University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine 2017 Summer Libraries Magazine | Page 28

Society, for an evening celebrating the rich history of UW–Madison Libraries. Professor Cronon shared stories about how the libraries have, for many decades, preserved knowledge, made research openly available, and supported students, professors, and members of the public, and how this is changing as we move into an increasingly digital future. Great Lakes, Great Libraries By Marie Zhuikov, UW–Madison Aquatic Sciences Center A unique group of librarians held its first conference, “Great Lakes, Great Libraries,” in the Great Lakes region (in Madison) in May. The librarians specialize in marine and freshwater science topics and belong to a regional branch of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers. “This is the first time in 27 years that we’ve had our regional annual conference in a freshwater state,” said Anne Moser, senior special librarian with the Wisconsin Water Library, who organized the conference along with Alisun DeKock, another Great Lakes librarian from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. “One of my goals is to continue to work to get more librarians from around the Great Lakes involved and to keep freshwater scholarship visible within the group.” The regional group, called SAIL, consists of libraries on the East Coast and in Great Lakes communities of the U.S. and Canada, along with several other countries including Bermuda and 28 | LIBRARIES Summer 2017 Go Big Read 2017–2018 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Panama. Scientific speakers included Jake Walsh from the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Limnology, who discussed Lake Mendota and his research into the invasive spiny waterflea. Wisconsin Sea Grant’s David Hart spoke about an integrated approach to addressing bluff erosion along Lake Michigan. Garrett Johnson, of the Shedd Aquarium, described the Shedd’s environmental and education efforts in the Great Lakes. With a nod to the intersection of art and science, the program also included a presentation by UW Art Professor Sarah FitzSimons on how water has infused her work. Jacqueline Zook was nominated for a University Staff of the Year Award. She received a spot on the Award’s Roll of Honor. Silver Buckle Press and Parallel Press posters and books are available for purchase! Grab a piece of UW–Madison history by choosing from several limited-design posters from the Silver Buckle Press, or check out one of the many books available through Parallel Press. For more information on the selections available and to purchase, contact Sherry Kanetzke (sherry. [email protected]). J .D. Vance didn’t write a book because he accomplished something extraordinary, he tells readers in the introduction to Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. “I wrote this book because I’ve achieved something quite ordinary, which doesn’t happen to most kids who grew up like me,” Vance writes. Hillbilly Elegy is the ninth selection for the Go Big Read program, which has been choosing thought-provoking literature to prompt campus discussion since 2009. Go Big Read, the UW–Madison campus common-reading program, has chosen his story of growing up in the Rust Belt of Ohio and escaping generations of poverty as its 2017-18 selection. Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio, and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school and served in Iraq. He went on to graduate from the Ohio State University and Yale Law School, become a principal at a leading Silicon Valley investment firm and a contributing writer to the National Review. In the book, Vance tells the story of what it feels like to be born into a region and class that has experienced serious economic disruption. He shares his family’s story, starting with his grandparents’ move from Appalachia to Ohio following World War II in hopes of escaping poverty. But that escape proved difficult, especially for Vance’s mother. “I want people to know what it feels like to nearly give up on yourself and why you might do it. I want people to understand what happens in the lives of the poor and the psychological impact that spiritual and material poverty has on their children,” Vance wrote. “I want people to understand the American Dream as my family and I encountered it. I want people to understand how upward mobility really feels. And I want people to understand something I learned only recently: that for those of us lucky enough to live the American Dream, the demons of the life we left behind continue to chase us.” Since its release, the book has sparked much discussion, which is one of the reasons it is this year’s Go Big Read selection. While many have credited the book with providing understanding of the lives of those struggling with economic decline, others have criticized it for what they see as a simplistic view of poverty and personal responsibility, with too little discussion of the larger economic and social forces that have led to the issues described in the book. “Go Big Read has a history of choosing books with challenging and timely topics. The point is to generate a lively conversation about a set of important issues about which people can agree or disagree,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “We hope this will generate a conversation which leads people to think more about the social and economic and political issues raised in the book.” Copies of the book will be given to first-year students at the Chancellor’s Convocation for New Students and to students using the book in their classes. The Go Big Read program is an initiative of the Office of the Chancellor. By Käri Knutson University Communications “We hope this will generate a conversation which leads people to think more about the social and economic and political issues raised in the book.” ~ Chancellor Rebecca Blank University of Wisconsin–Madison | 29