Vice President of Engineering," according to the study. In fact, the report suggests, Silicon Valley is going backward. "Women comprise an increasingly smaller proportion of the workforce at every level of the technology corporate ladder," it states.

Agota Kristof has won the Austrian State Prize for European Literature [Österreichischem Staatpreis für Europäische literatur].

Well, not exactly news, but a photo that you might enjoy.
New Orleans, 2006. The 30th Anniversary of the Committee of the Status of Women in Librarianship...includes ALA Past-President Loriene Roy (front row, far right).
Photo by Jessamyn West.

Marie-Claire Blais wins 2008 Governor General’s Literary Award -Canada Council for the Arts.

Marie-Claire Blais, Westmount, Quebec,
Naissance de Rebecca à l’ère des tourments.
(Les Éditions du Boréal)
The heart of a world in all its maledictions and beauty, the inexhaustible outpouring of life in the darkness of an end that began a long time ago, this breathtaking paroxysm of a novel turns any commonly held vision upside down. Marie-Claire Blais’ transcendental prose illuminates the depths of the characters with an extraordinary light of survival.

Other winners listed here.

For a race that was supposed to have broken the glass ceiling, it may just have shown women how hard and resistant that barrier really is. The poll, conducted for The Daily Beast by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, clearly documents what most casual observers identified as relatively favorable press treatment for male candidates like Obama and Biden versus an “anything goes” approach against the women running for office. In fact, the poll—which covered topics ranging from coverage of women’s appearances to the parodies of candidates on Saturday Night Live—shows sweeping skepticism about how women are viewed culturally, politically and in the workplace.
The race appears to have crystallized attitudes among women that they face discrimination in almost all areas of private and public life.

Development strategies that are sensitive to cultural values can reduce harmful practices against women and promote human rights, including gender equality and women’s empowerment, affirms The State of World Population 2008 report from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights launched 12 November 2008, reports that culture is a central component of successful development of poor countries, and must be integrated into development policy and programming.

The report, which coincides with this year’s 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is based on the concept that the international human rights framework has universal validity. Human rights express values common to all cultures and protect groups as well as individuals. The report endorses culturally sensitive approaches to development and to the promotion of human rights, in general, and women’s rights, in particular.

War, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
Women become a target in war because of their perceived position as guardians of culture. Rape is an act of violence aimed not only at a woman but at the cultural compositionof her national or community identity. Communities may view raped women as tainted or worthless, and they may suffer further violence as a result. Few communities address gender-based violence openly, and women often do not talk about it.

Militarization of a culture works against women’s empowerment and gender equality, partly through the increased incidence – and acceptability – of violence. Conflict imposes additional responsibilities and costs on women who may become heads of household in the absence of men. Men may feel themselves powerless and unable to fulfil their duty to protect their families. This can arouse male resentment and violence.

.The Lifetime Achievement award went to Dr. Jane Goodall. She is famous for her study of chimpanzee social and family interactions and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute.
Women of the Year. [Glamour]

The 2009 IMPAC Longlist has been announced. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind.
U.S. Twenty-five U.S. libraries nominated 45 novels.
Fourteen were by women:

Where Three Roads Meet. Salley Vickers. Chicago Public Library.

The Opposite House. Helen Oyeyemi. Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County.

The Septembers of Shiraz. Dalia Sofer. New Hampshire State Library.

A Handbook to Luck Cristina García. Denver Public Library.

Ghostwalk. Rebecca Stott.Houston Public Library.

The Shadow Catcher. Marianne Wiggins. Lincoln City Libraries.

Away. Amy Bloom. Milwaukee Public Library.

Harpsong. Rilla Askew. Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Oklahoma City.

Run.Ann Patchett. Multnomah County Library.

The MaytreesAnnie Dillard. Richmond Public Library.

The Gathering. Anne Enright. San Diego Public Library and San Francisco Public Library.

Uprising. Margaret Peterson Haddix and The Grave Diggers Daughter. Joyce Carol Oates. Laramie County Library System.

Bill Ivey has been selected to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team for arts and culture.
Ivey, director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, is a veteran of the Clinton administration. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998 through 2001.

Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu has won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa for her book,Zahrah the Windseeker .
She teaches at Chicago State University; see also her official site, The Wahala Zone,
The Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa was established by The Lumina Foundation in 2005. It was conceived as a very prestigious prize in honour of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in literature to celebrate excellence in all its cerebral grace, its liberating qualities, the honour and recognition it brings to a myriad of people, of diverse cultures and languages. This prize honours people who have used their talents well enough to affect others positively. It honours Africa’s great writers and causes their works to be appreciated. It celebrates excellent writing, promotes scholarship and makes books available and affordable by subsidizing the publication of books in the top list of the judges.
This is a pan African prize, viewed also as Africa’s NOBEL prize. It unifies Africans, celebrates Africa’s great minds, brings home Africa’s best intellectuals as judges, entertainers, great communicators and leaders in their own rights.
It was designed to be The African prize with a lot of artistic features symbolising the Soyinka personae, as a distinguished intellectual, a conscientious and sensitive writer, a lover of the arts and humanities and a stickler for excellence, good governance, equity and justice.

CRITICAL MASS:the blog of the national book critics circle board of directors asks:
"Which work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry best captures the realities of American political culture?"

Of dozens cited none are about women, and almost none by women. Only mentioned are Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Emily Dickinson and Grace Paley.