PLA Blog

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!

Kevin Nealon, notable actor, comedian and writer, will present the keynote address at the Closing General Session of PLA 2008 on Saturday, March 29, 2008 in Minneapolis. End a fun conference on a funny note by attending this session!

In other speaker news, the speakers have been announced for the ever-popular author lunches. Just a nibble of the speaker list includes Meg Cabot (author of The Princess Diaries series), Arthur & Pauline Frommer (of the famous travel guides), and Nancy Pearl (book recommender extraordinaire!). For the full menu, visit the Meal Events section of the conference site.

PLA has extended the application deadline for the 3M Leadership Institute to November 16. Applications may be submitted through an online form available at www.pla.org. PLA will notify applicants of their acceptance by the end of November.

Presented by PLA and 3M, a PLA partner, the Leadership Institute is a daylong preconference focused on developing leaders and encouraging change within the library profession. Participants will learn how to set a strategy for change, how to handle various challenges and what innovations will best implement, drive and define change. The preconference will be held on Tuesday, March 25, preceding PLA 2008, PLA’s 12th National Conference in Minneapolis.

Registration is limited for this free event. Submit your application today to have the best chance of being selected for this special opportunity from PLA.

It’s never too early to start thinking about meeting up with friends, networking for new contacts, and just plain fun at the upcoming PLA 2008 conference in Minneapolis.

Michael Golrick has set up Social spots for PLA Minneapolis 2008 blog to help the PUBLIB folks figure out where they’ll be meeting up. It’s a bit early, so it’s a bit sparse now, but it will soon list more information about social hot spots in the City of Lakes. So if you’re looking to meet PUBLIB subscribers, or just have fun, keep an eye on their blog in the months to come.

Do you have any recommendations for where to go, what to do, places to eat in Minneapolis? Post your picks to the comments on this post.