PLA Blog

by Michael Golrick

It is Sunday morning, and after having had some trouble logging in, I am now ready to blog. Later today there will be post on yesterday’s PLA Board meeting. Now, it is Sunday and the “Info Session” is going on. This session is reports on various topics, some required each time.

The first item was a report on the Graduated Dues Study Task Force, Budget Analysis and Review Committee*, Endowment Trustees*, and Nominating Committee*. [Those with * are required either in the bylaws or by ALA policies.]

In the Nominating Committee report, there is a question about the number of school librarians. Registration numbers are higher than Seattle on the same day, and a total of 12,223 compared to 11,822 in Seattle on the same day. This bodes well for the association.

As I linger with the people staying on a bit at the NMRT social who ordered dnner, I feel compelled to talk about food.

It is said that paying for food at a conference is simply criminal. The trick is to find out where and when all the big vendor and committee receptions are, and treat yourself to your own smorgasborg… no expense receipts to worry about, no group checks to fuss and bother over.

However, if you really like to scout out the local fare, and you don’t mind spending a little money, it’s nice to know where to look. You could go with the old standbys of say, Zagat’s or the restaurant section of Fodor’s. However, if you want the real skinny and the local dirt on good eats, and a fun way to avoid tourist trap restaurants, I would recommend Yelp.

For instance, this morning I wanted tea, and because I’m a tea freak, I wanted good tea. I whipped out my Blackberry, hit the Yelp site, and searched for “tea” in “Philadelphia, PA.” I spent all morning in a lovely tea shop called Tbar, far from the tourist traps, enjoying tea and free wifi.

Yelp is foodie (and everything else, really) social networking at it’s finest. While I was there, I wrote up a review on the Tbar’s Yelp listing, waxing poetic about how wonderful it was for future customers to read. You should consider posting your reviews of the different restaurants and other places you visit while at conference, or anywhere you travel, and especially your favorite hometown haunts.

So, if you’re looking for good tea, hit Tbar on South 12th Street, about a block and a half south of Market St. And be sure to have some fun on Yelp!

OCLC Symposium–New Leadership for New ChallengesTo prepare the crowd for discussing change, an OCLC representative issued clickers at the door. These small electronic devices allowed symposium attendees to vote on the fly for answers to survey questions displayed on the large board. The OCLC representative joked that the crowd went for the “safe” answers of “all of the above” or “some combination of the two” rather than daring to trudge out on their own and pick an answer that might be controversial.The first speaker, Leslie Crutchfield author of the book “Forces for Good” was introduced and proceeded to highlight six facets that make non-profit organizations truly great. (more…)

Hello! My name is Evan T. Struble, and I’m the Continuing Education Coordinator for OHIONET–a library service organization in Columbus, Ohio. I’m attending my first ALA Midwinter conference and am happy to share some of my thoughts about the programs offered with you all. One caveat: It’s been a struggle to find free, reliable wireless internet so far, causing some of my posts to be a tad “delayed.” I apologize in advance for this inconvenience.

After a long and weary drive followed by perhaps too little sleep, I got up this morning for the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Registration was smooth - got to the Will Call window, signed in, and away in about 30 minutes. Spent a little longer working out precisely what I’m going to be doing when for the next few days.

This evening the Exhibit Hall opened. Went in along with all the other early entrants; picked up 24 books and comics and a large stack of literature and paraphernalia. Packed them all away; have an empty bag to fill again tomorrow.

The YALSA Gaming Expo focused mainly on computer console games. Interesting stuff, but was already familiar with a lot of it. Still, I see how it could be useful for someone with little or no prior exposure to the world of gaming.

Hi everyone! I’m Anne Robert, a children’s/teen librarian with the Jacksonville (FL) Public Library. I got to Philly early this morning (at 8am *yawn*) and have done a little sight-seeing. I recommend everyone visit Reading Market - the food there is delicious! I will write more about events happening at Midwinter the next few days. Hope everyone is having a great time in Philly!

Right now, I’m writing to you by way of my Blackberry, on an Amtrak train that left Boston at 6am (I just passed New Haven), on my way to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Our conference bloggers are also making their ways to the Midwinter meeting, and you will soon be reading their introductory posts, as well as their observations, thoughts, insights, and photos of the conference. We hope you enjoy the coverage, and we also hope you’ll have some thoughts to share in the form of comments!

The Midwinter meeting in Philly is fast approaching! If you’d like the 411 on committee meetings, visit the handy chart on the PLA web site, sorted alphabetically by committee name.

We are also still recruiting bloggers for the conference. No experience is required, but great writing skills are desirable. Drop us a line through the contact form with your name, title, library, and blog URL (if you feel like sharing), and we’ll get you all set up. If you have submitted your information to me already, you’ll be hearing from me very soon.

Are you heading to Midwinter? What are you looking forward to most? Least? Feel free to leave us a comment and let us know. And don’t forget to hit the 2008 Midwinter Meeting Wiki when planning your trip!

Are you going to the Midwinter meeting in Philly? Looking for an interesting new way to document your conference experience and share your thoughts? Consider volunteering as a conference blogger for the PLA Blog. No experience is necessary! We even a practice blog to get you acclimated before you head off to the real thing.

If you’re interested, drop us a line through our contact form as soon as possible, including your full name, title, library or organization and blog URL (if you have one/feel like sharing it), so we can get you all set up.

For our readers who can’t join us in The City of Brotherly Love, keep an eye on the blog for reports from sessions, meetings, parties, and more!