Best of Midwinter Meeting 2010

January 21, 2010

ALA's Midwinter Meeting 2010 gave conference attendees a chance to socialize while attending events and gathering information. The meeting contained speakers, receptions, and signings, as well as time for relaxation and fun. This essay brings together the best of the photos from the Day In the Life essays, in attempt to tell the complete story of Midwinter Meeting 2010.

The early-morning Boston sky as seen from the Westin hotel.

Attendees of a program meant to educate librarians on building grassroots support applaud for an arriving guest.

Author Ilie Ruby signs a galley of her book The Language of Trees for Leoma Dunn.

RUSA President Susan Beck gives a hug and air kisses to Oscar T. Robot at the Emery-Pratt booth.

The exhibit hall at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center prior to opening.

Jack Martin sends texts while waiting for an event to begin.

Attendees of YALSA's Happy Hour mingle in front of the Boston skyline.

A sea of suitcases and packages fills the coat and bag check area in the convention center.

Mariko Kato and Barbara Friedman play Letter Flip at YALSA's Games, Gadgets, and Gurus on Friday night.

The Public Garden in Boston's Back Bay area.

Walter Walker uses the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center's free wireless.

Dora St. Martin browses in the ALA store.

Former Vice President Al Gore gives the 11th annual Author Curley Memorial Lecture.

Charlotte Glover listens to Sunrise Speaker author Atul Gawande, M.D.

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Latest Library Links

5h

Ian Trawinski, Lisa Picker, and Andrea Berstler write: “Makerspaces are commonly expected to host a younger demographic, while libraries are thought of as a space mostly visited by older generations. [But at] Carroll County (Md.) Public Library’s Exploration Commons, we have found that our makerspace is enjoyed across all generations. In fact, we have found that the customers who most take advantage of the tools and programs supplied by Exploration Commons, in ways we had not anticipated, are seniors. Exploration Commons regularly hosts programs designed to help ease seniors into learning how to operate the equipment available in this makerspace.”

Information Technology and Libraries, Mar. 17
6h

Alan S. Inouye writes: “On the evening of March 14, President Trump launched an assault on libraries by signing an executive order titled Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy. The president cannot fully eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services without congressional approval, but his order takes every possible step in that direction. The good news is that there is a groundswell of opposition to Trump’s order. Since ALA’s March 15 statement, more than 55,000 messages have been recorded and sent to Congress members through ALA’s action center. In addition to grassroots advocacy, ALA is opposing the executive order in a number of ways.” ALA has published an FAQ to help library workers, advocates, and users understand the order.

AL: The Scoop, Mar. 19; ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Mar. 18
8h

Hannah Weinberg writes: “Since President Trump retook office on January 20, libraries and librarianship have been assaulted via executive orders and other actions. While the legality of many of these actions is still being decided by the courts, librarians, archivists, and other information professionals have been working through the confusion to preserve access to information. Below are several examples of the challenges libraries have faced over the past two months and the ways in which librarians and advocates have responded—and continue to respond.”

American Libraries Trend, Mar. 19
12h

ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office has created a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) to help library workers, advocates, and users understand President Trump’s executive order intended to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services and six other agencies. The FAQ addresses exactly what the order does, how it may impact IMLS staff and grants, the impact on libraries, and what ALA and library supporters can do to stop it.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Mar. 18
1d

Daniel Pfeiffer writes: “I admit I’m usually skeptical that generational analysis is anything more than the narcissism of small differences. The skinny jeans–baggy jeans divide between millennials and zoomers is real, sure, but significant? Maybe not. But I’m willing to grant that generational differences do, at times, capture specific patterns of technological use and engagement—or at least serve as a convenient shorthand for describing changing behaviors. Below, I have highlighted a few recent studies that shed light on the technology practices and attitudes of Generation Z students, angled toward how they might be applied in a library context.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Mar. 12
1d

Steve Tetreault writes: “Leaders do not have special skills or insights. Leaders are just ordinary people. They do not possess mystical abilities. There is not an age requirement. People who lead simply make the choice to acknowledge they have the ability to affect the reality around them. And that’s a power we all have. In other words: We become leaders as soon as we choose to be. And we need to choose to be. If you don’t like how things are, get involved to help change them. If you do like how things are, get involved to help keep them that way.”

Knowledge Quest, Mar. 13
1d

Jon Webb writes: “Staff members with US Rep. Mark Messmer’s (R-Ind.) office asked employees at Boonville (Ind.)-Warrick Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event March 11—even though the mostly older attendees weren’t breaking any rules, the library’s director confirmed. Director Brooke Bolton told the Courier & Press she refused the request. Bolton said the request to contact authorities came not from the staffers on hand, but via a phone call to the library from [Messmer’s chief of staff in] Washington, DC.”

Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, Mar. 14

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Best of Midwinter Meeting 2010

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