Thursday, January 7, 2010

Midwinter

The American Library Association midwinter meeting  is upon us. For a long time, I heard that midwinter wasn't the conference to go to -- "too boring," "just meetings." Well, as far as I am concerned, midwinter is THE conference to go to. The crowd is intense and committed. The Youth Media Awards are an experience unlike no other. The teens at the BBYA are a surefire gauge for my purchasing decisions. And I have had some lovely invitations in the past from friends and vendors, making it worth trudging out through the snow in Philadelphia or Denver.

Boston in January would never have been my choice for a destination, and I haven't been to New England since my Sirsi days (2002). Nonetheless, it can't get much colder than my library right now, and I can't wait to participate in the YALSA institute with Laura Pearle and Buffy Hamilton next Friday. I'm going to be talking about what is engaging teens at my school and share lots of interesting technologically-facilitated ethical conundrums that have been popping up lately. There will be committee meetings for AASL and YALSA, but I'm also looking forward to the Kidlit Tweetup and the HP exhibit at the Museum of Science , which I must have been the only librarian not to catch in Chicago this summer. I'll spend a night in New Hampshire with a college friend afterwards. Not such a bleak midwinter, huh?

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