The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture will be take place at the University of Minnesota on May 3, 2014 and will feature author Andrea Davis Pinkney.

The Children’s Literature Research Collections (CLRC) at the University of Minnesota Libraries was chosen to host the event by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and its 2014 May Hill Arbuthnot Committee. The CLRC includes the Kerlan Collection — one of the world’s great children’s literature research collections — and includes books, original illustrations, and manuscripts significant in the history of children’s literature, including those of Pinkney.

“Andrea is an acclaimed writer of informational text for children with a focus on social equality and civil rights,” said Lisa Von Drasek, curator for the CLRC. “We’re just so pleased that we’re able to provide this opportunity to K-12 educators, writers, students, professors – anyone who is interested in how we communicate information to children. We hope to shine a spotlight on Minnesota as a place to come for children literature.”

About Andrea Davis Pinkney

Pinkney is a New York Times best-selling writer of more than 20 books for children and young adults, including picture books, novels and nonfiction.  During the course of her career, Pinkney has launched many high-profile publishing and entertainment entities, including Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing’s Jump at the Sun imprint, the first African American children’s book imprint at a major publishing company.

About the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture

The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture celebrates May Hill Arbuthnot, who served as a strong voice for children’s literature. Each year a lecturer is chosen who will prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.

This paper is delivered as a lecture each spring and is subsequently published in Children & Libraries, the journal of ALSC. ALSC established the lecture series in 1969 with sponsorship from Scott, Foresman and Company. The lectureship is now funded by the ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Endowment and administered by ALSC.

About the ALSC

ALSC, a division of the American Library Association, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC visit www.ala.org/alsc.

Members of the 2014 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee are: Chair Susan Moore, San Diego County Library; Elizabeth Enochs, Fort Worth Independent School District, Fort Worth, Texas; Sue Z. Rokos, Mohawk Valley Library System, Schenectady, N.Y.; Linda Sawyer, Skokie (Ill.) Public Library; and Martha M. Walke, Children`s Literature New England, South Strafford, Vt.