Major Speakers

Rilla Askew

One of our two keynote speakers at the Opening General Session Thursday morning is Rilla Askew. A national award winning Oklahoma novelist, she is the 2004/05 Artist in Residence for the English Department at the University of Oklahoma. Inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers in 2003, she twice received the Oklahoma Book Award; first in 1993 for Strange Business, and again in 1998 for The Mercy Seat. Her most recent novel, Fire in Beulah, a story about two families during the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots received the American Book Award and the Myers Book Award. The Mercy Seat also won the Western Heritage Award in 1998 and was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Raised in Oklahoma, Askew graduated from the University of Tulsa and later completed her MFA in creative writing at Brooklyn College. She has taught creative writing at Brooklyn College, the University of Central Oklahoma, Syracuse University and The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

For more information, please see her website: rillaaskew.com

Beth Avery

Beth Avery is President of the Mountain Plains Library Association and Library Director at Colorado’s Western State College. She will be presenting the program: "Ecology or Feng Shui: Creating Positive Relationships Between Patrons and the Library", scheduled for Friday morning at 11:15.

MPLA website: www.usd.edu/mpla/

Ken Bierman

Ken Bierman is Director of Knowledge Access Management at the UNLV Library and a familiar face to all of us in OLA from his days as Associate Dean at the OSU Library.  Ken is one of several speakers at the "Opening Doors and Improving Communications Between Managers and Staff" pre-conference, sponsored by UCD, SMART, and SSRT.

Gemmy Brown

Gemmy Brown is past chairperson of the Friends and Trustees Section of the Florida Library Association. She chaired the fund-raising task force for the Dunedin, Florida Public Library and presented fund-raising workshops at Pauls Valley and Enid in 2002. Her interest in rural libraries led her to found Florida's "Community Libraries in Caring".  She will have a busy Friday morning, speaking first at the PLD program "Fundraising Ideas that Work" at 8:30 followed by her program for FOLIO at 9:30, "Fund Raising Ideas That Work for Friends".

Florida Library Association website: www.flalib.org

Bob Burke

Bob Burke is an Oklahoma City attorney and one of the state's most prolific authors. His books include: Alice Robertson: Congresswoman from Oklahoma, Kate Barnard: Oklahoma's Good Angel, Simple truths: the real story of the Oklahoma City bombing investigation, Art treasurers of the Oklahoma State Capitol, Ralph Ellison: a biography, and The house that Oklahoma Built: a history of the Oklahoma Governor's Mansion.  Bob Burke will be one of the panelists on PLD's "Oklahoma Authors Panel", Thursday at 1:45.

Barbara Clubb

The second of our two keynote speakers at the Opening General Session is Barbara Clubb, President-Elect for 2005/06 of the Canadian Library Association. She is the City Librarian and CEO of the Ottawa Public Library. Barbara recently received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for significant contributions in her community and Canada. Professionally active in the international library scene, Barbara is the immediate past chair of the IFLA Public Libraries Section of CLA.

Canadian Library Association: www.cla.ca

Molly Griffis

Molly Levite Griffis is a talented children's author with many books to her name such as Simon Says, The Buffalo in the Mall, and The Great American Bunion Derby. She is a native of Apache, the setting for two of her books: Rachel's Resistance and its sequel, The Feester Filibuster. She makes her home in Norman.  Join her at PLD's "Oklahoma Authors Panel", Thursday at 1:45.

For more information, please visit her website: www.mollygriffis.com

Rene Gutteridge

Rene Gutteridge writes Christian fiction and has been published many times as a playwright. Her books include Boo, The Splitting Storm, Boo Who, Ghost Writer, Troubled Waters, and the soon-to-be-published Storm Gathering: Prequel To The Splitting Storm. She lives in Oklahoma City. Join her for PLD's "Oklahoma Authors Panel" at 1:45 on Thursday.

Be sure and visit her website: www.renegutteridge.com

Patrice McDermott

Patrice McDermott is the Assistant Director of the Office of Government Relations at ALA's Washington Office. The OGR keeps track of any legislation, policies or regulatory issues that might have an impact on libraries. McDermott has testified numerous times at congressional hearings and is a much sought-after speaker. She has also served as Assistant Director of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom and worked for a time at the National Archives and Records Administration. Patrice McDermott will be speaking at "You, Too, Can be a Library Activist: Overcoming Barriers (mental and physical) to Being an Advocate for Your Library!" (Thursday at 4:30) sponsored by GODORT and the "Legislative Program" (Thursday at 11:45) sponsored by the Legislative Committee.

Nancy Pearl

Our speaker at the Annual Conference Banquet on Friday evening is Nancy Pearl, the former director of the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library. She now writes, reviews books for both local and national publications, and speaks to library and community groups across the country. She reviews books regularly on NPR's Morning Edition and KUOW, the Seattle affiliate of National Public Radio. She is the author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Sasquatch Books, 2003); More Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Sasquatch Books, 5/05); Now Read This: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, 1978 - 1998 (Libraries Unlimited, 1999) and Now Read This II: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, 1990-2001 (Libraries Unlimited, 2002).

Among her many honors and awards are the 2004 Women's National Book Association Award, the Brava Award from the Seattle Women’s University Club, the 2004 Louis Shores Greenwood Publishing Group Award for excellence in the reviewing of books and other materials for libraries; the 2004 Media and Communications Award from the Ontario, Canada, Library Association; the 2003 Humanities Washington Award, and the Public Library Association’s 2001 Allie Beth Martin Award. She also was named the Totem Business and Professional Women’s “1998 Woman of Achievement ” award and received the 1997 Open Book Award from the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. In 1998, Library Journal named her Fiction Reviewer of the Year. She is the model for the Librarian Action Figure.

In addition to the banquet, she will also be presenting "Yes, Ma’am—Mood, Appeal, and Motivation in Providing Excellent Reader’s Advisory" (Friday at 9:45) sponsored by PLD.

Eve Sandstrom

Eve Sandstrom is a mystery writer who writes the "Chocoholic Mysteries" under the pen name "Joanna Carl". Titles in the series include The Chocolate Bear Burglary, The Chocolate Cat Caper, and The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up. Sandstrom, who lives in Lawton, will be on PLD's "Oklahoma Authors Panel", Thursday at 1:45.

For more information, visit her website: www.joannacarl.com

Tim Tingle

Tim Tingle is the winning author of "Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma" with his book Walking the Choctaw Road.  He is also the author of Texas Ghost Stories for the Telling.  Both a collector and teller of traditional Native American stories, Tingle has traveled throughout the Southwest, performing for ten years at the Texas Folklife Festival and for twelve years at Six Flags Over Texas.  The Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers named him "Contemporary Storyteller of the Year" in 2001. A member of the Choctaw Nation, he lives in Canyon Lake, Texas.  Look for him on PLD's "Oklahoma Authors Panel", Thursday at 1:45.

Visit his website at www.choctawstoryteller.com
 

Richard Trout

Richard Trout is an environmental biologist, consultant, and college professor dedicated to sharing his passion for the natural environment with people of all ages through his series of adventure novels. His titles include Elephant Tears: Mask of the Elephant, Cayman Gold: Lost Treasure of Devils Grotto, and Falcon of Abydos: Oracle of the Nile. He has lived the undersea adventures that most of us can only dream of by diving the rugged coast and kelp bed of California, many tropical reefs of the Caribbean, and the mighty Cayman Wall. Mr. Trout is an amateur history and geography buff. He deftly blends the facts of science and the fiction of folklore into fast-paced stories for middle-school readers. He lives in Oklahoma City. Join him for the OASLMS Program, Friday afternoon at 12:15.