Heard and Overheard at Annual

As my final bit of Annual coverage (though with other AL staffers also blogging, a few more stories may be forthcoming), I'd like to share my now-traditional review of relevant—and wholly irrelevant—quotes. “We have everything Strom Thurmond ever owned, including his pajamas.” – Emily Gore, Clemson University Libraries head of digital initiatives, discussing the library’s political materials “Even Microsoft is learning. Which is surprising to me sometimes.” – Mick Jacobsen, Skokie (Ill.) Public Library, on the public sector’s discovery that people are more interested in information than the resources it comes from “It’s just Eric. Say hello to everyone at ALA. Surprise!”—Eric Frierson, education and political science librarian at the Unviersity of Texas at Arlington, using Meebo to surprise his library’s reference desk during his presentation. “For me it was more fun doing banned book readings than go to the Playboy Super Bowl Party.” –Former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner, during her Opening General Session speech. “Who could you partner with to make having an dusing a library card really cool?”-Hefner "You must play a role in defining what privacy means in this new world. You are on the front lines. That means you must hold the line, but it also means you have the opportunity to educate.”-Hefner "As the courts have ruled, the fact that protected speech may be offensive to sum can never justify its repression.”-Hefner “Nothing’s too small to make a difference is the mantra of my show.”—Simple Living host Wanda Urbanska, during her Auditorium Speaker Series speech. “In 20 years of carrying a travel mug everywhere I go, I’ve saved 7,000 cups from landfills. One person came up to me and said 'If I don’t have my travel mug with me, I don’t deserve coffee.'"-Urbanska "Welcome to the Demco Library… cart… thingy."-Author/Illustrator Mo Willems, introducing the Book Cart Drill Team World Championships. "If a team is caught in drug testing—and those will be multiple choice—the second-place team will have to take those same drugs."-Willems laying down the event's strict steroid policy. “I’d like to see a picture of a chair right now.” – Attendee at a full-past-capacity session, after the presenter offered a photo of cupcakes as the last slide in her presentation. “It is happening. Can we afford to ignore this? And more importantly, imagine the potential if we don’t.”—Eric Miller, president of Zepheira, on linked data. "You could not have picked a more appropriate speaker today. Because guess what? Can you believe I was married in a library?"-The Soloist author Steve Lopez, during his Closing Session speech. The Philadelphia library system is full service. You can get married there, and you can also get divorced."-Lopez, noting that in the film version of The Soloist, his character was divorced. (In real life, Lopez remains happily married.) “I’ll tell you about the book, and why it makes a great one city one book selection.”-Lopez, on The Soloist.