Midwest Tape at 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting

The 2012 ALA Midwinter Conference took place at the Dallas Convention Center 19–23 January in Dallas, Texas. Being that Texas sure beats Ohio in January, Midwest Tape was once again proud to exhibit at the show. This show not only gave us an additional chance to meet with customers, but it was also the last time we used our current booth. That’s right. Our booth has run its course, which means there will be something very spectacular to behold at PLA. Will you be there?

During ALA Midwinter, attendees could enter to win a $2500 shopping spree at MidwestTapes.com. We received 91 entries for the grand prize, and after the shop wrapped up, we drew a winner. A big congratulations to Alice Neve, Public Services Manager for the Rondo Community Outreach Center Library in St. Paul, Minnesota. Be sure to drop her a congratulatory line in our comments section!

Did you attend ALA Midwinter? What did you enjoy most at the show?

Win a Blu-ray Player at ALA Midwinter

Are you attending ALA Midwinter? If so, visit us at Booth #1311 to learn about our workflow solutions—cataloging, processing, opening day collections, and customized standing orders for CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, and Playaways.

While you’re there, draw a pack of M&Ms from our prize box. (Only one drawing per person per day.) If you draw a pack of all gold M&Ms, you win a Blu-ray player! Pretty sweet, eh?

Join Midwest Tape and Helen Thorpe at ALA Midwinter

Between Arizona’s immigration crackdown earlier this year, the defeat of the DREAM Act in the Senate this month, and an impending challenge to U.S. birthright citizenship expected in 2011, immigration and the status of the children of immigrants is one of the most intensely debated topics in U.S. politics. The issues involved transcend party lines and raise the fundamental question of what it truly means to be American. These issues are central to Helen Thorpe’s debut, Just Like Us. In this true story, Helen—an immigrant herself—chronicles the lives of four Mexican girls coming of age and striving for the American dream in West Denver.

Focused on four best friends—two U.S. citizens (Clara and Elissa) and two living in the country illegally (Marisela and Yadira)—the book details how citizenship, immigration reform, and inequality influence their identities, friendships, and futures. Named one of the best books of 2009 by The Washington Post, Just Like Us has received praise for its fast-paced narrative and in-depth journalism as well as for taking readers beyond the political rhetoric and humanizing an argument that often lacks middle ground.

Join Helen at ALA Midwinter, January 10^th at 10:30 AM for a reading and discussion of Just Like Us. No matter your stance on immigration, this event will offer fascinating insight into one of the most complicated social issues today and challenge the audience with such probing questions as who is an American? Who gets to live in America? And what happens when we don’t agree?

The Human Face of Immigration
A Reading and Discussion of Just Like Us with Author Helen Thorpe

January 10, 2011 • 10:30 AM–11:30 AM
Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Room Indigo D

Following the presentation, join Helen at Booth #1311 at 1:30 PM for signing of free copies of Just Like Us on MP3. And be sure to stay tuned to News & Views after ALA as we’ll post the recording of the presentation here.

About Helen Thorpe & Just Like Us

Helen Thorpe was born in London, England, and grew up in Medford, New Jersey. A freelance journalist, Helen’s stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York, and George. Her radio stories have aired on This American Life and Soundprint. She now lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper, and their son.
 
Just Like Us is Helen’s first book. It releases on audiobook from Dreamscape on January 11, 2011 and is available for purchase through Midwest Tape. Learn more about Helen Thorpe and her book.

Praise for Just Like Us
“An excellent, in-depth study of immigration policies gone amok.” —Library Journal

“Helen Thorpe has taken policy and turned it into literature.” —Malcom Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers