American Library Association Conference 2004

Citation

Ashcroft, L. (2005), "American Library Association Conference 2004", New Library World, Vol. 106 No. 5/6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nlw.2005.072106eac.001

American Library Association Conference 2004

The American Library Association conference took place in Orlando. This was well attended with total attendees numbering 19,731, comprising 13,973 registered delegates and 5,758 exhibitors. These numbers cannot be accurately compared with those for the previous conference in Toronto, as this was a joint ALA and CLA conference (total 21,130 attendees), which was hit by the SARS scare. Many hotels were within walking distance of the Orange Convention Center, although a few were beyond walking distance. But regardless of proximity, given the heat, humidity and rain showers, delegates took advantage of the shuttle bus service, sponsored by Gale, that ran between the hotels and the Convention Centre. The conference got off to a good start with the keynote opening address from Richard A Clarke. Author of the best-selling book Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror, Clarke referred to his experience of working for seven presidents, serving the last three presidents as a senior White House advisor, and his experience as counterterrorism czar for both former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.

The conference offered more than 2,300 programs, meetings and social events. However, the comprehensive conference program was designed to help delegates get the most from the conference. The program was broken down into nine tracks, each of which was broken down into subtracks. This was supplemented by a daily publication of Cognotes, the official conference newspaper, giving news on events, special features, additions and any changes. Clearly there was plenty to choose from, and again it was hard to choose which conference sessions to attend – even if following a track constantly there were interesting sessions running at the same time. For those international delegates new to ALA, there was a session right at the beginning of the conference, “International Librarians’ Orientation”. This provided information about the ALA, its annual conference, and about Orlando. This was a mix of how to get the most from the conference and exhibition, and also some tourist-type information about Orlando. There is also an International Relations Round Table Annual Program, which held a session titled “International library collaborations in a digital world”. The focus of this was the digital environment, which provides increased opportunities for libraries to work together worldwide. I was pleased to be one of the four speakers at this session. The presentations provided examples of projects and services that are possible in a global networked environment, and discussion of the digital divide that prevents libraries in some countries from participating in global librarianship.

I was also pleased to speak at another session, which was YALSA’s (Young Adult Library Services Association) panel-driven “Sharing your experiences writing about YA services”. This was a lively event, open to questions after the panel offered information and suggestions, which culminated in an interesting discussion. When it came to which other sessions to attend, I was spoilt for choice with so many sessions running at the same time. Rather than follow one particular track, I dipped into various tracks, as some topics arose in many tracks, for example “Best Practices” and “Hot Topics”.

The following gives an indication only of the very different types of sessions throughout the conference.

At the American Association of School Librarians President’s Program, Ian Jukes, Director of Infosavvy Group Consultants, Inc., discussed the revolution in information technology, how it has changed the learning styles and thought patterns of children and young adults, and the implications these changes have for librarians, educators and parents. The main theme of his talk was change. He characterized technological change as “sneaky”, likening it to watching a child grow up. He identified four exponential tends. The first is “Moore’s Law” (named for Intel founder Gordon Moore), which holds that technology is growing increasingly powerful and is getting cheaper. This means that information is more accessible for children and teenagers. The second is the “Law of Photonics” – the growth of bandwidth – which means that these technologies are more portable. Third is the growth of the internet facilitating information access on a much wider scale. Last is “Infowhelm”, meaning information overload. The volume of the flow of information is doubling every two weeks leading to the increasing obsolescence of technical information. Jukes warned that users of the new technologies will have to spend at least half a day a week just to stay up-to-date. He raised questions about the impact of the new technology in the ways children and adolescents think, how it has affected their learning styles, the changes needed in the structure of American education for it to stay relevant, and what librarians can do to facilitate those changes. He argued that young people have internalized these new technological trends, leading to increased impatience, a desire for instant gratification and communication, and a demand for more interactive information. They view traditional education as irrelevant and meaningless, as reflected in increasing boredom in class and higher dropout rates. Jukes concluded by asserting that schools and communities must engage in long-range planning (over years, not just the following year) to adjust to new thought patterns and learning styles. Programs such as “No Child Left Behind” are irrelevant. He warned that if schools and parents fail to make these changes, we will fail our children and ourselves. Jukes challenged librarians to take the lead in urging communities to change their mindset and commit themselves to altering the present education structure radically.

Three librarians spoke at the ALA’s Public Programs Office sponsored program entitled “Collaborating with other libraries in your community: success stories”. Carrie A. Herrmann of Boone County Public Library in Kentucky discussed how an interest group made up of 44 academic, school, public and special libraries in Ohio and Kentucky have collaborated on providing adult programming. Their goals are to combine efforts to sponsor speakers, offer continuing education for librarians who work with adult programming, and to create a database that offers information on performers and presenters. Six years ago, Marilyn Hoffman from Orange County Public Library decided to bring music to her library system. With no budget, she developed a successful program by collaborating with local groups, such as the university string ensemble, middle and high school programs, and others. From bagpipes to acoustic guitars, the program has developed into a highly successful venture. She maintains that collaboration offers funding, resources, ideas, tips, presenters and marketing. Susan Richards of Lawrence University in Wisconsin spoke about her academic library’s collaboration with the area’s local public library. The academic library brought in ALA’s travelling Lincoln exhibit and the public library offered film and book discussion about Lincoln. Although the academic library had never offered programming for the public, it was a highly successful endeavour. She believes that not only did the two institutions benefit from the collaboration, but that the community benefited as well. Community members who had never been on the campus of this private university visited the exhibit, the community appreciated participation by faculty members, faculty enjoyed lecturing to interested adults, and the news media, including affiliates of major stations, covered the event, bringing positive exposure to the area. She added that the two libraries plan to collaborate again, this time including the county museum.

Public Relations was another topic that ran through the conference. ALA’s Public Awareness Committee focused this year’s PR Forum on “Marketing on a Shoestring @ your library”. This was designed to help librarians develop strategies to stretch their public relations and marketing dollars, in light of the fact that librarians (in all types of libraries) are no strangers to marketing on a shoestring, have limited budgets, and require creative ways to promote their libraries. Attendees learned about new programs, partnerships, tools and materials available through ALA’s Campaign for American Libraries. This included “@ your library” initiatives targeted specifically for academic, school and public libraries. Examples of libraries participating in the campaign were shared and free samples materials were provided for participants to take home. Another PR session was “What’s next for your library: harnessing PR magic”. Amongst the announced five speakers was Bill Warren of Walt Disney World Co., but he was not present, which led to some disappointment amongst attendees. However, the other speakers provided much interesting PR coverage and ideas. David Flynn from the University of Hawaii spoke on how he had used the “@ your library” campaign to promote his library. This had brought about visibility, gifts and a successful reach out to other than the usual user base. Marcia Schneider from San Francisco Public Library spoke about her strategy to get much news coverage for damaged books, and Peter Persic from Los Angeles Public Library spoke about the importance of the internal audience, with a PR brief and one-line PR pitch being the key to creating interest. Cliff Haka from Michigan State University spoke about their environmental audit, which led to improving the library environment, with particular attention to the entrance and making the library welcoming. Other improvements include 24/7 opening and the provision of a cybercafe.

Much was on offer at the exhibition area, which seemed constantly busy. As usual, there were many author signings continuing throughout the duration of the conference. There was a mix of large and small exhibits, with plenty of demonstrations. Whilst there seemed to be fewer freebies up for grabs, there were still some novelties, for example Elvis came back to life again and ProQuest again had a wonderful free coffee shop in the air, providing views of the exhibition area. New this year was the “Exhibits Closing Reception” sponsored by ERT. Fun foods and beverages were on offer, together with various prizes for various raffles and a unique presentation from the Guerilla Girls presented by Penguin Putnam. This culminated in a grand prize drawing for a cheque for $5,000.

The ALA/ProQuest Scholarship Bash was back this year at Universal Studios. Delegates could spend three hours at Universal Studios with the park open only to Bash attendees. There were opportunities to meet celebrity look-alikes, shop, play games and enjoy rides, including the Blues Brothers Show, Shrek 4D, ET’s adventure and the new Revenge of the Mummy Ride – all while helping to provide scholarships for library students.

As usual many vendors offered receptions. At the start of the conference, Emerald Publishers held a reception at the Rozen Plaza Hotel offering a sumptuous buffet and drinks, with music and dancing on the agenda. Random House held a reception, giving all attendees a copy of their latest book along with a buffet. Ex Libris held a reception at Seaworld, where, after a buffet, attendees could spend the remainder of the evening enjoying all that was on offer at Seaworld. Sirsi provided buses to ferry attendees to and from their reception at Epcot World Showcase Pavilion where a dessert party and illuminations were on offer. As usual, OCLC’s “President’s luncheon” was a well attended event. These are just a flavour of the many vendors’ receptions throughout the conference.

The reception for International Visitors was held at Café Tu Tu Tango, an interesting venue that had a real buzz. As well as regional cuisines and hors d’oeuvres and an open bar, it was a friendly occasion and a wonderful opportunity to network with information professionals from around the world.

It cannot be denied that the ALA annual conference was a valuable opportunity to meet colleagues and exchange ideas. The next ALA conference will be held in Chicago from 23 to 29 June. Details are on the ALA website (see www.ala.org).

Linda Ashcroft