Who could blame those who missed the conference OR had to leave early?
Our staff are still thawing out after a chilly week at ALA Midwinter in Chicago where they were treated to one of the biggest snowstorms in the history of the city! We noticed that attendance at the conference was lighter- could it be that cancelled flights and bad weather kept some of our library friends away? Perhaps…and we can’t say we blame you…however, we would like to give a BIG KUDOS to those hearty souls we did see – library friends, both old and new, who braved the snow and wind to do some important work and visit with colleagues and vendors alike.
During the meetings, Newbery Award Medals were given out to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Goodson and El Deafo, a graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by Cece Bell. Our friends in schools and public libraries who work with tweens and teens, take note!
This picture reminds us of the Caldecott Medal winning classic, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.
Other important work announced at Midwinter included the NISO meeting where attendees were treated to a presentation on access and licensing standards, so important as many of us move to Nextgen library systems. Thank goodness those hardy souls didn’t let the wind and snow get to them…
All in all, our attendees thought it was a great conference. If you did not get a chance to attend, we urge you to go to connect.ala.org to look up highlights on some of the more informative lightning talks and presentations given by those brave souls who stuck it out through the epic weather!
We look forward to seeing you at ACRL in Portland next month. One question, should we bring our rain boots?
