Latest news with #AmericanLibraryAssociation
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
How do we look at the future with hope? George Takei says the answer lies in ‘Star Trek'
In the 2020 graphic memoir "They Called Us Enemy," George Takei took readers into the U.S. government's internment of approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent in American concentration camps during World War II. Takei, best known for his role as "Star Trek's" Hikaru Sulu, can claim an unfortunate degree of authority on the topic. He and his family were among those imprisoned. In his new book, he writes about confinement behind what he calls his own personal "invisible barbed-wire fence." The title, "It Rhymes With Takei," is a witty bit of wordplay inspired by a lifetime of hearing his name mispronounced. What particular word could rhyme with Takei? "Play. Say. Yay. Oh…gay! That's what the book is about," said Takei (pronounced tuh-KAY), who was in Philadelphia for the American Library Association's annual conference. This latest book is also a graphic memoir, and it briefly touches on many of his 88 years - his incarceration at age 5, his early years in film and TV, his breakthrough role on "Star Trek" in the 1960s that made him an enduring part of American pop culture, and his ongoing activism. But the memoir mostly focuses on the parallel story of his life as a gay man finding his way at a time when disclosing one's sexual orientation carried life-changing consequences. "You could not be known publicly as a gay person and hope to maintain a career," he said. Then, in the 2000s, the issue of gay marriage bubbled up, and in 2005 a California bill that would have legalized gay marriage reached the desk of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "He vetoed it, and that got me so angry. And it turns out that he was having an affair with his housekeeper at the very same time under his wife Maria Shriver's nose and had a son by the housekeeper. And that's when I said, 'I've had a good enough career. I'm coming out,' and the book is about that process." Takei was 68. "People have known me as an activist and actor," he writes in "It Rhymes With Takei." "Now with this story told, I am the whole George Takei." The colorful, 336-page textbook-shaped volume - illustrated by Harmony Becker and co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott - arrives with added resonance. "I believe so much of life is cyclical," said Takei, referring to the historical echo between the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940s and the detentions and deportations currently being carried out by the Trump administration. "The Latino community in not only Los Angeles but throughout the country - their lives are in absolute chaos, defined by fear and terror, and that's what it was like for my parents." Takei says his life was shaped by his childhood imprisonment. "It's a shameful history. It's a history of the weakness, the vulnerability, the fragility of our democracy. I want all Americans to know our American history." Takei remembers "the terror and how scary the whole event was, but I was too young to understand it." Later, as a teenager, he peppered his father with questions. "How he explained it - he frequently quoted from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Ours is a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people.' He said those are noble words that make this nation great. But the weakness of American democracy is also 'of the people, by the people, and for the people,' because people are fallible human beings. They get stampeded and they do irrational things or things that we regret later on." Takei spent three years in internment camps, and that experience is the reason he became an activist. He says that despite that time and what's happening now - he refers to President Trump as "that Klingon in the White House" - he remains an optimist. "I think of my parents. How dark a future do you think they could face with three young children? Yet they persevered. And we are now facing a dark future. But when you give up and cave into radicalism yourself, then you've lost." He is also girded by the ethos of the science fiction franchise that made him famous. "On 'Star Trek,' we had this acronym - IDIC, which stands for 'infinite diversity in infinite combinations' - working together, and you saw that personified in the characters. We saw that diversity. Captain Kirk was a white North American, but he wasn't an American. He [actor William Shatner] was a French Canadian from Montreal. The second in command was a half alien - his father was a Vulcan and his mother was an Earthling. We had a Scottish engineer. At the height of the Cold War, we had a character, Chekov, who spoke with a Russian accent. That's optimism." He points out that the show was conceived and produced in the 1960s, "another turbulent time, and so, infinite diversity in infinite combinations, that diversity coming together, working together to face a common challenge, [is how] we move forward. "That's going to help us overcome some of these seemingly insuperable differences." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clarivate Plc (CLVT) To Sponsor ALA Public Supporter Program
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) is among the 10 Most Undervalued Stocks to Buy for Under $5. It is a leading global provider of transformative intelligence. On June 9, the company announced a significant milestone in its decade-long partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) by becoming the first sponsor of the ALA Public Supporter Program to engage communities to support libraries and library professionals. A state-of-the-art computer lab filled with engineers working on new analytics technologies. The program launched in February this year provides valuable information and resources to the public related to library advocacy, news, and the protection of libraries. Bar Veinstein, President Academia & Government at Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) had the following to say on the recent partnership: 'Libraries have always been a cornerstone of education, research, and access to information. We are proud to stand and partner with the American Library Association as leading library advocates in the U.S., providing them with the resources and support they need to continue their vital work.' Earlier in the month, Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) announced a multi-year agreement with the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) to advance the country's research goals. The company has also renewed its partnership with CAPES to power research and innovation in Brazil. While we acknowledge the potential of CLVT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Dominion Post
13-06-2025
- General
- Dominion Post
Suncrest Elementary librarian receives national honor
Librarians in elementary school field a lot of questions in the course of the school day. Suncrest Elementary's nationally known librarian, Charlotte Chung, could write a book, then check it out, as she recounts the queries that have come her way in the course of her career. 'I had a student ask me, 'How do worms poop?' 'Is infinity a number?' I love that they immediately think, 'OK, let's ask Miss Chung. She's a librarian.'' She can tell you all about it when you click on that video produced by the Carnegie Corp. of New York City. Visit for that link. Chung was among 10 librarians across the U.S. recognized with the 'For the Love of Librarians' award, sponsored by philanthropic firm and the American Library Association. Chung was lauded for purchasing books and audiobooks in the native languages of students who attend the diverse school on Collins Ferry Road, by way of grants she secured. Suncrest Elementary now boasts a multilingual collection of books that Chung says will speak to students there. She was especially heartened this past school year, she said, by the kindergartener who proclaimed, 'This book is for me,' as she showed the audiobook in Spanish to her classmates. 'By providing books in first languages, we as school librarians support the literacy and educational goals of our students,' the librarian said. By third grade, educators and literacy watchers said, students should be reading to learn after years of learning to read. Her fellow honorees include a bookmobile librarian in Hawaii who literally delivered the printed word and other informational materials to parents and students displaced by wildfires that ravaged the Maui coast in 2023. Another high school librarian in Texas was spotlighted for her work with low-income families in her school district.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Suncrest Elementary librarian receives national honor
Jun. 12—Librarians in elementary school field a lot of questions in the course of the school day. Suncrest Elementary's nationally known librarian, Charlotte Chung, could write a book, then check it out, as she recounts the queries that have come her way in the course of her career. "I had a student ask me, 'How do worms poop ?' 'Is infinity a number ?' I love that they immediately think, 'OK, let's ask Miss Chung. She's a librarian.'" She can tell you all about it when you click on that video produced by the Carnegie Corp. of New York City. Visit for that link. Chung was among 10 librarians across the U.S. recognized with the "For the Love of Librarians " award, sponsored by philanthropic firm and the American Library Association. Chung was lauded for purchasing books and audiobooks in the native languages of students who attend the diverse school on Collins Ferry Road, by way of grants she secured. Suncrest Elementary now boasts a multilingual collection of books that Chung says will speak to students there. She was especially heartened this past school year, she said, by the kindergartener who proclaimed, "This book is for me, " as she showed the audiobook in Spanish to her classmates. "By providing books in first languages, we as school librarians support the literacy and educational goals of our students, " the librarian said. By third grade, educators and literacy watchers said, students should be reading to learn after years of learning to read. Her fellow honorees include a bookmobile librarian in Hawaii who literally delivered the printed word and other informational materials to parents and students displaced by wildfires that ravaged the Maui coast in 2023. Another high school librarian in Texas was spotlighted for her work with low-income families in her school district.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Suncrest Elementary librarian receives national honor
Jun. 12—Librarians in elementary school field a lot of questions in the course of the school day. Suncrest Elementary's nationally known librarian, Charlotte Chung, could write a book, then check it out, as she recounts the queries that have come her way in the course of her career. "I had a student ask me, 'How do worms poop ?' 'Is infinity a number ?' I love that they immediately think, 'OK, let's ask Miss Chung. She's a librarian.'" She can tell you all about it when you click on that video produced by the Carnegie Corp. of New York City. Visit for that link. Chung was among 10 librarians across the U.S. recognized with the "For the Love of Librarians " award, sponsored by philanthropic firm and the American Library Association. Chung was lauded for purchasing books and audiobooks in the native languages of students who attend the diverse school on Collins Ferry Road, by way of grants she secured. Suncrest Elementary now boasts a multilingual collection of books that Chung says will speak to students there. She was especially heartened this past school year, she said, by the kindergartener who proclaimed, "This book is for me, " as she showed the audiobook in Spanish to her classmates. "By providing books in first languages, we as school librarians support the literacy and educational goals of our students, " the librarian said. By third grade, educators and literacy watchers said, students should be reading to learn after years of learning to read. Her fellow honorees include a bookmobile librarian in Hawaii who literally delivered the printed word and other informational materials to parents and students displaced by wildfires that ravaged the Maui coast in 2023. Another high school librarian in Texas was spotlighted for her work with low-income families in her school district.
