ALA Midwinter Preview 2009: ALA Midwinter in Hard Times

Will many members show up? The question hovers over the upcoming 2009 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in Denver, January 23–28. The economy gets tougher every day. The exhibits, a few fine speakers, some important information, and the boozing and schmoozing are really the only reasons to be at Midwinter, unless you are an elected or appointed member of some ALA uni t or official body, and there are plenty of those. The primary reason ALA has a Midwinter Meeting, according to the organization's policy, is to expedite “the business of the Association through sessions of its governing and administrative delegates.” All the programs, speakers, and so on are “reserved for Annual Conference” unless specifically authorized by the ALA Executive Board.

That might be proscription or prescription enough to keep members away from Midwinter except for the usual politics and governance freaks and those on the assorted planning, awards, and other committees. Still, all meetings of ALA and its units are open to all members unless they are officially closed “to discuss matters affecting privacy of individuals or institutions.”

With a new federal administration settling in, one good reason to attend Midwinter is to pick up the latest scoop at the Washington Update given by the Washington Office and Committee on Legislation (Sat., Jan. 24, 8 a.m.–noon). It promises to bring the latest on the political environment, including pertinent appointments in the Obama administration and where ALA might find some library allies. There will be an overview of changes in Congressional committee leadership. They'll specify targets for building new library champions and best ways to approach the new members of Congress. They will update you on the pending Google/publishers' settlement (see News, p. 18) and some of the initiatives and priorities that ALA's Committee on Legislation and association allies and coalition friends will suggest to the new Congress. This early assessment of the outlook and its impact on libraries could be Midwinter's most useful contribution.

The ribbon on the Midwinter Exhibits (Jan. 23–26, Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street) will be cut at the Exhibits Opening (Fri., Jan. 23, 5:15 p.m.) to kick off an All-Conference Opening Reception on the exhibit floor. Sponsored by ALA and its Exhibits Round Table, the evening will feature food, entertainment, prizes, and an opportunity to meet and greet vendors and colleagues. Exhibitors will raffle off unique prize baskets worth over $75. The exhibits will also host two concurrent Technology Showcases (Mon., Jan. 26, 10 a.m.–1:15 p.m.).

The exhibits are another good reason to go to Denver. Midwinter attracts lots of library administrators, so the exhibits feature new services and products, and the top sales people and executives from vendors are apt to show up to make deals. The show is almost as big as the one at ALA's annual conference in the summer.

The best from an array of “authorized” programs to entertain and inform librarians at Midwinter is the ALA President's Program (Sun., Jan. 25, 3:30 p.m.), featuring 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. Author of Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty and Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, Yunus did groundbreaking work to help the Third World poor, which culminated in his founding of the Grameen Bank to make microloans to entrepreneurs and more than six million families. Additional Grameen initiatives bring telephone service, Internet access, and renewable energy to impoverished areas. Come hear how institutions such as the Grameen Bank and libraries transform lives and build communities.

The Author Forum (Fri., Jan. 23, 4–5:15 p.m.), preceding the exhibits opening, features best-selling female mystery authors Erica Spindler, whose 28 novels include Last Known Victim; Francine Mathews (The Alibi Club), who also wrote nine Jane Austen mysteries as Stephanie Barron; Mary Jane Clark, whose ten novels include Do You Want To Know a Secret?; and Nancy Atherton, author of Aunt Dimity's Death and other mysteries. Sponsors are Macmillan, Random, HarperCollins, and Penguin, respectively.

The Denver Sunrise Speaker Series will be held every morning (Jan. 24–26, 8–9 a.m.). Saturday features cartoonist Leigh Rubin. Sunday you'll hear popular Dom and Jane Show radio host Dom Testa, with novelist Kevin Anderson (Captain Nemo). On Monday, Richard North Patterson (Exile, Holt) will be there.

Pulitzer Prize–winning Rocky Mountain News reporter Jim Sheeler (Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives, Penguin Pr.) will bring the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture (Sat., Jan. 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m.) home. His work focuses on how the war in Iraq has impacted the families left behind in the United States and soldiers like Maj. Steve Beck, a marine who has the daunting responsibility of casualty notification, informing families of the deaths of their deployed loved ones.

On tap at the FOLUSA/ALTA Author Tea (Mon., Jan. 26, 2–4 p.m.) are authors Jane Hamilton (Laura Rider's Masterpiece, Grand Central; Sandra Dallas, Prayers for Sale, St. Martin's; John Shors, Beside a Burning Sea, Penguin; Shana Abé, The Treasure Keeper, Bantam; and Simon Van Booy, Love Begins in Winter, HarperCollins. Tickets are $35 ($30 for members) till January 21 at www.folusa.org or by phone at 800-936-5872.

FOLUSA has also expanded it's annual Nuts and Bolts Workshopwith a second session (Sat., Jan. 24, 10:30 a.m.–noon or 1:30–3:30 p.m), where Friends, library staff, and trustrees share best practices.

For those who enjoy the often boring and occasionally hotly debated deliberations of ALA's governing bodies and those of its memberless Allied Professional Association (APA), there are a few items on the agenda that might spark some contention. New revised Guidelines for Campaigning by Candidates for ALA Office were just approved and might be debated by the Council. In other actions, the board just approved the Statement of Core Competencies of Librarianship, developed by the Presidential Task Force on Library Education. This could be controversial at the Council meeting, since the statement's reception by the Committee on Accreditation was lukewarm at best.

A shorter schedule (one day less) for the 2010 Midwinter Meeting and annual conference will be debated at Council III, along with a measure supporting the use of “electronic signatures” on petitions for candidacy or other action.

The meetings schedule is as follows: ALA Council, Executive Board, and Membership Information Session (Sun., Jan. 25, 9–10 a.m.) gives the background on the agenda at Midwinter. Council meets in the Four Seasons Ballroom at the Colorado Convention Center (Sun., Jan. 25, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.; Tues., Jan. 27, 9:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m.; Wed., Jan. 28, 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m.).

Candidates for ALA president, Kent Oliver and Roberta Stevens, will speak at a Presidential Candidates Forum (Sat. Jan. 24, 11 a.m.–noon) in the Four Seasons Ballroom. An interesting gaggle of candidates for the Executive Board will present reasons Councilors should vote for them at a forum (Mon., Jan. 26 at 11:30 a.m.) in that same ballroom.

If you're really interested, the Executive Board meets in the Agate Room B/C at the Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel (Fri., Jan. 23, 8 a.m.–noon; Mon., Jan. 26, 1:30–4:30 p.m.; Wed., Jan. 28, 2–5:30 p.m.).

The Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR) provides a Placement Services Center during Midwinter for job seekers and employers. An Orientation for job seekers will be held at the Placement Center (Fri., Jan. 23, 4–4:30 p.m.). Job seekers should register, even though it is not required, to give employers using the Placement Service access to CVs and allow for direct communication between job seekers and employers. Check for jobs on the JobLIST web site at www.joblist.ala.org. Services are free to job seekers. Employers can post positions on the JobLIST web site, too. For more information, contact Placement Service Manager Beatrice Calvin at bcalvin@ala.org or 800-545-2433, x4280.

If you can swing it yourself, or get the library to pick up the tab, there is information, development, and lots of socializing to make ALA Midwinter a valuable time for many librarians. Not only that, skiing and other winter entertainments are nearby. We hope to see you there.