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1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
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27Jan 2016
MY ALA MIDWINTER 2016EXPERIENCEby Christina Vortia ⋅ Leave a Comment
TweetI just attended my first ALA conference and it was awesome.
I have heard many things about what to expect. Wear comfortable shoes, they said.Bring business cards, they said. Most of the meetings will be closed door, they said.Some of the things they said were right (seriously…who wants to walk around for 8 hoursin cute new shoes that pinch the sides of your feet!..), but nothing prepared me for themagic that is Midwinter.
Like most Midwinter neophytes, I didn’t know what to expect, so I arrived bright andbushy tailed to the hotel at 7:30am sharp. I could not check into my room, so I left mybags with the hotel staff, and ubered my way over to the Boston Convention andConference Center. (For those of you who cabbed your way around Boston, I wouldhighly suggest you invest in the free Uber app. Most of my rides around the city did notcost me more than $6, some as little as $3.)
I arrived at the Conference Center to find that the exhibits were still being put together,and that I was late to all of the lectures that started at 8am. In hindsight, I could have justsat in, but I didn’t know if I needed a ticket. Is it okay to walk in late? Would I embarrassmyself in front of my peers? Would I be asked to leave? Instead of tackling these hardquestions straight on I decided on the very safe, unintrusive, and foodie-pleasingdecision to register, find a coffee shop, and read the Midwinter guide over a hot cup ofJoe and a cheese danish.
The guide was very helpful. It was delightfully color coordinated, included start and endtimes of lectures, events, and meetings, and provided a legend that had information onwhether events were ticketed, closed, or open to registrants. I highlighted everythingthat looked of interest to me – which was half the book, so I marked it up to a fairlyunrecognizable degree. And then I discovered there is an app.
I LOVE apps! I mean, I am a Teen and SOCIAL MEDIA Librarian, so anything thatcompliments my mobile device and makes my life easier immediately brings me joy. Ifound the 2016 ALA Midwinter App easily on Play Store and downloaded it. After aninitial glitch and assistance from two very helpful ladies at the Registration desk, I wasdigitally planning my Midwinter schedule and hastily hopped in one of the shuttles onmy way to a Committee meeting.
Despite what I had been told, there are many Committee meetings that are open, and
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1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2016/01/27/myalamidwinter2016experience/ 2/4
that provide ample opportunity for attendees to speak up! This is also true for lectures. Iattended The Future of Teen Services in LIS Education, Career Development: How to GetYour Bounce Back, The “New” Youth Librarianship: Y(outh) eXperience), and theProgramming Librarian Interest Meeting. But perhaps my favorite lecture was Teens’Social Media Attitudes and Behaviors: What the Research Means for Library Services byDenise Agosto of Drexel University. This lecture was inciteful, engaging, and I even got toadvertise my Social Media Correspondent program with my fellow librarians, that waswell received.
And now I must talk about the Exhibit Hall.
The Exhibit Hall was completely overwhelming, and I found myself avoiding it if possible.I did attend some of the Diverse Book Talks and happily picked up a few bags full ofAdvance Readers Copy books. There was no shortage of ARCs at Midwinter, and I did notcomplain lugging my new “To Read” list with me all over Boston.
I attended the Cory Booker talk and was very moved by the charming yet poignant wayhe shared his stories of growing up in suburban New Jersey, his challenges and triumphsas mayor in Newark, NJ, and I cried when he spoke of attending the funeral of hisneighbor Hasan. I also attended the Chelsea Clinton talk and enjoyed her anecdotes offavorite books she reads with her daughter Charlotte, the adorable letter she mailed toPresident Reagan when she was a little girl, and the cute bag with a large poster, stickers,and a Mrs. Field’s-cookie-sized button that’s I’ve been wearing every day for nearly aweek. I’ve already posted her “It’s Your World” poster in my Teen Center, and many of theyoung adults in my library have already begun posting affirmations of things they will doin our community.
I crashed the Ebsco Academic Librarian Luncheon, and then was bold enough to post iton Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (…and to my surprise Ebsco actually liked it!) I alsoattended two publisher parties. One a Dessert Bar party at Top of the Hub celebratingthe launch of Cassandra Clare’s new book (…go ahead, it’s okay to ooh and aah!) andattended a Random House dinner at Strega Waterfront celebrating debut authorsBonnie-Sue Hitchcock, Gavriel Savit, and Kara Thomas.
As one of the recipients of American Library Association and Ebsco’s 2016 Scholarship toattend Midwinter, I was invited to attend the delectable breakfast held in honor of theaward recipients. It was such a pleasure to meet the women and men who made thedecision to sponsor my first ever ALA Conference. They were gracious, kind, and overberry stuffed pancakes, home fries, a fresh fruit platter with cinnamon yogurt, theylaughed and shared funny stories with us like old friends.
And then there was the Youth Media Awards.
I had the pleasure of sitting in the front row with the journalists and the fabulouspublishing glitterati as they welcomed this year’s award winners with tears and cheers. Igot to see some of my favorite books and authors win the world’s most prestigiousliterary awards and I cheered until I was hoarse and tweeted until my phone died. Theroom was just electric and I was lit up.
I had such an amazing experience at Midwinter, and am very humbled to have been ableto attend. The conference brought back those butterfly feelings I got after I’d justgraduated. I could almost feel my superhero cape flying as I came back home with newideas for programming, and have new vigor to tackle the challenges I face. I amextremely excited to see what the Annual Conference has in store this year! In the wordsof the Boston Globe, “If you see a group of wild revelers…this weekend, it’s probably justthe librarians.”
If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend an ALA Conference, you should definitelyapply for the Ebsco scholarship. There is still time to apply for a scholarship to attend
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1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
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About Christina Vortia
I'm a snarky youth services librarian. I like listening, being useful, and snacking.
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this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Sun…Fun…Disney World… andLIBRARIANS! Apply now! http://www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/yalsaawardsgrants
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1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
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