A Shared Passion

Nettie Lee Benson should have met the Mexican writer Carlos Monsiváis. Maybe she did; I don’t know. But a visit to the Museo del Estanquillo in Mexico City makes it clear that they shared a sense of esthetics and documentation that shaped important aspects of their lives.

Monsiváis’ voracious collecting appetite included all types of Mexican materials. The current exhibit at the Estanquillo, like so many in Mexico these days, recalls events of 1910, but in this case the great celebration sponsored by the Diaz regime, rather than the Revolution that would soon chase Don Porfirio from power. And visiting it inspires a sense of déjà vu in anyone familiar with Nettie Lee’s legacy and the objects now on display in the Benson Collection’s Reading Room. Vitrine after vitrine at the museum hold programs from the celebration, including events as varied as the return of martyred revolutionary hero Jose de Morelos’ uniform by the Spanish ambassador—who knew they had it a century on?—and the better known convening of the International Congress of Americanists in Mexico City and Teotihuacan. Monsiváis collected large and small— life-sized bronze busts, folio albums commemorating the Diaz regime’s accomplishments, invitations issued to the dozens of official events, menus from banquets, commemorative cigar wrappers, telegrammed regrets (the Bulgarians couldn’t make it).

If Carlos and Nettie Lee were acquainted, he must have been pleased to learn that her library was to be honored with the Medalla de 1808, presented the week of his death in Mexico City. And even if they never met, Nettie Lee would surely have known of their kindred passions.

Presidential Message- April 2011

As I begin this message, I am struck by how quickly my term as SALALM President is progressing. Although several weeks remain until the presidency changes hands, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on my experience. It has been a genuine pleasure to serve as SALALM President. I have had the opportunity to learn in-depth about the organization and its function; engage more broadly with my fellow SALALMistas; and represent SALALM at both the Ferias del Libro in Bogotá and Guadalajara last year. I also greatly appreciate serving at a time of change within the organization. In my years as a SALALM member, I have seen many changes in SALALM, none perhaps as extensive as those proposed under the E-SALALM initiative. In short order, SALALM will not only revamp its communications and outreach models, but also modernize routine functions. It will likely take a couple more years for all of the changes to take effect, but I am confident that we will accomplish this goal. This is truly an exciting time to be a SALALM member and officer. For anyone considering future service as SALALM President, let me say that it is truly a rewarding opportunity.

Now for a few updates…

First and foremost, I want to welcome Peter Johnson to his new role as SALALM Treasurer. As I mentioned in my announcement on LALA-L, Peter brings extensive experience with the Finance committee and Investment Working Group. As a long-time SALALM member, Peter also has an intimate understanding of the organization. SALALM is facing significant challenges in the coming years. I feel confident that Peter is well-positioned to lead SALALM in mattes of finance.

Hard to believe, but SALALM LVI is just around the corner! I am about the program, which is coming together nicely. The theme appears to have struck a chord not only amongst SALALMistas, but also with colleagues in Latin America. I received and accepted many interesting paper and panel proposals. Soon Roberto Delgadillo and I will be calling for moderators and rapporteurs. Please consider participating in one or other capacity.

Some of you have asked about the keynote speaker. It is a pleasure to announce that Peter Kornbluh will be the SALALM LVI keynote speaker. Peter is Senior Analyst and Director of the National Security Archive’s Cuba and Chile Documentation Projects. Peter will share his perspective and experience in documenting human rights at the Archive. In turn, Peter expressed interest in talking with SALALMistas about the archive and its uses in research in instruction. Therefore, I have also arranged a session on Monday afternoon for a conversation with Peter.

SALALM LVI will also host a meeting of GPLASC: the Greater Philadelphia Latin American Studies Consortium (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=148270935213286). GPLASC is a co-sponsor of SALALM LVI and hopes to connect with librarians and libreros alike.

Lastly, to follow up on the many E-SALALM initiatives, I scheduled an update on Sunday, May 29^th. I hope you will join us to learn about proposed changes to the SALALM Newsletter and web site; recommendations for intra-SALALM communication and routing functions and an update on the initiative to produce SALALM sponsored webinars.

Nerea Llamas, University of Michigan

Express Yourselves: Simple Personal Websites

If you google my name, you will discover that I am a writer of romantic fiction. And a tennis pro who was flung into jail by Joe Arpaio, America’s toughest sheriff. And a medical librarian in the UK. Or not... Sadly for me, there are in fact several Alison Hicks who are either far more famous than me, or who have sponsored a lot of links about themselves. For those of you who have unusual names or who are secretly quite pleased about your new Googlified-self, maybe this doesn’t matter. But for many years, a search engine has been the default for finding out about people, whether this is professionally or socially. While I am neither vain enough nor rich enough to search engine optimize my name, Web 2.0 has made it much easier for me to ensure that people find more accurate information about me.

If you just want a quick, low maintenance online presence, the easiest way to get started is to sign up for a profile on a professional social networking site. Less intrusive than Facebook, these sites are ranked highly in search engines and only show snippets of information in search engine results. Linked In is the easiest, but academia.edu is growing in popularity. Google profiles is another site which enables you to claim your name and control how you appear in Google. ClaimID is one more site which allows you to have more control over your name.

But I already have 3 social network profiles, a blog and a twitter feed! A more detailed solution, which is equally easy to create, is a personal portfolio or webpage to start promoting you, your projects and your achievements. Web 2.0 personal portfolios are easy to keep up to date, involve no knowledge of html,
are hosted for free and you can link in your social media sites too. Weebly is a very easy to use drag and drop site which has a lot of customization options. Flavors.me is a slightly trendier personal portfolio site which encourages you to link your social networking personas into one place. Finally, if you can get past the narcissistic title, about.me provides an equally new and hip way to manage your online presence.

If you prefer html, have access to server space or want to make a more robust or in depth personal portfolio, there are a bunch of free templates available. Wordpress.org is the version of the popular blogging software that can be used to create a webpage. Alternatively, do a search for “free web templates” to get suggestions for another easy way to create a webpage; Andreas Viklund has some cool ones.
Finally, there are some tools to track how you are represented on the web. Google Alerts is well known for tracking phrases or keywords, while Social Mention does the same for social media. You can set up searches in Twitter for any keyword, while TweetBeep claims to be the Google Alerts for Twitter.

And if this is all too typical millennial self-centered for you, all these resources would also work for groups and projects as well as people.

So go ahead, make a profile and reclaim your online identity! And in the meantime watch out for my novel that features a steamy romance between a tennis pro and a medical librarian...

Alison Hicks
http://alisonhicks.weebly.com/
University of Colorado at Boulder
Alison.Hicks @ Colorado.EDU

An artist book? An antiquarian book? And it’s not an ebook?

Here in in the land of Facebook, Google and Twitter hardly a day goes by without a constant mention of ebooks, social networks or a super-wired generation awaiting the next digital technology. So, when I tried to explain to some friends that I was attending a fair for the book arts and another one for antiquarian books and manuscripts, the landscape got a bit too nebulous.

But there I was, at the Codex Book Fair, already on its second day of workshops and meetings, ready to hear about fine printing in Mexico from Juan Nicanor Pascoe, perhaps the best-known Mexican master printer. He not only (re)claimed his Mexican heritage, but delighted a SRO audience on how he arrived at his trade, via Iowa, finally settling at his current locus amoemus,(Tacámbaro) in rural Michoacan.

A few days later on an unexpected visit to the Stanford campus, Pascoe told of his other talent: music, “I am better known among musicians,” having just returned from an encuentro musical veracruzano. Pascoe is no stranger to SALAMistas, just ask Theresa Salazar (UC-Berkeley-Bancroft), Teresa Chapa (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Nerea Llamas (Michigan), who visited his Taller Martin Pescador. The name of the press was chosen by Roberto Bolaño, a yet unknown young Chilean writer who led a group of vagabond poets, infrarealistas, and for whom Pascoe published an early poetry chapbook of 225 copies entitled: Reinventar el amor.

In this milieu of fine presses, Latin America was well represented, by Pascoe and his young partner Artemio Rodriguez and by others familiar to SALALM: Colombia’s Arte dos Grafico and California’s Catherine Docter from Libros San Cristobal, probably one of the best kept secrets in the region.


Following the book arts festival came the yearly pilgrimage for many of the same book lovers/collectors to the 44th International California Antiquarian Book Fair. As with many other things, both New York and California claim to have the best one in North America. Unlike previous years, there seemed to be fewer attendees, a sign of the dire economic times. Even so, dealers brought out their best rare/unique titles, like Gustave Doré’s Corrida de toros. At $28,000, the six prints were best admired from afar. I even felt guilty taking the profusely illustrated catalogue from the London dealer. For the less affluent, $11,000 could have been just fine for that masterpiece of 19th century Mexican cartography: Atlas Pintoresco e Histórico de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.



There were also items a precios módicos, like Sanctus sonorensis, a prayer-like visual text honoring the undocumented immigrants who die in the Sonoran desert.





For rare Latinamericana visits to: Bray Books, Libros Latinos and Plaza Books were a must, along with a stop at a Barcelona dealer which had brought some first editions of Lorca, Neruda, and Miguel Angel Asturias, among others. You could even find a signed grabado by the great Mexican muralist Orozco. It turned out to be false, but when I went to see it, the price was still listed over $1000.

At the end of the weekend fest, the last minute crowds seemed to have arrived. I left, 90 minutes before closing, amused at some of the clever names: Any Amount of Books, Back of Beyond Books, Between the Covers, Books of Wonder, By the Book, Carpe Diem, First Folio, Literary Lion, Lost Horizon, Sanctuary Books, and Serendipity, etc.

I kept hoping to find the dealer from whom I bought a few Mexican Revolution postcards last year. How can I forget that mujer valiente from 100 years ago, the one who defied the often mistranslation of soldadera as camp follower. I wouldn’t dare call her that, would you?




Adan Griego (Stanford), Daniel J. Slive (Southern Methodist) and Juan Nicanor Pascoe arguing in front of the Libros Latinos booth and caught off guard by Roberto Trujillo's i-phone camera.




Images:
1) Codex Espangliensis From Columbus to the Border Patrol by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Enrique Chagoya and Felicia Rice. (trade edition published by City Lights Books, 2000). Moving Parts Press published the limited edition.

2) Juan Nicanor Pascoe and Artemio Rodriguez at a 2009 event featureing their collaborative book Tacámbaro (on display at Codex 2011). It is a fully illustrated, handprinted artist book featuring Jose Ruben Romero's collection of poems and contains 72 black & white blockprints by Rodriguez.

Presidential Message- February 2011

Happy New Year! I want to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous 2011.

Just back from an all too short break, I am diving back into conference planning. SALALM LVI is just 4 months away! To kick off the year right, I took a brief trip to Philadelphia last week, site of the upcoming SALALM LVI Annual Meeting. I spent 3 fabulous days in Philadelphia with Joe Holub and David Murray. Before I move on the details, I want to thank Joe and David for their hospitality during my visit. Along with conference planning, I was treated to an extensive tour of Philadelphia’s many and varied neighborhoods, its historical sites and, of course, a sample of its fabulous cuisine!

While in Philadelphia, I stayed at the Radisson-Plaza Warwick hotel, site of our meeting. The ‘Warwick’ is a beautiful historic hotel in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia. Rooms at the Warwick are comfortable with all of the amenities you would expect in a modern hotel, including complimentary high speed, wireless internet. For convenience, there are 3 options for dining within the Warwick, The Coffee Bar, Tavern 17 and the Prime Rib Restaurant (dinner only). Just two blocks from Rittenhouse Square itself, the hotel is surrounded by many restaurants and shops and within walking distance to many Philadelphia’s historic sites. I know you will find many ways to enjoy yourselves between meetings and panels. Joe and David are already hard at work on creating guides to the best spots.

On the first day of my visit, I enjoyed a walk to the Reading Terminal Market with Joe. On the way, he suggested we stop by the historic Wanamaker’s building, now a Macy’s. Built in 1910 by Daniel H. Burnham, this Florentine style building features granite walls, the St. Louis World’s Fair pipe organ and a statue of bronze eagle. Even if you are not a fan of department stores, Macy’s, located in Center City on the corner of Juniper and Market Streets, is a must-see. After Macy’s, we headed straight for the Market. Along with fresh meats, fish, cheeses and baked goods, the Reading Terminal Market includes many restaurants. Joe and I opted for lunch at a stand serving Mexican food, which did not disappoint. After lunch, we headed back to the Warwick, where Samantha Boyle, our contact at the hotel, gave us a tour of the meeting rooms and exhibit space. SALALM will occupy rooms on both the Mezzanine and Executive Conference levels. The Mezzanine, where registration will be located, is an airy, open space which SALALM members can use to gather between meetings. Day one finished with a delicious dinner in China Town.

Day two of my visit was dedicated to planning. Following lunch a local campus eatery, David, Joe and I met at the University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt Library. We spent the afternoon updating the conference web site and editing registration forms. We also talked at length about options for both the libreros and host receptions. For now I can share that the libreros reception will be held at the newly renovated Baptist Temple on the campus of Temple University. A Romanesque church, the Baptist Temple is now the Temple Performing Arts Center. Our second, host reception will be held at the Anne & Jerome Fischer Fine Arts Library on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Though both campuses are relatively nearby, Joe and David are arranging transportation for attendees. After an afternoon of planning, David continued my tour of Philadelphia with a drive through North Philadelphia. We passed through the Temple campus and headed Northwest for dinner and dessert in Chestnut Hill, a beautiful, residential neighborhood.
On my last morning, Joe and I visited the Eyes Gallery in South Philadelphia. This hybrid shop, art gallery contains an extensive collection of Latin American folk art. Julia Zagar, the gallery’s owner, graciously showed us around the location’s three jam-packed floors. The Eyes Gallery was a wonderful way to wrap-up my visit. This is definitely a must-see for SALALMistas .

After this short visit to Philadelphia, I am more excited than ever about our upcoming meeting! I know you are anxiously awaiting your conference invitations. I expect that you will have received them by the time this message is published (or soon after). The SALALM LVI web site is already available at http://guides.temple.edu/SALALM_LVI. Thanks to David Murrary for designing and populating the site. Along with the requisite registration forms and hotel reservation instructions, you will also find a preliminary schedule (coming soon) and links to articles about Philadelphia. Please note the registration deadline is March 25, 2011. And, if you haven’t submitted your paper or panel proposal yet, there is still time!

Until next time…

Nerea A. Llamas
University of Michigan

Presidential Message- November 2010

In an effort to catch up on posting Presidential Messages, here is #3 from the November SALALM Newsletter...


Warm greetings from Michigan!

Hard to believe that it is mid-November and the holiday season is just beginning. Next week is Thanksgiving when many of us in the U.S. will indulge in our favorite foods and traditions. For me Thanksgiving is also prelude to the Feria Internacional del Libro in Guadalajara. I am looking forward to seeing many of you there. But before I began packing, here are some updates from the SALALM presidency…

Planning for SALALM LVI in Philadelphia is well underway. By now you will have seen the conference announcement. I encourage you to participate by submitting a paper or panel proposal. I also ask that you share the conference announcement widely. One of my hopes is that we will approach the topic of memory and human rights archives from many perspectives, so I welcome proposals from SALALMistas and non-SALALMistas alike.

Let me also remind you that SALALM is once again sponsoring two types of travel grants, the ENLACE Travel Awards and the Presidential Travel Fellowship. If you are interested in applying or know of someone who is, please visit http://www.salalm.org/conference/enlace.html and http://www.salalm.org/conference/presidentialtravel.html for more details.

Joe Holub and David Murray have been busy with local arrangements in Philadelphia. Currently, they are designing the conference web site, which will launch in the coming weeks. Joe and David have also asked me to visit in January to catch up on their activities and see the conference site for myself. I can’t wait! Look for my report in February.

From my previous message, you know that the e-SALALM initiative is gaining steam. The e-SALALM Ad-hoc committee is already hard at work on their charge. Meanwhile, the membership of the SALALM Communications Committee was also finalized. I am pleased to share that the committee consists of: SALALM Website Manager: Melissa Gasparotto; SALALM Website Content Editor: Daisy Domínguez, chair; LALA-L Moderator: Gayle Williams; SALALM Social Media Coordinator: Alison Hicks; Membership Committee Liaison: Orchid Mazurkiewicz. While the SALALM Communications Committee’s on-going charge is “to coordinate the promotion and dissemination of information related to SALALM news, events, activities, members, and initiatives …,” this year will be devoted in large part to transforming the SALALM Newsletter.

Along with these two working groups, a third, the Webinar Pilot Project Working Group, was also formed by popular demand. This working group is the result of a discussion amongst several SALALM members about how to provide virtual training or workshops, particularly to non-SALALM members. The group, whose members are Anne Barnhart, Adan Griego, Darlene Hull, Sean Knowlton, Jana Krentz, Carmen Yasmina Lopez and Orchid Mazurkiewicz (chair), will pilot a SALALM webinar project during the 2010-2011 year. As part of their charge, this group will investigate hardware & software needs, cost, audience and content and then host a webinar. Webinars are an exciting prospect for SALALM as they can be cost effective ways of delivering instruction and at the same time publicizing SALALM activities. Stay tuned for more news about this pilot project.

As in previous years, a group of SALALMistas will attend the Feria Internacional del Libro (FIL) in Guadalajara, Mexico. Thanks to the Free Pass Program, sponsored by the American Library Association and FIL, many of us have attended regularly over the last several years. This year, along with participating in the FIL orientation session, SALALM is also sponsoring a book donation drive. SALALMistas attending FIL are encouraged to donate academic books to AMIGOS: Red de Instituciones Mexicanas para la Cooperación Bibliotecaria. Books should be university press titles on topics related to the United States or Latin America. For those not travelling to Guadalajara, I encourage you to consider mailing your donations (contact Adán Griego, adan.griego@stanford.edu, for instructions). During the economic downturn Mexican academic libraries have reduced their spending on US university press books. Any titles you can provide will be appreciated.

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays!

Nerea A. Llamas
University of Michigan

The Serials Subcommittee would like to gather information about new Latin American print and electronic journals.

Please let us know of any new titles using the form available on the Serials Webpage

Enter as much information about the journal that you can find (eg title, place of publication, web address, ISSN)

You can also send new titles directly to Ruby Gutiérrez (rgutierr @ ucla.edu) or Alison Hicks (Alison.Hicks @ colorado.edu)

A listing of new journal titles will be archived on the new serials archive webpage: and an announcement that a list is ready will be sent to LALA-L.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Alison and Ruby
Serials Subcommittee