11,716 librarians, library workers and supporters, including 3,622 exhibitors, shared the latest library-related trends, updates, innovations, products, titles and services at the 2016 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Boston, Jan. 8-12. Lively conversations, productive problem-solving and networking took place throughout the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and other venues at 2,400 scheduled meetings and events.
With an emphasis on ALA's new national public awareness campaign, Libraries Transform™, dozens of ‘News You Can Use’ updates, discussion groups, workshops and several high-profile speakers addressed in different ways how libraries are less about what they have and more about what they do for and with people. Meeting content also encompassed key messages of the campaign: that libraries are committed to advancing their legacy of reading and developing a digitally inclusive society; that libraries of all kinds add value in the five key areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment and engagement; and that library professionals facilitate individual opportunity and community progress. The ‘Because of You' branding at Midwinter honoured library workers for their role in transforming libraries.
Members shared input into ALA's three current strategic directions—advocacy, information policy, and professional and leadership development—including at small-group 'kitchen-table' conversations. The four ALA presidential and treasurer candidates laid out their visions for 2016-17 and answered questions, and the association's leadership groups and committees met to discuss ongoing governance and new resolutions.
In addition to the 400+ exhibitors demonstrating hundreds of new, updated and favourite products, technologies and titles, hundreds of authors signed thousands of books. Piles of ARCs were snatched up, decision-making attendees talked with exhibitors, and ongoing entertainment was provided at the Book Buzz Theater, and the What's Cooking at ALA? and PopTop stages.
Books and media were discussed and celebrated in the exhibits and many other venues, starting with the conversation at the ERT/Booklist Author Forum among acclaimed writers Ken Burns, Mark Kurlansky, Terry Tempest Williams and Booklist Editor for Adult Books Donna Seaman.
Peer-to-peer learning is an important development, and for the second time at Midwinter, Ignite sessions offered five-minute overviews on current projects. The 2016 ALA Masters were Jason Griffey on 'Measuring the Future: How Understanding Your Spaces Can Make Your Library Better for Everyone,' and Rebekkah Smith Aldrich on 'Sustainable Thinking.' Informal opportunities, in addition to scheduled events, have become a significant focus of each ALA conference; much of the learning and conversation (structured and unstructured, planned and unplanned) at ALA's face-to-face events provide important connections for subsequent online collaboration. Posts on the Building Creative Bridges blog capture the value of participation in these informal networks, as well as how they are expanding to include more people not physically in attendance. Technological innovation, implementation and the impact on libraries were the focus of both structured and unstructured sessions and gatherings. Key themes were as always raised by the experts on LITA's guiding and well-attended 'Top Tech Trends' panel.
Three "Deep Dive" sessions for participatory learning in an interactive workshop setting, with limited registration and Continuing Education Units (CEUs), were piloted at the meeting: 'We Are ALL User Experience Librarians: Creating Change from the Trenches'; 'Trust and Opportunity: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities in Mid-Sized Urban Settings'; and 'Creating Out-of-This-World Children's Science Programming with Free NASA Resources.'
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