ALA President to Interview Ted Danson at Midwinter Meeting in San Diego

Ted Danson

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ALA President Roberta Stevens announced yesterday that Ted Danson, whose has had a 35-year, award-winning career in films and television, will be featured at her Sunday’s President’s Program, January 9, during ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

 ”While most people know him from his popular roles in Cheers, Becker, Damages and Bored to Death,” said Stevens, “fewer realize that over the course of the past two-and-a-half decades Ted Danson has devoted himself tirelessly to the cause of heading off a looming global catastrophe—the massive destruction of the oceanic biosystems and the complete collapse of the world’s major commercial fisheries. In his book Oceana, he details his journey from a modest local protest in the mid-1980s opposing offshore oil drilling near his Southern California neighborhood to his current status as one of the world’s most influential oceanic environmental activists. Join me for a lively interview with Ted Danson!”

Stevens also said, “I want to extend my warmest welcome to everyone attending the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, in person or virtually. This is going to be a great week of productive meetings, excellent exhibits, great educational opportunities and special activities.”

Below are a few other Midwinter Meeting’s highlights that Stevens emphasized:

• The 2011 ALA Midwinter Exhibits will feature more than 450 exhibitors with free galleys and other giveaways. The exhibits kick off on Friday, January 7, with a series of events, including the ALA/ERT/Booklist Author Forum, featuring four great authors, from  4 to 5:15 p.m., the Exhibits Opening at 5:30 p.m., and the ALA/Exhibits Round Table Exhibits Opening Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.  Be sure to join us in the exhibit hall for music, food, prizes and a good time, and please thank our Library Champions and other exhibitors for supporting ALA.
• I encourage you to take the time to attend the ALA Presidential candidates’ forum on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Each candidate will present a platform statement and then answer questions from the audience. Be an informed voter when you cast your ballot in the 2011 ALA election!
• You won’t want to miss the Sunrise Speaker Series featuring Kathy Reichs also on Saturday, 8-9 a.m. and Andre Dubus III, 8-9 a.m., on Sunday. A Special Afternoon with Neil Gaiman and Nancy Pearl is planned for Sunday, 2-3 p.m.!
• The 12^th Annual Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture by Richard Rhodes will be on Saturday, 4-5 p.m. in the convention center’s  Ballroom 20D. Rhodes is the author or editor of 22 books, including The Making of the Atomic Bomb.
• Michael K. Honey, professor at the University of Washington in Tacoma, will keynote the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunrise Celebration on Monday at 6:30 a.m. in Room 2 of the convention center.
• The new Wrap-Up, Rev-Up! Celebration will be held from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. on Monday to celebrate a successful 2011 Midwinter Meeting and to rev-up for a spectacular 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans. There will be entertainment and special prizes, so I hope you will take advantage of this new opportunity at Midwinter.
• Should you need any information about the San Diego area, the center offers guest services associates who will be able to provide you with information on restaurants, local attractions, transportation and directions. They are easily identifiable by their identification badges.