PALA Networking Dinner During ALA

Save the Date: June 30, Sunday

If you are attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago, June 28-July 1, why not take a pierogi break and join the Polish American Librarians Association for dinner and conversation at the Szalas Restaurant on Sunday, June 30 at 6 p.m. PALA welcomes you to the city with the world’s second largest Polish population (an estimated 1.5 million in the metropolitan area) and invites you to get involved with your colleagues in the Polish-American community. No, you do not have to speak Polish; you don’t even have to be Polish; you only have to support our mission and goals.

“Over the past two decades, Poland has emerged from the yoke of communism to take its rightful place in the story of Europe,” says PALA President Elizabeth Marszalik. “Polish Americans now have a unique and rapidly passing opportunity to tell the story of the real Polish diaspora, of the Polish people’s centuries-old struggle for liberty, and of the unspeakable price the nation paid for defying both the Nazis and the Soviets during World War II and for centuries before that. We believe librarians can make a difference by understanding what revelations have come to light since the fall of the Soviet Union, by reflecting the Polish story in their collections, and by filling in the blank spaces in the story of the valiant struggle of the first nation in the world to adopt a democratic constitution.”

During the ALA conference, be sure to visit the PALA booth # 1246 in the exhibit hall. Volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions, and a number of Polish American authors will be appearing in the booth throughout the conference, among them award-winning Stuart Dybek, author of The Coast of Chicago and other story and poetry collections; teacher Brigid Pasulka, author of A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True; poet Linda Nemec Foster; author and president of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation Wanda Urbanska; poet and documentarian John Guzlowski; and Leonard Kniffel, author of the travel memoir A Polish Son in the Motherland and PALA board member. Enter the raffle that will give away all the display books in the booth during the exhibits closing on Monday.

The mission of the Polish American Librarians Association is to positively impact services provided to library patrons of Polish descent and individuals interested in Polish culture. PALA welcomes you to ALA in Chicago and invites you to join our efforts and participate. But before we start warming your dinner plate, we ask that you register on the PALA website.

Aldona Salska Represents PALA at Karski Book Celebration

Georgetown University hosted a tribute to Jan Karski March 18 in Washington, D.C., celebrating the publication of the new U.S. edition of his 1944 classic Story of a Secret State by Georgetown University Press. A distinguished panel of experts including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf, and Rabbi Harold S. White, formerly Senior Jewish Chaplain at Georgetown University's Campus Ministry, discussed Karski's legacy. Aldona Salska, board member and founding president of the Polish American Librarians Association, represented PALA at the event.

"It was an incredible experience," Salska said, "to listen to Brzezinski and Albright and Rabbi White and to hear their reflections on moral choice, on the difference between Karski and the majority of us who hide ourselves behind indifference." Many of the guests knew Karski, Salska noted, including Brzezinski, who was 11 years old when he met him during the war and heard for first time heard about what Nazi Germany was doing in Poland. "Karski truly is ‘humanity's hero,' as he has been called, and his achievement during the Second World War cries out for wider recognition," Salska noted.

Wanda Urbanska, president of the Jan Karski Educational Foundation talked about the new edition of Karski's book and about what young people can learn from it. The Foundation is attempting to bring Karksi's story to the public school curriculum, in much the same way that Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl has become essential for young readers. "The foundation's educational objectives are very much in line with the mission of the Polish American Librarians Association," Salska said. "The audience was asked to think about what we can do today, about how we can pay tribute to Karski and his heroism."

Read more about the event on the Jan Karski Educational Foundation website.
A video of the entire program can be seen on the Georgetown University website.

PALA Board Supports PNCC Studies Inclusion in JSTOR

The governing board of the Polish American Librarians Association voted at its February 12 meeting to support the efforts of PALA member Thomas Duszak to alert the Polish National Catholic Church about the importance of including PNCC Studies in JSTOR, the scholarly digital library of more than 1,500 academic journals, books, and primary sources.

A March 12 letter from PALA president Elizabeth Marszalik to Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky, prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, urges the church to take the initiative and contact JSTOR. "We feel that, although PNCC Studies is no longer being published, it is of historical value to both the Polish community and many beyond the Polish community interested in U. S. History. Since the primary access to research material for scholars is through electronic resources like JSTOR, it would be an important and timely move to have PNCC Studies registered with JSTOR," the letter states.

Thomas Duszak is head of collections cataloging at the Pennsylvania State Library in Harrisburg. Twenty volumes of PNCC Studies were published between 1980 and 2000, and they recorded the proceedings from the Polish National Catholic Church's annual history conference. Duszak told the PALA board that it is the responsibility of librarians to alert the church hierarchy to JSTOR "as a means to give greater access to the knowledge of Polish and Polish American ethnic and religious history."

"JSTOR is subscribed to by thousands of libraries around in North America, Europe, and Asia," said Marszalik. "Making the contents of PNCC Studies accessible through JSTOR would mean that students and scholars would be able to access articles in PNCC Studies quickly without having to request hard copies of articles through interlibrary loan from one of only 29 libraries that hold the journal in their collections."

The mission of the Polish American Librarians Association is to positively impact services provided to library patrons of Polish descent and individuals interested in Polish culture, and one of its chief objectives is to expand the means of access to information about Polish and Polish American culture. "This initiative aligns perfectly with our goals," said Marszalik, and we are hopeful that the PNCC will recognize the value and benefits of inclusion in JSTOR once the library community comes forward with support.""

Polish American Librarians Open House 2013

Libraries Are "Sacred Places" Says Author Stuart Dybek at Polish American Librarians Open House

More than 85 librarians and library supporters, some from as far away as Texas and Florida, gathered at the Polish Museum of America (PMA) in Chicago February 24 for an afternoon of networking, brainstorming, and programs. Keynote speaker Stuart Dybek, award-winning Polish American author and poet, provided the highpoint of the proceedings with stories about his reverence for libraries, calling them "sacred places" that are at the center of a writer's life. "My library card was like a passport that could be stamped over and over again on my journey to becoming a Polish-American," he said.

Katie Clausen, library school student from Dominican University, received the 2013 Vera May Barnes Zubrzycki Scholarship (read more here), and her heartfelt acceptance demonstrated why she was chosen, as she spoke about cultural diversity in libraries. Susan Roman, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican, and Michael Zubrzycki, scholarship donor for whose mother it is named, were on hand to present the award of $2,300.

Project coordinator Barbara Bilszta spoke about "All of Polonia Reads to Kids" and screened a film showing how well the reading initiative has taken off in Poland, and she urged Polish American librarians to participate. Following her talk, the young people of the Academy of Music of Paderewski Symphony Orchestra and Little Stars entertained with lively performances of classical and popular tunes.

PALA president Elizabeth Marszalik and PMA president Maria Ciesla welcomed the group, and Konrad Zielinski from the Polish Consulate in Chicago said he looked forward to working with PALA on future projects. PALA board member Leonard Kniffel talked about PALA's connection to the Jan Karski Educational Foundation, which was launched in 2012. Malgorzata Kot, PMA head librarian, served as emcee and conducted a tour of the museum library, one of the largest of its kind in the world, following the program.

Watch a video of Stuart Dybek's

Academy of Music of Paderewski Symphony Orchestra

"Little Stars" Theater Workshops Chicago

Three PALA Members Complete LIS Studies at Dominican

Polish American Librarians Association members Malgorzata Kot, Iwona Bozek, and Anna Demitraszek graduated January 12 from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University. The PALA board of directors congratulates these members for their achievement.

Malgorzata Kot                 Iwona Bozek

"We're proud to have newly minted librarians out in the field dedicated to the mission of the Polish American Librarians Association, which is to positively impact services provided to library patrons of Polish descent and individuals interested in Polish culture. We are grateful for their commitment to diversity and to the inclusion of our stories in library collections throughout America."

The three graduates are all already working professionals. Kot is Head Librarian at the Polish Museum of America Library in Chicago and Bozek is a volunteer there. Under Kot's leadership, the PMA Library has made tremendous advances in modernizing service and collection development in recent years. Demitraszek is Adult Services Assistant at Wood Dale Public Library, in suburban Illinois.

A recording of the January 12 graduation ceremony is available at www.dom.edu/commencement/livestream

Save the Date: Polish American Librarians Annual Meeting Set for February 24

The 3rd Annual Meeting and Open House of the Polish American Librarians Association is scheduled for Sunday, February 24, 2013, noon to 4 p.m., at the Polish Museum of America, 984 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Award-winning Polish-American author Stuart Dybek will deliver the keynote address, take questions from the audience, and sign copies of his books. The author program begins at 1:30, followed by a performance by the Music Academy of the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra and "Little Stars" Theater Workshops.

The Annual Meeting begins at noon with a luncheon buffet, followed by a short general meeting and an interactive discussion with some of the movers and shakers of the Polish American Library Association--an opportunity to get involved in PALA's goals and objectives. Information will also be available about the role of librarians in the newly formed Jan Karski Educational Foundation and in the "All of Polonia Reads to Kids" initiative. Tours of the museum and the museum library will begin at 3:30, following the speaker and entertainment. The meeting will also feature the presentation of the second Vera May Barnes Zubrzycki Scholarship to a student from Dominican University.

The mission of the Polish American Librarians Association is to positively impact services provided to library patrons of Polish descent and individuals interested in Polish culture and to enhance professional knowledge by developing forums for discussion and networks of communication among library staff working with Polish collections and patrons of Polish origin. Annual membership dues for librarians are $25. Library support staff, students, retirees, and others are eligible for a $15 special rate. Membership in PALA includes admission to the Annual Meeting and Open House; attendees can join or renew at the PALA website or at the door on the day of the program. From nonmembers, a $10 donation is encouraged.