 Friday Evening - 7:00 p.m.
Gene Luen Yang Dessert
$15
Variety of Desserts
Gene Luen Yang once admitted, “I think I'm going to start praying that one of my kids becomes a librarian” as he come away from the November YALSA convention and stated, “I always come away from a room full of librarians feeling inspired.”
The 2009 OASL Conference Committee is honored to have Gene come to Salem as not only a winner of the Printz Award for American Born Chinese, but as an educator who has worked to mix his passions of teaching and comics into learnable art.
Gene used the topic of Comics in Education as the basis for his Master of Arts in Education degree at UC/Hayward. He wrote a history of comics in education with its own ‘McCarthy’ era, and he created “Factoring with Mr. Yang and Mosley,” an interactive comic on algebraic factoring. Gene is still teaching part time, but is spending more and more time at conferences and speaking about his art. He is also working at raising awareness of how the comic and graphic art community can be an incredible tool for school populations and learning in general. Gene suggests trying Larry Gonnick for a whole series of graphics that touch everything from history to physics. He is also particularly fond of Jay Hosler, a biology professor who did a graphic novel called Clan Apis that traces the life cycle of the bee. “It’s beautiful work.”
Gene’s favorite library is the Fremont Main Library in Fremont, California. “It’s a beautiful, well-maintained building with a great selection of books (including comics) and a wealth of programming.” However, his favorite librarian is Annette Counts, the Bishop O’Dowd High School librarian where he teaches. “She’s knowledgeable, friendly, and goes out of her way to help me whenever I have a research question. She neither fears nor worships technology. She simply uses it. She’s the epitome of what a modern librarian should be.”
Gene has also been asked to be a judge for the National Book Awards this year and is looking forward to “reading a couple hundred of the nation’s best YA books this summer.” I asked Gene if he might do a graphic librarian someday, and he headed me toward hisfavorite, Book Hunter by ex-librarian Jason Shiga, and Rex Libris (which is being optioned for a motion picture) by James Turner.
 Gene is focusing for the moment on ‘pure’ graphic novels, and his newest novel, The Eternal Smile also starred Derek Kirk Kim as the artist. Gene did the story lines and thumbnails, and Derek worked the thumbnails into the beautiful panels for publication.They will both be in Salem at the conference collaborating during the Friday Extended session on ‘Making and Teaching Comics.’ They will guide participants through the ins and outs of making comics, looking at the creative process and go through classroom ready exercises to learn about the language of comics.
Gene will color the Friday Dessert palate speaking on ‘Comic Books are Invading America’ and tossing up graphic novels, manga, and classic comic styles that are now served up in America’s libraries, schools, and bookstores. Gene will examine why today’s young readers are enthralled by this century-old art form, and what librarians and educators should do about it.
Gene believes that “In the Information Age, we desperately need Information Professionals to help us sort through the avalanche of words and pictures, colors and sounds. We need them to teach us to research, to discern, and to properly cite. Keep at it! You all are at the forefront of the new world!”
Indeed!
For more information about Gene Luen Yang: www.humblecomics.com
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