This article outlines Public Library Association (PLA) 2010 annual conference to be held in Oregon Convention Center, Portland on March 23-27. The days quickly fill up with the picks of over 100 programs as well as valuable "talk tables" and special events. The well-organized schedule, divided into eight broad tracks (e.g., technology,…

The perfect politician, the ideal political ally to a library, is often but not always an elected official. He or she is always an effective champion of "reasonable financial support," i.e., "the amount...which a thoroughly competent librarian can spend wisely." That is what J.T. Wyer, director of the New York State Library, said in his "What the…

For libraries, the impact of the derailed economy was felt more fully in 2009 than in 2008, as tax revenues decreased and public funds dwindled. By February 2009, the American Library Association (ALA) reported from a survey of its Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) that 41 percent of states expected declining state funding for…

There is joy among those who have the funds to go to Chicago for the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, July 9-15. Every librarian knows there is nothing better than a Chicago gathering, with the city's wonderful haunts, museums, restaurants, and fine memories of past conferences. The conference program covers nearly every…

Hard times bring out the ambiguity in politics. Except for fiscal extremists, most politicians in North America want to support their libraries. When "Library Journal" ("LJ") planned to name the heroes and villains in the politics of library funding, they rediscovered that politics just is not that simple, and that it may be a…

This article presents an interview with Dan Clancy, engineering director for Google Book Search. In this interview, Clancy talks about the pending Google Book Search settlement, involving millions of volumes digitized from libraries, which drew a lawsuit from the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild. He also discusses pricing,…

On January 19, 2009, the day before his historic inauguration, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, commemorated Martin Luther King Day by volunteering for various community service projects around the Washington, DC, area. A record number of Americans also participated in the King Day of Service, joining in over 13,000 projects, more than…

This article presents an interview with two effective spokespeople, notable school librarian Sara Kelly Johns and retired public library administrator Molly Raphael, who compete to be American Library Association (ALA) president. One of them will be elected president of ALA for a year's term beginning in July 2011. Each candidate comes from a…

The feelings of librarians planning for the American Library Association (ALA) conference at Disneyland (aka Anaheim, California, June 26-July 2) range from moderate pleasure to dread. Some remember the joys and difficulties of Orlando, especially the exorbitant cab fares and mediocre restaurants. Others quail at screaming kids and tourists in…

Library advocacy in one of two directions is the top priority of both Camila Alire and J. Linda Williams, the candidates campaigning to capture the 2009-10 term as president of the American Library Association (ALA). Alire, dean emeritus of the libraries of both the University of New Mexico and Colorado State University, will push for enhancements…

The author reports on the 2010 annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) which was held in Washington, District of Columbia. The Washington Convention Center turned out to be an opportune oasis for librarians to gather and recharge away from the heat, climatological and metaphorical. Though library travel budgets have taken a…

There has been an effort to make the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting "member-friendly," so that more ALA members will attend. Held January 7-11 in beautiful San Diego, the conference program is loaded with interesting events that look suspiciously like entertainment, plus learning opportunities, and the usual parties and…

Just as the Internet is likely to be one of the most disruptive overall technologies of a man's lifetime, Google Books may become one of the most disruptive technologies for academic libraries. The immediate challenge is that Google Book's deeper indexing and more advanced relevancy ranking usually works better than that of local catalogs--and it…

Every librarian wants to go to the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Washington, DC, June 24-29. Despite that, more than half of those asked informally said they can't afford it. The good news is a cornucopia of programs aimed at nearly every need of librarians of all types and including every best practice in libraries. Many…

As host to visitors and transplants from around the world, Washington, DC, benefits from the constant infusion of different cultures. Although most neighborhoods lack a unified culinary flavor, make no mistake: DC is a city of distinctive areas, each with its own style, ensuring that hungry American Library Association (ALA) 2010 conference…