ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 3

Part 1 and part 2 of my ALA Annual 2011 recap were posted previously. On to the rest!

ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 2

Part 2 of my experience at ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans. Part 1 can be found here. One thing I forgot about Saturday: I ended up at the cooking stage in the exhibit hall and was able to see Kevin Zraly speak about wine and wine tasting.

He was very entertaining and educational without being any sort of wine-snob. I loved it! One thing he said that I found interesting: 90% of all wine is drunk by 10% of the population. They ran out of his books so the publisher said she would send me one. I hope she follows through!

ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 1

ALA Annual 2011 was the first time I have attended Annual outside of Washington D.C. I’m so glad I was able to do so. I had a great time, although I also experienced some frustrations. Here is a recap of what I did – or tried to do – after the cut.

Home from ALA 2011 – with a cold

I am home from ALA Annual 2011! I loved New Orleans, and will post soon about the conference and the city. Right now, I am recovering from a terrible cold that came home with me, so I need to get over that before I can string a few sentences together.

Where I’ll Be at ALA Annual 2011

Will you be in New Orleans this weekend? I will! I’m looking forward to attending; this is the first Annual I will attend that is not in D.C. I’ve never been to NOLA and have always wanted to go. I know that the end of June is not the best time to be there when you are a cold weather-loving gal like myself, but I’m still excited!

Last year, I had a very firm schedule due to my Local Arrangements commitments, but this year my schedule is much more fluid. Here is what I know I plan to attend:

Friday:

12:30 – 4:30 – YALSA pre-con Give Them What They Want

5:30 – Exhibits open!

Saturday:

10:00 – 12:00 – YALSA Strategic Planning session

6:00 – YALSA’s Happy Hour

8:00 – The YA Blogger Meet Up

Sunday:

9:00 – 10:00 am – YA Author Coffee Klatch

10:30 am – The Beekman Boys at the What’s Cooking Stage – I loooove the Beekman Boys and will have a few long-overdue posts about them post-Annual.

Monday:

10:30 am – I’m presenting! Reading & Wrestling: Think Outside the Box to Reach Today’s Teens – author Paul Volponi and wrestler Sgt Slaughter (last minute change) the Mouth of the South will also be speaking! Wish me luck!

8:00 pm – Printz!

Please say hi if you see me!

Mental Download 4/22/11

I had grand plans to blog over spring break, but now it is Friday, and I’ve only published one post. I thought I would do a little stream-of-consciousness ramblings.

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ALA, AASL, and YALSA members: voting for this election ends tonight! Be a responsible member and vote, please! As you vote, the ballot has links to profiles and statements for each candidate so you can make thoughtful decisions. Want more school librarians or teen librarians to have a strong voice in ALA? There are many running and your vote could help put them in a place of advocacy!

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As someone who enjoys live tweeting a conference, this cracks me up!

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I’m ready for Gwyneth to leave Glee now. Go back to GOOP.

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Happy Earth Day! My new compost tumbler should arrive today. I admit that I will be a lazy composter and that the best way to get started is to just get a bin that I can close up and spin. No digging or stirring required. I’m excited! (And 30 minutes later, it is here!)

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My husband’s grandmother passed away yesterday. She was 93. She was an amazing person. She bought her house as a single woman back then women didn’t do that sort of thing. She had 4 children, and outlived her husband by over a decade. Not only was she blessed with grandchildren, but she was also blessed with great-grandchildren, and has been able to watch them grow. (Her oldest great-grandchild is now an amazing elementary school teacher.) She will be missed.

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ALA Annual is two months away! So exciting, especially since I cannot attend BEA like many other bloggers. (Testing season at school = all hands on deck.) I’m starting to consider what I can and want to see in New Orleans while I am there. Cemetery tours are on my radar.

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Awesome read about homosexuality and the church.

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Have you watched the new Beastie Boys short film? It’s pretty funny. I live-Tweeted my reactions while I watched it. NPR did a short piece on it, and I love the end quote from MCA. It is a humorous video with lots of cameos. I have to admit, seeing MCA with grey hair AND a gray beard makes me feel like I’m on the speed train to old age.

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I spent part of yesterday catching up on HBO’s Mildred Pierce. There’s a lot of naked Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce. Also, Mildred’s daughter Veda is possibly the worst daughter ever.

Off to ALA Midwinter 2011!

I am off to ALA Midwinter 2011 in San Diego – looking forward to it!

I am attending an AASL pre-con Friday. After that is over, I hope to cram in a stop in the exhibits, YALSA happy hour, YALSA Silent Auction, and the YA Blogger Meet Up.

Saturday, I have YALSA All-Committee and a few hours and then it’s off to Disneyland!

I haven’t been since college in 1995, I believe, so I am THRILLED to finally go back.  Several of my childhood years were spent in California so Disneyland used to be a place we visited often.

Is anyone else going to Midwinter?

ALA Annual Washington D.C. 2010 Recap

ALA Annual was a blast this year!  It has taken me a bit to get my recap together as I am working summer school right now, but here it is.  (Better late than never – behind the cut!)

Photo Friday 7/2/2010

Me with the awesome Libba Bray at the YALSA Michael L. Printz Awards this past Monday:

She is the cover story for this month’s School Library Journal.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend!

Will you be at ALA Annual 2010?

I am so excited for ALA Annual this year!  I was talking to a friend about it yesterday and freely admitted that my library dork side takes over for conferences.  While I have yet to experience a meaningful local conference, I always come away from the national ones feeling inspired and rejuvenated, and having learned something – actually, many somethings!

If you haven’t planned on attending but are local to the D.C. area, you might want to reconsider.  Registration is still open.  Even if you just spring for the $25 exhibit hall pass, you can get a lot out of the exhibits: freebies, author readings and signings, cooking demos, networking…check out all the options related to graphic novels alone!  A not-so-secret secret is that some vendors give out free passes for the exhibit hall.  If you are local and are interested, leave me a comment before Thursday morning and I’ll forward you some of the emails I have received.

If you cannot attend, you can always consider the ALA Virtual Conference.

If you will be attending, please say hi!  I am seriously shy in person and am often sitting alone, keeping myself busy by reading or checking my phone, so feel free to come up to me.  Here is a picture of me from last weekend so you might recognize me:

I do have long hair, but due to the D.C. hotness, I will probably have it back or up a lot anyways.

As the chair of the YALSA Local Arrangements committee, I am required to attend a lot of the YALSA events.  You are guaranteed to find me at the following:

Thursday:

7 – 9 pm: Spectrum Scholars Professional Options Fair

Friday:

9 am – 5 pm (will leave early): YALSA pre-con It’s Perfectly Normal

4 – 5 pm: YALSA 101

5 – 7 pm (at some point): YALSA happy hour

7 – 9 pm: Kidlit happy hour

Saturday:

8 – 10 am: YALSA Leadership Development

10:30 am – 12 pm: YALSA All Committee

12 – 1:30 pm: Margaret A. Edwards Luncheon

4 – 5:30 pm: Lights! Camera! Booktrailers!

Sunday:

9 – 10 am: YA Author Coffee Klatch

10:30 am – 12 pm: 2010 Alex Awards

Monday:

10:30 am – 12 pm: Yes We Can

12 – 2 pm: YALSA Membership Meeting

8 – 10 pm: Michael L. Printz Program and Reception

I have many other things I hope to attend, but those are the things I am committed to attend.

I hope to meet people and reconnect with friendly faces!  Please say hi if you see me!