Contents
Highlights
Speakers
ALA Publishing
Disney from Your Desktop
Division Sessions
Other Events
Awards
Tech Events
Seen Online

ALA Annual Conference draws 22,000 to Anaheim
Sunny California skies and the dazzle of Disneyland greeted 22,047 librarians and library lovers in Anaheim for the ALA 2008 Annual Conference and Exhibition. Commencing June 26 and running through July 2, the conference kicked off with an opening session featuring political pundit Ron Reagan, son of late President Ronald Reagan, who brought the crowd to its feet with stinging observations about “what’s going on in Washington.”...

Ron Reagan commends librarians, comments on politics
The Opening General Session featured a keynote address by Ron Reagan, son of the former President and a frequent radio and TV commentator. Frederick J. Augustyn Jr. writes: “Reagan commended librarians for standing on the ramparts defending freedom from the whims of passing ideology. He suggested that given the state of the economy, voters might be inclined to pose an updated version of his father’s 1980 query, which would now ask, ‘Are you better off now than you were eight years ago?’”...
Cognotes, Monday, p. 6

Opening Session video
Watch the video (6:38) that played at the opening session, highlighting the value of public awareness to the library profession. It features Mario Gonzalez (Executive Board), Loriene Roy (ALA President), Jim Rettig (ALA President-Elect), Leslie Burger (ALA Past President), Jane Chesnutt (editor of Woman’s Day), Jeff Idelson (National Baseball Hall of Fame), Judith Gibbons (Public Awareness Committee), and Keith Michael Fiels (ALA Executive Director)....
YouTube, June 28

More than 1,500 messages sent to Congress
On July 1, over 1,500 messages were sent to Congress during Virtual Library Day on the Hill on Tuesday about the importance of funding libraries. Attendees emailed and faxed their Members of Congress using computer terminals located on the exhibit floor. They were joined by library supporters from across the country (including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, right), all calling attention to the immense value of today’s libraries....
District Dispatch, July 7

Native American culture on hand at the President’s Program
During her program on Sunday, ALA President Loriene Roy (right) called on Native American actor Wes Studi from Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and Sitting Bull fame, to serve as emcee. According to Studi, many native communities have started to implement programs that teach their languages to younger generations, but all of these depend on a diminishing population and the older generation. Also on hand was Roy Boney Jr. (left), a filmmaker who shows tribal schoolchildren how to use claymation to depict their cultural stories....
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 4

Diahann Carroll at the Closing General Session
Legendary entertainer Diahann Carroll was the featured guest at Tuesday’s Closing General Session. Interviewed by past ALA President Sarah Long, Carroll chatted about her forthcoming autobiography and joked about her long and illustrious career in show business and how difficult it is to remain on top as one ages. She said she was grateful for her childhood library in New York City where there was a librarian “who cared about my questions.”

Many Voices, Many Nations Anaheim
The Office for Diversity, with the support of President Loriene Roy, brought together indigenous voices and music that celebrated our varied ethnic, cultural, and lifestyle traditions Friday evening. One performer was musician, actor, playwright, and artist Arigon Starr (right), a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma.

The word on wellness
The Workplace Wellness Task Force hosted a Wellness Fair on Sunday that featured healthy eating, chair pilates, office yoga, and Dance Dance Revolution. Celebrity Chef Bruno Serato of the Anaheim White House restaurant prepared entries from his cookbook Temptation at the White House. For the hula exercise, Joe Sanchez writes: “Annalou explained the history of the particular song he was singing and described each movement of the dance, making it easy to follow. The steps were: push the sun, search the ocean, pick the berries, welcome the Earth, and get nasty.”...
Cognotes, Saturday, p. 33; Educators Coop, July 1

Jim Rettig inaugurated ALA president
Jim Rettig, university librarian at the University of Richmond, Virginia, began his term as 2008–2009 ALA President on July 2. Rettig served on the ALA Executive Board from 2003 to 2006 and was elected to three terms on Council. Rettig is a past president of RUSA and once chaired the College & Research Libraries News Editorial Board. You can listen to his inaugural speech here. Read Loriene Roy’s message here....

Ride and O’Shaughnessy connect kids with science
Astronaut Sally Ride and school psychologist Tam O’Shaughnessy appeared on Sunday to discuss the importance of keeping kids interested in science. They described how science and technology are the engines that drive our society, yet we put little value on science education. Because they feel there should be a focus on climate change and on the earth’s resources, they’ve teamed up to write Mission Planet Earth, to be released in March 2009....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 6

Vernon Jordan on libraries and reading
Vernon E. Jordan Jr., lawyer and advisor to President Bill Clinton, related how libraries, the church, and strong family figures influenced his life. Well served by the colored branch of the Atlanta Public Library as he was growing up, he said he has never entered the city’s downtown library due to his memory of its being off-limits to him....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 6

Greg Mortenson: Literacy and peace through education
According to Greg Mortenson, “If you educate a boy you educate an individual; if you educate a girl, you educate a community,” and he has applied this philosophy since he cofounded the Central Asia Institute in 1996. In his presentation on Saturday, Mortenson retold the captivating story of what led him to build schools for girls in remote villages like Korphe, Pakistan, and introduced Julia Bergman, the librarian who helped him build libraries in his schools....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 8; Anaheim en Mass., June 29

Khaled Hosseini on authorship
Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, discussed his journey to becoming an acclaimed author at the final Auditorium Speaker session on Tuesday. Interviewed onstage by Roberta Stevens of the Library of Congress, Hosseini said he has librarians to thank for the word-of-mouth popularity of his novel. “It really got started when librarians started picking the book for communitywide reading programs,” he said.

Dean Koontz speaks on his writing career
Mark Shaw writes about thriller writer Dean Koontz’s Monday talk: “A humble man, Koontz related stories of his early ‘bookless’ childhood and how he discovered books at the local library at about age 9. Koontz then talked about his evolution to the bestseller lists with humorous anecdotes; but the main thrust of his message was all about the love of books, and most of all, the writing process.”...
Hemingwaywantabes, June 30

Speaking Technically about reference databases
American Libraries hosted a panel discussion on the future of reference databases in which representatives from Gale, Alexander Street Press, ebrary, EBSCO, Greenwood Publishing, Standard and Poor’s, and ProQuest discussed search capabilities, social tagging, and user-supplied content. The panel was moderated by AL Direct Editor George Eberhart. A feature based on the program will appear in the August issue of the magazine.

What we did at our summer conference
Keir Graff writes: “Sunday, the morning of the Booklist Adult Books Readers’ Advisory Forum: Post-9/11 Fiction (that’s the short title; I’d give you the longer version but we’d have to change this blog’s hosting plan to include more bandwidth), I thought I’d look over my remarks one more time while I ate breakfast. So, I went downstairs, got a table for one, and, as I tucked into my Denver omelet, I turned my mind once more to the dark day of September 11, 2001. Then I heard a voice. It was singing, ‘If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.’”...
Likely Stories, July 7

RDA Update Forum
Karen Coyle writes: “I did make it to the RDA Update Forum on Saturday. The first announcement is that RDA has been delayed once again, this time by two months. The public review version will not be available until October. The good news is that ALA hired the smartest woman in the world, Nannette Naught, to create the online system and she has actually taken RDA and turned it into a huge complex of entities and relationships with their related instructions, scope notes, and examples. The bad news is that this online subscription service will be the only way to access RDA.”...
Coyle’s InFormation, June 29

Librarians go Disney
Many conference-goers have posted their photos on Flickr, tagged as ala2008, for the enjoyment of those who could not make it to Anaheim. Disneyland fans will appreciate this selection of fireworks and festivities at the theme park. Many librarians took the Space Mountain ride as Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure opened their doors to ALA-goers for the annual Scholarship Bash fundraiser Saturday night....
Flickr, ala2008 + Disney

Jamie Lee Curtis heads up PLA program
Actress and children’s author Jamie Lee Curtis spoke passionately at the PLA President’s Program on Monday about her writing, the importance of education and good parenting, and the difficulties she had as a less-than-stellar student. Decrying the easy access to pornography that the internet allows children, she also talked about the need for a conversation about family values. Prior to her speech, Curtis read her new book, Big Words for Little People, to a group of children assembled from the ALA conference child-care center.

Brazelton: Be part of the family
At the ALSC President’s Program Monday, noted international child development expert T. Berry Brazelton urged librarians to be “part of the family system.” He said that libraries are early learning centers for young children and are filling the gap for families who do not have many opportunities for quality time together....
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 6

The ultimate debate on the future of the catalog
Brad Martin writes: “There was no shortage of sage advice and memorable one-liners at LITA’s ‘Ultimate Debate on the Future of the Library Catalog’ on Saturday.” OCLC’s Roy Tennant moderated a program with panelists Stephen Abram (SirsiDynix), Karen Coyle (consultant), Joseph Janes (University of Washington), and Karen Schneider (Equinox). “Based on their comments, there is much to be done, and fast.” Listen to the podcast or read a summary....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 27; LITA Blog, July 5; PLA Blog, July 6

The digital storytelling experience
In a forum sponsored by PLA on Saturday, panelists presented tips derived from two projects—“California of the Past” (California State Library) and “How I See It: My Place” (California Council for the Humanities)—on recording audio- and video-enhanced stories from the lives of ordinary people....
PLA Blog, June 28

YALSA Author Coffee Klatch
Linda W. Braun writes: “This is the second year for the annual coffee klatch and for anyone who hasn’t been before this is how it works. Librarians sit at round tables of 10. One seat at every table is left open. At approximately 9:00 a.m., the authors sit down at the tables. At each table the author talks about his or her books and answers questions the librarians might have. After five minutes a whistle blows, the authors stand up (not in unison), and move on to the next table on their rotation.” Two videos offer a glimpse of the caffeinated excitement....
YALSA Blog, June 30

People spaces in libraries
John Grimm writes: “One program that sounded interesting was LAMA’s ‘People Spaces in Libraries: The Community Off-Line Experience’ on Saturday. I was intrigued by the thought and decision-making processes of library designers and architects. We saw photographs of libraries with exciting spaces with high ceilings, comfortable furniture, dramatic lighting, and colors. Presenter Jeffrey Hoover, an architect from Boston, referred to a ‘library vortex that sucks people in’ and of libraries’ unique ‘stranglehold on information’ that is both the best and the fastest.”...
Highland (Calif.) Community News, July 4

Good reasons for bad decisions
Steven Bell writes: “According to Dan Ariely, the speaker at ACRL’s President’s Program on Monday, most of us are going to make plenty of bad decisions. Why? Because not only are we irrational, but we are so irrational that our bad decisions can practically be predicted. He provided many good examples and colorful stories to prove his points, and most of them are based on experiments that support his premise that people are easily influenced and fail to know their own preferences.”...
ACRLog, July 7

Isn’t it great to be in the library (wherever that is)?
The LITA President’s Program on Sunday featured American Libraries columnist and University of Washington Information School Associate Dean Joseph Janes. Lauren Pressley reports: “Janes showed a 1906 picture of an old reference desk and said we should all look at it and see ourselves behind that desk. It should bother us. The medical tools from then are not recognizable today. We really love our history and tradition, but there are things we have to get over.”...
Lauren’s Library Blog, June 30

Managing Oscar’s special collections
Linda Friel writes: “The ALCTS President’s Program on Monday featured Linda Harris Mehr, director of the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The library deals with a time frame from pre-cinema to the present and has nearly complete Oscar collections. Mehr pointed out that her library’s concerns are often the same as other libraries: Materials have to be acquired, sometimes without the benefit of adequate funding; and staffers must be hired who are talented, skilled, and dedicated.”...
Anaheim en Mass., July 1

Creating the future of cataloging
Shelly Ray writes: “Diana Hillman of the Cornell Digital Research Library Group made it easy to decide on the best approach to create the future of cataloging at Sunday’s ALCTS program. She showed a slide with two options to choose from. Behind door number one was the Dodo bird or extinction model, while behind door number two was the retooling model—and chocolate!”...
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 4

Why public libraries close
George Needham writes: “Christie Koontz, Dean Jue, and Wade Bishop from Florida State University reported on their OCLC-sponsored study, Public Library Facility Closure: An Investigation of Impacts on Library Customer Markets, at a Saturday PLA program. This study begins to provide a framework for making decisions about moving or closing branch library services. Christie Koontz has been a leader (maybe the leader) in encouraging libraries to use GIS data in the decision-making process.”...
It’s All Good, June 29

SF/Fantasy authors address copyright
LITA featured a panel consisting of science fiction and fantasy authors (left to right) Cory Doctorow (Little Brother), Eric Flint (1632), Vernor Vinge (Rainbow’s End), and Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn). They agreed that too great an emphasis on copyright protection might lead to a suppression of information and lessened creativity....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 28

Stretching existing staff
Brett Bonfield writes: “The big takeaway from PLA’s Saturday session, ‘Stretching Existing Staff: New Service Delivery Models,’ is that it’s extraordinarily important to work smarter, not harder. Smart is hard. It’s often counterintuitive, and sometimes we have to confront our own limitations and mistakes. But it’s worth it, because two good things happen when you do things that make sense: Your colleagues become a lot more productive and your neighbors—the people who make use of the resources you steward—begin to like you even more than they do already.”...
PLA Blog, July 5

Human-centered design for library facilities
Karen Brown writes: “On Monday, certified professional ergonomist Judy Village spoke to a rapt audience, seated in uncomfortable chairs, about incorporating ergonomic principles into library facility designs. The LAMA program defined ergonomics as the application of knowledge about human capabilities and limitations to the design of facilities, equipment, tools, and jobs.”...
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 28

Social Security and health care forum
RUSA cosponsored a forum Monday morning that featured two authors who addressed two vital issues: Social Security retirement income and affordable health care. Thomas Mackell (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) spoke to the former, while Steven Wallace (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research) confronted the latter....
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 30

California knows how to party
New York Public Library Children’s Librarian Betsy Bird recaps her conference wanderings, encounters with YA and children’s authors (like Maria van Lieshout, right), her time at the Blogger Meet-Up (room and refreshments provided by Feiwel and Friends), and the Hyperion cocktail hour that followed in this video (3:57). Tupac’s “California Love” serves as the soundtrack. You may also want to view Bird’s other conference videos, Conventional Wisdom, Name Dropping, and Packing: The Untold Story....
YouTube, July 1

Privacy: Is It Time for a Revolution?
The Office for Intellectual Freedom’s Sunday panel on privacy featured Wired Senior Writer Dan Roth, author Cory Doctorow, and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Director Beth Givens. Jenny Levine blogged the session: “Beth Givens described a game that could be used in libraries. It’s a town square where you’re challenged about privacy data and questions you can answer. You might come up with creative ways to educate and inform people, and use the library as a launching pad.” Take the Privacy Revolution survey, which asks questions about library information privacy policies and practices....
The Shifted Librarian, June 30

Your brain on DOPA
Linda W. Braun writes: “The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsored a session Monday on the Deleting Online Predators Act. The program was designed to give attendees an opportunity to find out what is happening with federal and state legislation related to social networking. As I sat on the panel listening to my fellow presenters John Morris and Michele Ybarra, what really struck me was what a wide array of legislation is pending. Legislators have not been able to define what social networking is because it’s not just one thing or one form of technology.”...
YALSA Blog, July 1

Lisa Loeb in the Exhibit Hall
Singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb performed selections from her new children’s CD Camp Lisa Sunday in the Baker & Taylor booth. Her new disc is a thematic collection of songs about going away to summer camp, and features lots of enthusiastic children as well as friends including Maia Sharp, Jill Sobule, and Steve Martin, who contributes banjo playing to the shaggy dog story “The Disappointing Pancake.”

America’s libraries in the 21st century
ALA members and the Office for Information Technology Policy came together Saturday to continue the discussion about what America’s libraries will look like in the next 30 years or so. The breakout session kicked off OITP’s new Program on America’s Libraries in the 21st Century, and welcomed a diverse set of speakers to share their visions and promote further discussion. Watch the video (17:24) of the session here....
District Dispatch, July 2, 5

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
“Ninety percent of all songs are about love, and Take Me Out to the Ball Game is no different,” Andy Strasberg told those attending Saturday’s Campaign for America’s Libraries session on the 100th anniversary of the song written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer. Strasberg, the author of a book about the song titled Baseball’s Greatest Hit, said the song appealed to even those who are not baseball fans....
Cognotes, Sunday, p. 4

Open gaming night
Joe Sanchez writes: “Friday’s Gaming Night was quite a bit of fun with a few unexpected surprises. ALA President Loriene Roy, an avid gamer, gave out the first Presidential Citations to libraries that use games as tools for learning. Three citations were awarded, one for Innovation in Education, Innovation in Library Programs, and Innovation in Technology. What I liked about Gaming Night was the mix of table games and video console games. Many people were playing turn-based board games.”...
Educators Coop, June 28

LSTA Forum calls for change
Brad Martin writes: “LSTA reauthorization was the hot topic at the Washington Office Update session on Saturday, as librarians from around the country attended the Committee on Legislation’s LSTA forum. Comment after comment called for more flexibility in grant requirements, which would allow more broad-based initiatives—not just those that are technology related. Some said their hands were tied by current LSTA priorities.”...
Cognotes, Sunday, p. 6

Copyright sessions in Disneyland
Members of the Office for Information Technology Policy’s Copyright Advisory Committee held two simultaneous sessions in the Disneyland Hotel on Monday. In the Fantasy Room, committee members led “Copyright Top Ten,” a panel discussion that tackled common library copyright questions and urged librarians to continue to educate themselves and advocate for library user rights. In the adjacent Adventure Room, members held the “Copyright 101 Poster Session,” elucidating issues such as Section 108, fair use, and international copyright....
District Dispatch, July 2

The world according to Sheketoff
Lynn Blumenstein writes: “ALA Washington Office Executive Director Emily Sheketoff gave a standing-room audience the lowdown on ‘Lobbying for Operational Expenses’ on Sunday at the ALA–Allied Professional Association program. Urging the audience of mostly public librarians to broadly define their community—including businesses, children, stay-at-home moms, and immigrants—she acknowledged that such constituencies all pose different challenges. However, she said, ‘No matter what your community needs, the library is the answer.’”...
Library Journal, June 30

Spectrum Scholars Leadership Institute
The 2007 cohort of Spectrum Scholars met Wednesday through Friday for the 9th Spectrum Leadership Institute. Alma Ramos-McDermott writes: “Spectrum is now in its 11th year, but when it was first introduced to ALA by Elizabeth Martínez it was met by heavy resistance. Elizabeth spoke eloquently and passionately about those early times, and showed the current scholars how hard it was to fight a bureaucracy.”...
Anaheim en Mass., June 26

Got Tweens? preconference
Anne Heidemann writes: “Jon Scieszka (author and LC’s National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature) was terrific at YALSA’s Friday preconference, with lots of brilliant ideas as well as hilarity. Librarians have the power to mediate the relationship between tweens and books, especially for tween boys. Tween boys are developmentally separating from their mothers, and most teachers (primary reading advocates in their lives) are mom-like figures, so that’s why reading drops off dramatically at that age. By making materials that tween boys want available and accessible, we can help.”...
PLA Blog, June 28; YALSA Blog, July 1

Libraries build Orange County communities
On Friday, an army of about 75 volunteers (all ALA conference participants) fanned out across Orange County. As part of the “Libraries Build Communities” project, they put themselves at the disposal of library staff members like Maria Lumby at Topaz Elementary School in Fullerton. From digitally archiving school newspapers to clearing backlogs of uncataloged books, these volunteers did what so many of our school libraries have not been able to do because of a lack of staffing and funding....
Orange County (Calif.) Register, July 1

Mobile libraries
Bo Kinney writes: “The highlight was a well-attended Sunday session put on by the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services featuring Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Bookmobile, a novel about a traveling library service that takes books to rural areas of Kenya by camel four days a week. Hamilton spoke about her visit to Kenya to see this service in action, and talked about the incredible excitement expressed by library patrons for whom this may be their only way of reading books.”...
SPL in Anaheim, June 30

Forum on Library Education
Joe Sanchez writes: “The 5th ALA Forum on Library Education on Friday was a huge success. We were successful in creating an interactive event for a large group of people. Rae-Anne Montague and Clara Chu provided a great foundation on service learning for the attendees. The Researchpalooza presenters offered a wide variety of service learning projects ranging from services to the elderly through service learning in prisons. What I love about the event is the mix of students, professionals, and faculty all participating on a level playing field.”...
Educators Coop, June 28

On the exhibit floor
Valerie writes: “The exhibits here in Anaheim provide as much of a learning experience as attending sessions. Do you want to find a new way to decorate your library? Are you looking for a new automated library system? How about collection development? Everything is here, from all of the major publishers, to many of the smaller publishing houses, as well as featured authors reading from or signing their books. Sit in on demonstrations of online databases and ebooks, or play games for prizes.”...
Anaheim en Mass., June 28

Protecting the Earth
Thomas M. Kostigen, author of You Are Here (forthcoming in September), spoke Sunday at a Friends of Libraries USA author event on global warming and keeping our environment safe. He writes: “What was heartening about speaking to such a large audience was how much attention the environment received. Hundreds came by after my speech to talk to me about the planet. I signed many books for people’s children. I talked to school librarians about programs the kids are asking for about the environment and how we can better protect it.”...
Better Planet, June 30

The black male librarian
Panelists at Saturday’s Black Caucus of the ALA program issued a clarion call for substantially more black males in the profession. Black men make up a dismal 0.5%, or 572 of the 110,000 of the nation’s librarians. And only one in 10 black librarians are men, according to figures in an ALA diversity report issued last year, which was discussed by the panel....
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, July 2

Coming out at work: 20 years later
Karen Brown writes: “The GLBT Round Table sponsored a program at ALA Annual Conference 20 years ago about coming out at work. On Sunday, a panel revisited the same issue. While the panel was literally voiceless for the first 30 minutes as the microphone was on hiatus, GLBT people today similarly feel voiceless at times in the workplace.”...
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 26

Cutting the California wedding cheesecake
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Round Table’s Social on Sunday at Tortilla Joe’s featured a California wedding cheesecake honoring the state’s new law allowing gay couples to marry. David Gray writes: “Even with a donation at the door, it did cost the GLBTRT a bit more money than they usually spend on such events, but for my book it was well worth it. Even though it was supposed to go from 6 to 9 p.m., people were still hanging around, watching the nightly Disneyland fireworks and having a great time.”...
Dave’s Blog, June 29

Daniel Ellsberg at the Alexander Street breakfast
Daniel Ellsberg (right), the RAND analyst who released the Pentagon Papers to the news media in 1971, was the featured guest at the Alexander Street Press breakfast on Sunday. He talked about his days in hiding from the FBI as they conducted a massive search for him. Also on hand were actors from the L.A. Theatre Works who performed a scene from their forthcoming play, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers.

“Joan Rivers” dazzles at the Greenwood reception
Joan Rivers impersonator DeeDee Hanson (center) wowed the crowd at the Greenwood Publishing reception Saturday night, making wild remarks and trying to fool people into thinking she was the real thing. Instead of the standard chat-and-munch meet, this one was held to launch Greenwood’s new Pop Culture Universe reference database, and the venue was the Lucky Strike Lanes, where librarians demonstrated they could bowl with the best.

Newbery/Caldecott banquet
Anne Heidemann writes: “Sunday’s Newbery/Caldecott banquet was one of the best I’ve ever attended. Caldecott winner Brian Selznick (right), author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, began his speech with a stunning visual delight, taking us on a journey to Paris where a young man lay asleep until the phone startled him awake. Selznick’s illustrations (created especially for this occasion) were displayed on the big screen with dramatic musical soundtrack. The illustrations told the story of Selznick being informed that he would receive this award, with Hugo representing Selznick, traveling from Paris back to the very Hilton where we sat watching.”...
PLA Blog, June 30; Practically Paradise, June 30

Printz Award speech videos
Linda W. Braun writes: “If you have never had the opportunity to attend a Printz Award event, it goes like this: The evening begins with introductions of the Printz Award Committee and general comments about the award and the selections. Each of the winners presents a speech. Honor winners are presented with a certificate, and the winner (Geraldine McCaughrean, above) is presented with a Michael L. Printz statue. Following the speeches a reception is held at which authors and attendees mingle.”...
YALSA Blog, July 3

Odyssey Award celebration
Mary Burkey writes: “Kudos to the ALSC staff for coordinating a wonderful celebration of the very first Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production ceremony on Friday, in collaboration with award cosponsors YALSA and Booklist. The evening began with a fantastic presentation by author (and Full Cast Audio founder) Bruce Coville whose Homeric words proved to be the perfect symbolic Champagne-bottle-smash to set the Odyssey off on its voyage.”...
ALSC Blog, July 4

Pura Belpré awards celebración
Judy Lechner writes: “I’ve just returned from the Pura Belpré Celebración where we honored the winning authors and illustrators of the Belpré awards. It was a joyful event, which started with Suni Paz’s singing and maracas. What made the event truly special was that each of the authors and illustrators said something heartfelt and memorable.”...
ALSC Blog, June 29

Well-Stacked Sci-Brarians push their carts to the gold
The Santa Monica (Calif.) Public Library team (right) took first place in Sunday’s Book Cart Drill Team World Championship, sponsored by DEMCO. Alma Ramos-McDermott describes the scene: “They came out as mad scientists, complete with wild wigs, lab coats, and a complete chemistry set on each bookcart. They danced their way through a musical number where they poured a concoction into their beakers (which began to bubble merrily) and drank it. They writhed and shrank beneath their carts, stripped their outfits, and became zombies—complete with ripped clothing and ashen/bloody faces. Suddenly Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ began to play.” Two Riverside County, California, teams performed well but failed to win. You can watch the 2nd-place Austin Bibliofiles on YouTube here and here....
Anaheim en Mass., June 30; Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise, June 29; YouTube, July 1

LSW team wins California Dreaming contest
ALA-goers helped save the California Myth Authority by finding clues placed around the convention center and answering questions to claim territory within California in the conference-wide “California Dreaming” game. The Library Society of the World team won by reenacting the most vignettes from famous books and movies set in California and collaborating to submit answers....
Cognotes, Tuesday, p. 6

AASL Crystal Apple Award to Spokane Moms
Denette Hill, Lisa Layera-Brunkan, and Susan McBurney (the “Spokane Moms”) were presented AASL’s Crystal Apple Award on Saturday for their lobbying efforts on behalf of school libraries in Washington State. AASL President Sara Kelly Johns said, “They listened, learned, and developed coalitions with teachers, students, business partners, and legal aides to prepare an approach to legislators.”...
Cognotes, Monday, p. 4

International innovation
ALA President Loriene Roy handed out some Presidential Citations for International Innovation at the International Librarians Reception, sponsored by the International Relations Round Table, on Monday at the Muzeo in downtown Anaheim. One of the citations went to Ethiopia Reads (right), an effort to provide books and libraries for Ethiopian children. Some 650 library professionals from more than 80 countries attended.

Stonewall Book Award endowment surpasses its goal
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table announced Monday it had surpassed its goal of $75,000 to permanently endow the Stonewall Book Awards. The announcement was made by GLBTRT Fundraising Chair David Gray at the 37th Annual Stonewall Book Award Celebration....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 19

WebJunction member awards
The 2008 WebJunction Member Awards went to five outstanding WebJunction members, based on their commitment to building the community of resources, learning, and discussions on WebJunction. The awards to (left to right) Stephanie Gerding, Michele Leininger, and Stephanie Race were presented at the Member Reception on Friday....
BlogJunction, July 3

Drupal4Lib interest group forms
Leo Klein writes: “We got a great crowd of around 20 people for our Drupal Birds of a Feather meeting. First up on the agenda was setting up the Drupal IG, making sure we have enough signatures and asking for volunteers to serve as chair and cochair. The name for the group is ‘Drupal4Lib’ and our purpose is ‘to promote the use and understanding of the content management system, Drupal, by libraries and librarians.’”...
LITA Blog, June 30

Top Technology Trends
Robin Hastings writes: “From the larger than life images of Karen Coombs and Sarah Houghton-Jan on one screen that flanked the live panel to the scrolling meebo chat room on the other screen, there was a lot to pay attention to at the LITA Top Tech Trends session on Sunday.” The in-room panelists were Karen Coyle, Eric Lease Morgan, John Blyberg, Meredith Farkas, Roy Tennant, Clifford Lynch, Karen Schneider, and Marshall Breeding. Listen to the soundboard MP3 audio recording of the full session (85:19)....
LITA Blog, July 4

Keep your computers running
Robin Hastings writes: “In one of the last session slots on Monday was a gem of a program geared toward smallish public libraries who have either no IT department or a very small one. The session went from specific things that librarians can do to keep their technology running to a broader look at what resources are out there for troubleshooting specific issues, finding best practices, and using free tools to plan and maintain your technology at a higher (library-wide, as opposed to a single machine) level.”...
LITA Blog, July 4

How to serve differently visioned patrons
ReadHowYouWant is a new concept in technology that turns XML markup of text submitted by publishers into such formats as large type, character patterns (for those with dyslexia), Braille, Daisy, or audio. RHYW rep Peyton Stafford said the company is partnering with Rosen Publishing, Gareth Stevens, Career Press, and others....
Cognotes, Monday, p. 3

Parade of bookmobiles
On Sunday, the conference held its second annual parade of bookmobiles. California libraries, including the Anaheim Public Library and Fullerton Public Library, showed off their nine bookmobiles to conference attendees who might want to buy their own. However, the Fullerton bookmobile broke down. It was towed to a nearby intersection, where it went on display....
Orange County (Calif.) Register, June 29

LexisNexis to serve public libraries
Paula J. Hane writes: “LexisNexis rather quietly announced its new Library Express service. This is the company’s first product for public libraries. It was launched June 30 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, and is similar in features and functions to the company’s academic library product, though it offers slightly less content.”...
Information Today News Breaks, June 30

Scattered post-conference thoughts
Rory Litwin writes: “What Library 2.0 is really about, it occurred to me as I was listening to Steven Bell advocate e-participation in ALA at a Membership Meeting, is the transfer of control of the profession to the younger generation. The technology is being used as a symbol of the new generation’s push to take over. There is a palpable sense of urgency in the message that the profession needs to move forward with these technologies, and it is understood that this means a new generation wants to take charge.”...
Library Juice, July 4

Annual gets more social
Peter Murray writes: “The Annual Conference is getting more social each year, and as a long-time member of ALA and often a critic of the, well, untogetherness of ALA’s electronic capabilities, it is nice to see the trend continuing this year. The Annual 2008 wiki is now getting prominent placement in the navigation area. It is nice to see ALA providing this space where grassroots organization and promotional efforts can be shepherded in on co-located space.”...
Disruptive Library Technology Jester, June 20

ALA still is fun
Diane Chen writes: “I’m still having fun at ALA. I wish you’d take out an envelope and put $1 in it. There, that wasn’t so bad. Just put another one in every day and you’ll have enough for your flight to Denver next January for ALA Midwinter. Put in a couple more $’s and you’ll have your hotel room saved, plus registration costs. Conference doesn’t have to cost as much as we spend. I left Tennessee with $21 and am still doing well.”...
Practically Paradise, July 1

Visit Flickr to see the thousands of photos uploaded by ALA Annual Conference attendees (tagged ala2008).