Conference Highlights: 2011 American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference

Friday, January 7, 2011

ALA Emerging Leaders Program
8:30am – 5:00pm
Participated in the Emerging Leaders day-long discussion of American Library Association (ALA) governance and effective leadership at the San Diego Convention Center. Presenters included: Peter Bromberg, Assistant Director of the Princeton Public Library; Maureen Sullivan, a current ALA presidential candidate and Simmons College professor; Leslie Burger, a past ALA president; and Jenny Levine, ALA Internet Development Specialist and Strategy Guide. Burger described the path to leadership in ALA as being a gradual ladder. She began by working with ALA Councils and Award Committees, eventually becoming president of the ALA Association Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, then president of the New Jersey Library Association.

The Visual Advocacy Resources Emerging Leaders team enjoyed a working lunch with Beth Yoke, Executive Director of the Young Adult Library Association, and Linda Braun, Educational Technology Consultant. The day was followed by a reception celebrating the Emerging Leaders from 9:30 – 11:00pm at the President Elect-Suite at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina.

In between these two events, attended the opening of the exhibit hall (opened at 5:30pm), which featured over 450 exhibitors. Learned about the new ProQuest platform, Gale, and Mango products by participating in/watching tutorials. Spoke with many current and potential vendors, including EBSCO, Book House, etc.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

H.W. Wilson “What’s New” Breakfast
7:30am – 8:00am
At the H.W. Wilson “What’s New” breakfast, learned about changes to the Wilson databases. For example, Wilson has added links to 13,000+ dissertations and 30 new journals (full-text) in Art Full Text. Like many of the databases shown at ALA, Wilson is available via mobile device.

Washington Office Turning the Page on eBooks
8:00am – 12:00pm
Before a standing-room only throng, panelists discussed the notion proposed by the moderator that, “Because e-books are different…what libraries do with them is different.” Panelists included: Head of Reference and Instruction, Paul Laurence Dunbar Library at Wright State University Sue Polanka; CEO of TAP Information Services Tom Peters; and Founder of the Internet Archive Brewster Kahle. Acting as moderator: Information Technology Policy Consultant Rick Weingarten. Dr. Weingarten discussed the role of eBooks, which he described as having been available for over a decade, along with electronic periodicals. Panelists considered the tactile benefits of physical books, and how appreciation of these tactile qualities might limit use of eBooks. The major focus of the discussion related to the acquisition of eBooks in libraries. Legal and financial obstacles prevent libraries from fully realizing the benefits of eBooks for patrons. Another hurdle --- libraries must devise a way in which to offer books to all readers regardless of the reader or mobile device used.

ProQuest Luncheon & Platform Training
12:00pm – 1:30pm
ProQuest Customer Education & Training Specialists Aimée Leverette and Maria Ziemer demonstrated the new ProQuest platform administrator module. The demo included interface settings, usage reporting, linking in and out, admin settings, title lists and MARC records, and authentication and access information.

The World (and Jason Griffey) Interviews Vernor Vinge
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Head of Library Information Technology, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Jason Griffey acted as moderator of this discussion with Vernor Vinge, who is an author with Tor Books. Futurist Vinge writes about the role of technology in shaping the future of mankind. For example, in his title Rainbows End, Vinge imagines a world in which there is absolute immersion in information. Vinge discussed with Griffey his idea that man outsources his cognitive tools --- so, machines now do the work of human minds. This, according to Vinge and other futurists, is leading mankind to a place of technological singularity, wherein man’s intellect is surpassed by the superhuman intellect of the machine. To evidence this, he noted IBM’s computer, Deep Blue, the supercomputer that famously bested chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

In less ominous news…Vernon also discussed his childhood library visits. He explained that he once relied on friends’ library cards to access materials from libraries outside of the region in which he lived. A big fan of libraries, Vernon praised librarians as guardians of our shared history and advocates of the future.

Spotlight on Adult Literature
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Sponsored by the ALA Conference Services and ALTAFF, this event occurred in the Exhibit Hall. Publishers offered readers the opportunity to snag great books and galleys for free or at a significant discount. For those willing to wait in long lines, meet the author opportunities were also available.

Party with eBrary in the Gaslamp District
6:00pm – 9:00pm
Attended eBrary fête at the Gaslamp Rendezvous; met Emily Guss who is the Head of Access and Technical Services at the University of Illinois. Also met Sciences Librarian Emily Chan of University of the Pacific. Chan and I had both selected the tasty baked brie, which made the capacity crowd melt away like a French delicacy.


Sunday, January 9, 2011

LITA Top Technology Trends
8:00am – 9:00am
As in previous LITA tech trend discussions, much consideration was given to the rising role of the cloud. Panelists suggested that outsourcing to the cloud (i.e., LibGuides) allows IT departments to focus on more important endeavors. Panelists included: University Librarian for McMaster University Jeffrey Trzeciak; Douglas County Libraries (CO) Associate Director of Information Technology Monique Sendze; OCLC Vice-President and Chief Strategist Lorcan Dempsey; Wake Forest University Assistant Director for Technology Services Erik Mitchell; and Digital Library Federation Program Director Rachel Frick. Moderated by Top Technology Trends Committee Chair Jason Vaughan this group also talked about effect of self-publishing (i.e., blogs, Flickr, BlipFoto) on the future of the publishing world; the need to archive such self-published material; the role of Internet users in curating the overwhelming quantity of information available virtually (i.e., retweeting); and the need to use data analysis in setting the future course for libraries. Interestingly, Sendze stated that “the lines between enterprise IT and consumer IT are blurring,” and Dempsey agreed, suggesting that many users are now forced to downgrade --- in terms of available technology --- when leaving their homes for their offices.

ALA Council/Executive Board/Membership Information Session
9:00am – 10:00am
Mario Gonzalez, Chair of the Budget Analysis and Review Committee, shared the disappointing news that ALA revenues have been lower than predicted. Fortunately, expenses have also fallen under the expected level. Therefore, furloughed ALA staff received paycheck refunds, as the 2010 budget ended with a surplus. Chair Dan Bradbury reported an improvement in the endowment fund, which was back up to over thirty million dollars after dipping to twenty-three million in 2008. (The fund is also up ten percent over last year.) ALA President Roberta Stevens described her efforts to recruit authors to promote libraries via PSAs. Thus far, she’s coerced Mo Willems (a New Orleans native), Laurie Halse Anderson, Scott Turow, David Baldacci, Sharon Draper, Carmen Agra Deedy, and Sara Paretsky. (More information is available @ www.ilovelibraries.org/ourauthorsouradvocates.) ALA President-Elect Molly Raphael spoke briefly about her advocacy and diversity initiatives. She was followed by ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fields, who explained that ALA membership has declined by two percent. This drop is chiefly due to decreased small public library enrollment. Research is being conducted to determine what benefits might be offered to these libraries to encourage enrollment.

LITA Mobile Computing Interest Group Meeting
1:30pm – 3:30pm
The Book Genie mobile service was described by Oregon State University librarians Hannah Gascho Rempel and Evviva Weinraub. Built using CSS3, MySQL (on Unix), XHTML, and Ruby on Rails, this app provides random recommendations of library materials for users, much like the Shake It! Service offered by the Orange County Library System (Florida), however Book Genie is Web-based. The randomized selections are pulled from popular, banned, and award-winning collections.

University of Illinois Orientation Services Librarian Jim Hahn told the audience of his survey of the use of mobile technology by U of I students. He conducted this study by riding campus buses while carrying an iPad that he used to help students find information. When inquiring about academic matters, the students were primarily interested in information relating to their most recent class session. Hahn found that students were often more concerned with the cafeteria offerings and the local weather forecast than in class-related research, however. Slides and more information available via http://genie.library.oregonstate.edu/ & https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/18211.

President’s Program: Keynote Speaker Ted Danson
3:30pm – 5:30pm
For the President’s Program, Roberta Stevens spoke with Golden Globe-, SAG-, and Emmy-award winning actor Ted Danson about his commitment to the environment. In mid-March, publisher Rodale will release Danson’s book, Oceana: Our Planet's Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. In it, Danson shares his path as an activist --- from small protests in the ‘80s to his current status as one of the foremost speakers on oceanic environmentalism. In this role, Danson addressed the World Trade Organization in Zurich, testified in D.C. for congressional committees, and worked to establish Oceana, which is the single largest ocean-dedicated organization. The activist’s experience has taught him that a positive outlook is justifiable. Danson told Stevens, “The problems are fixable.” His most challenging battle as a spokesperson for the oceans has been battling opponents who argue that environmentalism will harm the economy by decreasing jobs, for example in offshore drilling. Danson argues that clean energy can replace those oil and coal jobs, and also add even more jobs to the economy. He recommended that librarians arm themselves with information, and that we share conservation resources with patrons.

Monday, January 10, 2011

LITA Town Meeting
8:00am – 10:00am
Hosted by LITA President-Elect Colleen Cuddy, this discussion considered how LITA involves members in the association. She described the manner in which LITA enacted the strategic plan that was finalized last year, and committee chairs explained initiatives. Committee chairs also detailed committee accomplishments and activities as these relate to the goals of the strategic plan.


Wrap-up, Rev-up Celebration!
2:15pm – 3:30pm
A celebration of the closing of the mid-winter meeting, this was an opportunity for New Orleans to market her delights to conference goers. Gauche stilt-walkers and other bedazzled performers roamed the exhibit hall, hugging library friends and children alike. In celebration of Mardi Gras season, beads were tossed to lucky librarians. Curious informaticists sampled beignets while ALA presidents (past and future) played ring-around-the-rosie with toddlers on the dance floor.

ACRL Fun Fact

The oeuvre of Joss Whedon, who is a writer, producer, and director, includes popular hits like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Buffy ran for 145 episodes) and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog (starring Neil Patrick Harris). At a mid-winter meeting, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) acknowledged Whedon’s work in an exciting discussion of his contribution to the pop culture image of the librarian. The screenwriter created School Librarian Rupert Giles (namesake of my sister’s feline). This ACRL Popular Culture group described Whedon as “a hero to many librarians.”

The preceding six pics should be attributed to:
ALA - The American Library Association
& are available via Flickr.