The PLA Blog | Official Blog of the Public Library Association
My Top 5 ALA Annual Experiences
This year’s annual American Library Association conference was a whirlwind of activity for me. I was hoping that I could write blog posts everyday on everything amazing that happened. Unfortunately, I never had any time between meetings, sessions, and social events to write anything including a stack of postcards that I bought at the Library [...]
Emerging Leaders Poster Sessions, from Friday, June 25
So I should’ve mentioned in a first post that I actually arrived in D.C. on Thursday to present at the Emerging Leaders Poster Sessions on Friday, June 25. Oops! Emerging Leaders get support in completing a ALA chapter sponsored project, and learn about leadership in those chapters. We first met at Midwinter, and then worked [...]
ALA Update – more to come
Blogging at a convention is HARD. After a long day of sessions, walking and managing the heat, writing blog postings was just not happening. I have returned to work and hope to complete a post this evening. Hopefully I can organize my notes and handouts and get a few more posts done through the weekend. [...]
Graphic Novels: More Bang For Your Book
Christian Zabriskie of Queens Public Library discussed “where graphic novels and circulation mesh” today at the Graphic Novel Pavilion, in one of over forty hours of programming devoted to graphic novels at this year’s ALA Annual conference. “Superbooks: How Graphics Can Save Your Library” wasn’t a colorful, image-filled presentation on the history of graphics, or [...]
Graphic Novels at ALA
I’m here to start my third year as a member of Great Graphic Novels for Teens, a YALSA selection committee. Throughout the year we seek out graphic novels that are both “great” and “great for teens,” and mold them into a selection list at the Annual and Midwinter ALA conferences. You can take a look [...]
Session Report: HELP! My Patron is a Cyber Patient
I attended an excellent overview session on health literacy and reference this morning entitled “HELP! My Patron is a Cyber Patient: Learn to Help Patrons Identify Their Health Information Needs and Locate Relevant Resources”, presented by LaVentra E. Danqua of Wayne State University, Shiffman Medical Library in Detroit, Michigan. She’s worked as a health reference [...]
First Full Day at ALA
ALA is officially underway. Washington was busy yesterday with those that came for pre-conference sessions and everyone just getting to town. The lines were long at the Convention Center for those picking up their ALA promotional bag and other materials, but the lines seemed to be moving quickly. Today the sidewalks are crowded with librarians [...]
A BIG First Day @ ALA by Lucy M. Lockley
Well, I had a VERY BUSY day at the ALA Conference in D.C. on Friday, 6/25/2010. First up was the (full-day) RUSA Preconference “Reference Evolution: Envisioning the Future, Remembering the Past” which featured four speakers: Joseph Janes (The Information School at the University of Washington, founder Internet Public Library), Amy VanScoy (PHD candidate University of North Carolina [...]
Welcome to Washington DC and the ALA Convention
I’ve arrived in DC today, as have thousands of others. for the ALA Convention. There were librarians on the train from Wilmington, Delaware. There were librarians on the Metro. We’re EVERYWHERE!! And it is great to be here. I went to “The Stacks” this evening, and it was busy as you would expect. I’ve already [...]
2009-2010 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study now online
Following the pre-release of key data at the ALA Midwinter Meeting (the “Perfect Storm” briefing report), the ALA this week published the complete findings from the 2009-2010 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (www.ala.org/plinternetfunding). Co-published with American Libraries magazine as their Summer Digital Supplement, the report finds: • 67% of public libraries report that [...]
