Identity crisis

In January, after attending what once was called ALA Midwinter Conference, I was left with the question what is LLX? I know many publishers stayed away, preferring to send exhibits and staff to PLA's conference this month. I know that many vendors stayed away, possibly due to how few people attended. Why such low attendance…

As I think about What’s Next

Many years ago, as a Baby Librarian, I realized I was the youngest in the room at many AASL committee meetings. Now, "baby" was in her 30s, so that didn't feel quite right. And I've blogged about many of my issues with AASL (and ALA) before. I'm no longer the youngest, but sadly, many of…

The future of ALA

I've been thinking about this for a number of years, and after two years of COVID cancellations followed by the in person experience I'm still wondering what are the people at ALA thinking? Just over a year ago, this post about ACRL's conference appeared: Service Ceiling: The High Cost of Professional Development for Academic Librarians.…

ALA in person

I made it, traveling to DC and back via Amtrak Acela (first class) and wearing an N95 during the majority of my time (eating, obviously, the big exception). Most attendees were good about adhering to the mask mandate, and ALA certainly appeared to take it seriously: However, it appears that just as there are many…

From the archives: What about ALA?

Increasingly, people are saying "ALA is broken". There are many reasons, but when I have friends tweeting things like this: Two years on, it's not much better. There was an interesting post Let's Fix ALA in 2020 that still resonates. Sad, no? Here are some of my observations and suggestions: More virtual opportunities to serve,…

From the archives: Movers, Shakers and Just Plain Folks

It's that time of the year, when people who are leaving the profession are feted and appreciated for what they've contributed to our lives. Some of these inspirations are only known within their school, or their city, some are known by a far wider audience. Soon, the nominations for the I Love My Librarian award…

What happened to Spring Break?

I’m sure I’m not alone i’m wanting another week off. Living in Boston and seeing snow Monday morning?? It was, as a colleague said, adding insult to injury. On the other hand, I did create a presentation for the MSLA Conference: The best part was the opportunity to really look at the guides we’ve created…

The strangest #AISL22 ever

(for me, anyway) Usually this is the time when I'm going through my chicken scrawl, typing up my notes and trying to make sense of what presenters are doing in their schools that I can transfer to my school. Not this time. After Tampa presented a virtual #AISL21, the call went out to all members…

Why compete?

https://twitter.com/libraryvoice/status/1478501207127822339 My response? We should always all be the Librarian of the Year. Granted, this "competition" is less middle school than the AASL Social Media Award but still. I'm also anti the LJ Movers & Shakers because the implication is that the rest of us just aren't doing librarianship right. Particularly since 2020, with libraries…

100 Days and counting

In 100 days, AISL's 2021 Conference will start - all virtual, as it was last year. However, this year it will be three days, not one, and there will be a fairly robust technology platform. How do I know all this? Because I raised my hand to volunteer... became tri-chair... due to someone dropping out…