This article is more than 5 years old.

I learned that Friday at ALA Annual is a day where a bit is going on, but unless you have paid to attend a preconference or your committee is meeting, there is little “official” to attend. So I tried to combine a little productivity with experiencing the conference by setting up in the Convention Center Hallway to work. I was able to catch up on email, plan my itinerary for the rest of the conference, people-watch and visit the various ALA Marketing exhibits, as well as the ALA Editions book shop. I found a few new titles that might be helpful for the new RITS group, but will wait to come home to buy them; I’m not hauling home any more than I have to!

After lunch at nearby Downtown Disney (the only part of Disneyland that doesn’t appear to require an entry fee), I attended my first official event, Lauren’s Emerging Leaders Poster Session. I’ll let her give you all the details, but she and her partners had put together a good presentation on their project and plenty of people were gathering around to learn about it.

Friday evening, things start to happen – social events to welcome conference attendees into their various ALA membership groups. I attended a “soiree” held by the Instruction Section of the ACRL. It gave me a chance to meet the person who I have been corresponding with about the Innovation award, as well as many others. Elizabeth Novicki was there also and we set off afterward to pick up Mary Horton (who I’m rooming with), and then meet up with Lauren at the LITA Happy Hour. We all had dinner together – Friday is the one night that none of us had specific dinner obligations so it was fun to have a chance to chat and find out what everyone has planned for the weekend.

Today, the conference moves into full gear and I have an itinerary that is full and takes me until 10 pm tonight!