Blatant Berry: Half Way to ALA

Those who need it least get conference subsidies

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Oct 1, 2010

NO LIBRARIAN FROM THE NORTHEAST WHO CAN afford it will pass up a January week in beautiful San Diego with friends and colleagues, where the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting is being held. But few of the young, front-liners who would enjoy the conference and need it most can afford to go.

It has always been that way. The top managers, directors of libraries, and others who get the least use out of them get full subsidy and time off to attend conferences. When I was a young librarian in the Sixties, we felt that this practice was not only backward but unjust.

One of my friends even invented a program called "Half Way to ALA." The idea was that bosses would donate half of their meeting subsidies to younger, lower-level members of their staffs. It still seems like a great idea, although I suppose reality dictates that very few library leaders would willingly give back half of their conference support.

For an East Coast librarian, the price of Midwinter in San Diego begins with the $300 "bundled" registration fee for Midwinter and the annual conference. You can get something like a third of that back if you decide not to go to annual next summer in New Orleans. Let's say $150 for registration, and then add about $400 for airfare (you're lucky if you can get it that cheap). To stay at a good headquarters hotel for, say, four nights will cost at least another $600 and probably more. For meals and events, plus transportation to and from airports, I'd guess at least $500. These very low estimates total $1650. Depending on where you're from and how cheaply you can get by, you might be able to reduce that price tag, but I'll bet that most librarians will spend a bit more.

The effect of these costs on conference attendance is obvious. It explains all the rumors and talk about merging the ALA conference with Reed Exhibition Companies', a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., BookExpo America (BEA). For librarians, ALA's annual and Midwinter Meeting plus BEA offer a cornucopia of professional and personal opportunities. These shows are the places to learn about the latest best practices in libraries, the latest vendor products, and the latest and hottest new books from publishers. To many, the opportunity to gather and celebrate with colleagues and friends from all over the country and to hobnob with celebrity authors and well-known library folk at the conference parties is the big –attraction.

Nearly everyone in the profession would like to go to ALA or BEA. Many see it as a reward for the year's work and for rising in the ranks of the profession. Others need the professional development and the new ideas they get. They may not only be attending programs but presenting them, as well as participating on all types of committees that expand their professional horizons. On the book and programming side, many meet with authors and publishers to arrange for programs back home at the library. Everyone schmoozes and boozes with acquaintances and associates. The conferences are probably the best available continuing education opportunity for working librarians.

I still like the "Half Way to ALA" idea, even if it is probably unrealistic. It's unconscionable that those who can profit from all the Midwinter Meeting has to offer not only have to ante up the money to pay for it but often have to take vacation time to –attend!

If we can't get the money from those who are subsidized, maybe ALA can cut registration fees for staff at lower salary levels, find cheaper lodging, and/or try to cut deals with airlines. It is clearly time to find new ways to reverse the ancient formula and subsidize conference attendance for those who want—and need—to go.