Genetic Genealogy

You've likely heard of DNA tests for paternity lawsuits, crime scene investigation, and even medical conditions; but did you know genetic tests can help you learn more about your family tree?

For many, genetic testing has become a great way to enhance genealogical studies.
This is the focus of the 7th Genetic Genealogy Conference for Family Tree DNA Group Administrators in Houston, beginning November 4, where many of the emerging ethical issues with DNA testing will be addressed.

It is also the topic of discussion at the Fountaindale Public Library in Chicago on November 10, where David Dowell will present Adding DNA Testing to Your Genealogical Tool Kit.

Dowell is the author of the highly praised Crash Course in Genealogy, published earlier this year by Libraries Unlimited, and is currently working on a book on genetic genealogy. You can follow him on his blog, Dr. D Digs Up Ancestors.

Crash Course in Genealogy
David R. Dowell

A basic, how-to book written primarily to prepare librarians to assist genealogy researchers, this guide can also be used by those who wish to discover and document their family histories.

ALA Midwinter Recap

In case you missed ALA MW (or were busy running from booth to booth) ABC-CLIO's Event Coordinator Mary Anne Knox and Senior Marketing Coordinator Elizabeth Millar share some of the highlights.

Here's to a Successful ALA Midwinter!

We had a sunny start to the New Year at ALA Midwinter in San Diego. The show floor was buzzing with librarians, vendors, mascots, and swag galore! Check out this short video of what you may have missed along with a sneak peek at our upcoming author vodcasts!



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed Lott and Jim Slattery from our Sales Team were giving database demos every hour in our theater to show off our new and improved databases for schools and academic libraries. If you didn't get a chance to check them out, you can learn all about them on our website and even sign up for a FREE 60-day preview! One lucky winner who attended our ALA demos will receive a year subscription to FOUR databases of their choice!

Our ABC-CLIO booth displayed new releases from all of our imprints: ABC-CLIO/Greenwood, Praeger, and Libraries Unlimited/Linworth. Check out our website to get the latest info on our brand new titles!

You may have noticed that we were all wearing buttons that said, "Ask me about Inquiry and Information Literacy?" Did you ask? If not, we want to let you know that we have an established reputation for providing the best selection of publications from the best authors and scholars on Inquiry and Information Literacy. Check out this handout highlighting some of our key titles and authors that can help students in asking those focused and critically thought out questions. To support inquiry and information literacy, we also filmed vodcasts at the show of Library Media Connection's Gail Dickinson and well-known author Pam Berger providing their take on inquiry and how you can apply it in your library or classroom.

In addition, we also filmed vodcasts of Megan Honig speaking about the importance of Street Lit, Sharon Coatney on librarian leadership, Carol Doll on resilient libraries, and Jessica Moyer on integrated advisory. Stay tuned to our YouTube Channel, ABCCLIOLive, for more on these.

See you at ALA Annual in New Orleans!

ALA MW 2011 - Greetings from San Diego

Kickin' Off 2011 with ALA Midwinter!

We had a wonderful start to 2011 with our presence at the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference in San Diego. Our booth was hopping with author signings, database presentations, and book buyers! Take a look at some highlights, brought to you straight from the show floor by our very own Elizabeth Millar, Senior Marketing Coordinator.

ABC-CLIO's Vice President of Editorial Vince Burns and Andrew P. Jackson, African American Experience Advisory Board Member (Click the link above for a video of Jackson discussing Black History Month.)

Sales Director Ed Lott Presenting ABC-CLIO's New Databases for Higher Education

Author Filming (featuring Pam Berger, author of Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World). For more author videos, please visit ABC-CLIO's YouTube channel.

         

ALA Midwinter 2011 - Author Signing Schedule

With American Library Association's 2011 Midwinter Conference fast approaching (January 7-11, 2011), we want to make planning your visit to San Diego a bit easier. Below is our Author Signing schedule for the conference — make sure you swing by the ABC-CLIO Booth to meet your favorite authors!

Janice Gilmore-See, Simply Indispensable, Saturday, January 8, 2011, 2:00-3:00 p.m.

• A structured approach to advocacy for K-12 school librarians focuses their energy on an active path that showcases library programs and resources and expresses the essential role librarians serve in school and student success.

Megan Perez, The New Graduate Experience, Saturday, January 8, 2011, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

• This book contains invaluable feedback from residency program coordinators and current and former library residents that will benefit program managers, recent graduates and early career librarians, and students of library and information science.

Megan Honig, Urban Grit, Sunday, January 9, 2011, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

• This guide to more than 44 street-lit titles aids readers' advisors and other librarians to better understand the genre and collect and recommend titles ranging from romance and coming-of-age stories to action stories and erotica.

ALA Annual Conference: Recap

While at ALA Annual in Washington, DC, I had the opportunity to work with a film crew and record video podcasts with many of our authors. It was very exciting to meet the authors in person and hear all about their unique tips for librarians. We recorded 10 authors, including Joe Matthews, Judy Freeman, Peter Hernon, Helen Adams, Dianne de Las Casas, Anthony Chiffolo, Bob Dugan, Sharon Scott, Blanche Woolls, and Carl Harvey. These videos will give librarians practical tips that they can implement into their libraries right away, with just a simple click of the mouse. Although these videos are still in the editing phase, you can check out other podcasts we've produced on our YouTube Channel.

Below are a few photo highlights from ALA's Annual Conference. Enjoy!

--Elizabeth Millar, Marketing Coordinator, ABC-CLIO

Author Dianne de Las Casas signing a copy.

Taping an informative podcast with author Joe Matthews.

The ABC-CLIO booth.

Kids enjoying author Sharon Scott's toy vending machine!

Conference Update: World History Association

I am very excited to be representing ABC-CLIO this week at the 19th Annual World History Association Conference. The event, which began yesterday, is being held at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley through Sunday, June 27.

The WHA is the foremost organization for the promotion of world history through the encouragement of teaching, research, and publication. The annual WHA conferences provide an ideal occasion for ABC-CLIO to engage teachers, librarians, and scholars of world history in general and in order to keep up with current trends in world history scholarship, learn more about specific reference needs, and showcase what we have been up to.

In particular, our booth will be highlighting ABC-CLIO's forthcoming World History Encyclopedia, and I will be joined at the conference by the project manager of the WHE, Carolyn Neel.

Manfred Weissenbacher, author of Sources of Power: How Energy Forges Human History (Praeger, 2009), will also be on hand to sign copies from 2:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 26th.

Apart from manning the booth and attending as many of the conference sessions as possible (which look to be especially informative and interesting this year, judging from the schedule), I also look forward to the opportunity to do some light scouting for potential future authors, etc.

I hope to see you there!

--Greg Wolf, Writer/Editor, ABC-CLIO

Forthcoming! World History Encyclopedia

Conference News: ALA Annual

ABC-CLIO will be at American Library Association's 2010 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. this week. Stop by our booth for a product demo, to purchase discounted books, to have your favorite book signed, or just to say hello!

ABC-CLIO Booth #3725

Show Hours:
Friday, June 25 5:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 26 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 27 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, June 28 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Nineteen author signings will be taking place in the ABC-CLIO booth from Friday through Monday. To ensure that you don't miss your favorite author, here is the schedule.

Friday:

Sam McBane Mulford, How Green is My Library? 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Anthony F. Chiffolo, Cooking with the Bible 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Saturday:

Jean Preer, Library Ethics 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Elizabeth Chamberlain Habich, Moving Library Collections 11:00-11:30 a.m.
Robert E. Dugan, Peter Hernon, and Danuta A. Nitecki, Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Allison Zmuda, Librarians as Learning Specialists 1:00-1:30 p.m.
Dianne de Las Casas, Stories on Board!: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Sharon M. Scott, Toys and American Culture 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Sam McBane Mulford, How Green is My Library? 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Carolyn W. Lima and Rebecca L. Thomas, A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books, Eighth Edition 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Sunday:

Anthony F. Chiffolo, Cooking with the Bible 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Dianne de Las Casas, Scared Silly: 25 Tales to Tickle and Thrill 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Jeannie Dilger-Hill, On the Road with Outreach 1:00-1:30 p.m.
Sharon Coatney, The Many Faces of School Library Leadership 1:00-2:00 p.m.
John Lubans Jr., "Leading from the Middle," and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership 2:00-2:30 p.m.
Pam Berger, Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Sam McBane Mulford, How Green is My Library? 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Monday:

Helen R. Adams, Ensuring Intellectual Freedom and Access to Information in the School Library Media Program 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Dianne de Las Casas, Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.


Experts from the ABC-CLIO team will also be running demos of our online products throughout the weekend. Learn more about the ABC-CLIO eBook Collection, ARBA Online, and our academic and school databases. A new demo starts every hour, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m, on Saturday and Sunday (ending at 3:30 p.m. on Monday). For a complete schedule of presentations, stop by booth #3725.

*Sneak Peek: Get a special tour of our 12 brand-new databases exclusively for higher education. For more information, stop by booth #3725.