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By Nicholas Eskey Taking his regular seat in front of the all too familiar line consisting of convention goers, Comic-Con International’s President John Rogers readies himself for the inevitable. The “Talk Back Panel” always signifies the end of a convention, giving the chance for attendees and vendors alike to voice their opinions on their experiences; […]

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By Nicholas Eskey During the tail end of last year’s Wonder Con, it was announced that the convention which had spent the last three years in Anaheim would instead next be hosted by the city of Los Angeles. The change was for a simple reason; the Anaheim convention center already had another event booked for […]

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Most Disney fans know about the new park being built in Shanghai, China. The hardcore fan knows that Disney World’s Downtown is being urban-renewal’d into Disney Springs, and that Hollywood Studios is experiencing the same, with much speculation on which of Disney’s “Hollywood” properties might share the new limelight. But Disneyland? That’s an afterthought. It’s […]

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By Nick Eskey

For the three years that WonderCon has been in the Anaheim convention center, I’ve been very fortunate to attend it. I say fortunate because compared to my local San Diego Comic Con, this one is much more relaxed. Replacing the large media influence and the sardine-cramped spaces, there is ease and Fandom. Easily one of the industry’s conventions that is more beloved by fans.

The convention itself is very well run, usually smooth-as-silk. A few hiccups that occurred this year were the downed elevators used for celebrity talent (which was of course not the fault of WonderCon) and the last minute change of entrances for badge pickup (my press email said Hall H, only to find out I had to go all the way back to A). I did like the addition of the turn-styles at the entrance of the fountain. This did add a redundancy in checking badges, but it kept the people who were passing out advertisements and postcards away from the main doors.

I can’t really say how long I walked the convention sales floor, I just know my feet got a workout. Artists, independent publishers, and exhibitors inhabit much of the booth spaces.
Though the right side is designated as Artist’s Alley, the far left also seemed like a secondary one, with people showing off their original comics or sketches for sale. Quite a few booths were also selling handmade “geekery” like cartoon-inspired dolls, 3D printed figures, and even tentacle kitty plushies. I spent most of my allotted money on art prints (and said tentacle kitty plush).

I really do wish there was more in the way of panels this year. Last year there were a few big movie announcements shown in the Arena area, but for this one it was all smaller panels on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This is where I think SDCC is far superior. It always has the big talent and over the top showings. It is still nice to have the “how to get into the industry” or documentary panels, but a dash of excitement here and there definitely would add considerably to the lineup.

The big announcement was of course that WonderCon would not be in Anaheim next year, but in LA. From what was told at the talkback panel on the last day of the convention, lack of availability surrounding that time period forced the hard decision on the board. As luck would have it, LA’s convention center had a cancellation, and welcomed WonderCon to fill the spot. We all might be a little spoiled in how the Anaheim convention center sits in between two large hotels, as well as being in walking distance to and from Disneyland Park, but isn’t that part of the fun?

LA does boast a collection of hotels and other attractions, but come on; Disneyland. DISNEYLAND!

I’ll still be heading to WonderCon 2016, believe you me. The convention survived it’s San Francisco birth, and flourished in its Anaheim move. Because of this, I am optimistic that it will become even better in this next move. After the explosion of SDCC, CCI has learned that they need to build on WonderCon piecemeal.

Who knows, 2017 might have the convention back in Anaheim. As of now, nothing is set in stone for the far future.

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By Nick Eskey

Known for being the fan favorite of major conventions, with its relaxed nature and lines, WonderCon has been gaining in popularity over the last few years.

For this last WonderCon, I was a little underwhelmed with the pick of panel selections, so I decided to spend more time on the sales floor than I usually do. The diversity of vendors, artists, and publishers gathered here are always wonderful to see and explore. During my long exploration, I came across a few booths that I felt deserved a shout out.

C.M.E. (Creative Mind Energy LLC): I’ve seen these guys for a few years now, at both WonderCon and Comic-Con. Every time I do, it’s a great pleasure. CME is a

family business that come up with original creative content for various avenues, such as print, television, movies, and video games. The artwork of their comic books are so unique, featuring beautifully, hand drawn scenes. The work stands out and makes a name for itself. One of their latest works, Deadeye, will be coming out this June. Find a copy for yourself. [http://creativemindenergy.com/]

Design Studio Press: This publisher has been around for 15 years. The level of workmanship in each book shows why they’ve been around this long. Design
Studio Press’s content is mostly beautiful reference materials for making art and designing. A couple books of theirs that really impressed me were “How to draw” and “How to render.” Each one’s a thick piece of work; highly detailed, lots of pictures, and very simple to follow. But what really was impressive is that if you download the company’s app on your phone, and train the camera on certain pages, an AR tutorial will appear on the paper, including more than what is there. This is truly the next step in books and technology. [http://designstudiopress.com/]

Abraham Lopez: A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes the saying. This artist’s work is indeed worth that many words, creating a hilarious work of fiction. Using a combination of comic and Disney characters, his drawings place them in farfetched, but yes very amusing scenes and situations. During the entire convention, his booth was consistently surrounded. I myself had to buy a few of his prints. They are just that good. But beyond their subject matter, his art is well done and polished. [http://artistabe.deviantart.com/]

Even though WonderCon is over, still check these guys out. They all deserve some patronage in my book. I’d love to see them again at this year’s SDCC.

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By: Nick Eskey

Signaling the end of the three day WonderCon weekend, Comic-Con International’s board of directors president, John Rogers, was joined by Con-goers for the “Talk Back” panel.

As opposed to the SDCC Talk Back which normally has a litany of people with grievances, WonderCon’s is known to be almost completely made up of praises. This year wasn’t any different.

The first woman to speak said that she was disappointed that nothing big was in the Arena this year, but still had fun with the smaller panels. A few others came forward saying simply that they loved the convention, some even admitting to liking it better than SDCC.

Not all were compliments though. As it goes for questions and concerns, the issue of the why WonderCon always falls on Easter was addressed. Whether it was intentionally planned that way or not.
“Believe me, we would have preferred if it wasn’t Easter weekend,” said John Rogers. “It really comes to how everything falls when it comes to scheduling, availability, traveling, hotels… and it just turned out that we had to during Easter.”

A new addition to the convention was having badges first checked right before entering the front of the convention center with the fountain. It was asked what the intention of doing this was, as well as checking badges as you get into exhibit halls. “We were seeing that once you would get to the glass doors, people were being blocked by others with pamphlets and cards,” said Rogers. “It caused some congestion at the front. We felt that this would keep the doors free and accessible.”

Another concern was regarding the signature raffling, saying that it didn’t seem fair for those that would wait in line early, to find out that it was a raffle, putting them with equal footing for those who came later.

“The ticket raffling is the preferred method for CCI. We instruct all exhibitors that approach us regarding signings to do raffles… What we would foresee is that people would start lining up quite early, and then next time even earlier than that. This gives everyone an equal chance regardless of when they line up.”

But definitely the biggest question to come of the panel was, “Will WonderCon stay in Anaheim next year?” John Rogers straightened in his chair, and began with “Um… well.”

As it turned out, it was confirmed that WonderCon would not be returning to the Anaheim venue next year. “Unfortunately there wasn’t any availability next year for the convention center.”
Where then will it be?

“When we were looking for other venues and approached LA, it turned out that they had a cancellation and welcomed [the convention].” After being in Anaheim for three years, San Francisco before that, WonderCon will now be making the move to Los Angeles.

“This is going to be a whole new city, a whole new market, new facility… But we are thankfully foreseeing some fairly decent deals for the hotels.”

It’s sad to see Anaheim losing WonderCon. It personally makes sense to have it there with the abundance of hotels around it, and with Disneyland just being in fifteen minutes walking distance. But because the whole scheduling and negotiation of venues is a difficult business, I can understand the board’s decision to go.

With LA in the conventions future next year, we can rest assured to aspect some road bumps in its execution, and unfamiliarity from con goers. Let’s all hope for the best!

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Might Comic-Con International actually move from San Diego?

Comic-Con International has yet to sign a contract for 2017 and 2018, and it looks uncertain whether America’s Finest City™  can convince CCI to remain in San Diego.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

With an expansion of San Diego’s convention center stalled, other Southern California convention center operators are making a play to lure away that city’s biggest and most profitable convention.

Organizers of the annual gathering of more than 130,000 comic book and pop culture fans are now considering suitors, including Los Angeles and Anaheim, as they weigh the option of signing a contract to stay in San Diego after Comic-Con’s convention next year or finding a new home.

“The proposals we’ve received are pretty amazing,” said David Glanzer, a spokesman for Comic-Con International. “It’s not an easy decision.”

Variables include:

• The San Diego Chargers want a new stadium/convention center to be built nearby, but the Hotel owners favor a contiguous space.  (Although, plenty of people walk over to Petco to take part in that comic-carnival.)  If the Chargers don’t get their way, they may move to Los Angeles.  (Yeah… good luck with that.)
• Financing the $520 Million was derailed when the state appeals court struck down the taxation scheme created to fund the expansion.
• The agreement with the hotels to provide event space for free and lock in hotel rates (which can be pricey, if you can reserve one) has been extended to 2018.
• CCI gets a discount rate on convention center rental.  In 2014, they paid $188,925, discounted from $479,535.

• Anaheim, the largest convention center on the West Coast, is starting its seventh expansion of their convention center, building a 200,000 square foot addition on the parking lot north of the Hilton Hotel.  It’s scheduled for completion in 2017.  Meanwhile, the rest of the center is available, and WonderCon has been there since 2012.  (Although, financing might be subject to a legal challenge.)
• Nine new hotels have been built or are being constructed near the ACC, adding 1500 new rooms to the 13,000 already nearby.
• The reason for the expansion?  Trade shows are threatening to leave for larger spaces!  (NAMM arrives next week.  WonderCon will be there in early April, and will use the entire building?)

My point of view?

I attended the American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim in 2012.  They use a lot of conference space for committee meetings, which limits them to locales with large convention centers and numerous hotels.  (They held a winter conference in San Diego in January 2011.)

I stayed in a motel near the interstate, a twenty-minute walk to the convention center.  The weather was nice for late June.  Sometimes I took a shuttle bus, most times I walked, as Anaheim is very flat.  There is Anaheim Resort Transit which offers trolley buses around the area, as well the expected convention shuttles.

Could Comic-Con work in Anaheim?  I think so.  Would fans have to compete with Disneyland for hotel rooms?  Possibly, although I had no trouble booking a room.  How much of Disney’s attendance is regional, and how much is transient?  (Don’t forget… there are three Disney hotels on site, and many more north of the park.  Families can also plan their vacations around Comic-Con, if hotel rooms are scarce.)  (Have people attending WonderCon had any trouble booking hotels?)  (What about NAMM?)  (Oh… and it’s not a major holiday, like the surge seen during Winter Break.)

Does Anaheim lack the ambience of Old Town?  Sure.  But thanks to Disney, there are numerous eateries nearby at a wide range of budgets.  (My fave: Star Burger, a korean burger joint!)  And let’s face it… Downtown Disney is better than Horton Plaza!

The convention center?  Bigger and easier to move around in.  It’s not as long (four halls instead of eight), so you’re not walking as far to get somewhere.  (A fifth exhibition hall is located underneath the main floor, and the expansion pictured above will connect via a pedestrian bridge.)  The two upper levels of meeting space are easy to access, and have roomy pre-function space.  There’s an attached arena for 8,700 spectators.  The biggest Hall, D, can seat 15,000 in a theater configuration, and use Hall E below as a holding pen!  San Diego’s Hall H?  6,130.

CCI already uses the facility for WonderCon, and this year (the fourth in Anaheim) seems to have rented the entire building.  Thus they have local experience.  Attendance is in the neighborhood of 50,000, but that can change rapidly, especially in the current climate of media shows, and it being one of the first big shows of the year.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it does move.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t.  San Diego doesn’t want CCI to leave, as evidenced by the current Mayor and hotels eager to please.  CCI could stay through 2018, use Anaheim as a backup plan, and ankle if the expansion funding isn’t solved by then.  CCI could flip the two shows…  WonderCon in SD in April, CCI in Anaheim in July.  Maybe a third show in LA, just to test the waters.

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Well, WonderCon’s continued presence in San Francisco remains in doubt, as seen here, and mentioned here back in March, as the Moscone Center gives WonderCon the Cinderella treatment.  What’s in store for WonderCon, and what are their options?

As in 2012, WonderCon will once again take place in Anaheim, scheduled for March 29-31, 2013, which also is Easter weekend.

WonderCon, originally held at the Oakland, California, Convention Center, moved to the Moscone Center in San Francisco in 2003.

In 2012, Moscone was under renovation, making space a premium.  In 2013, that renovation should be complete.  So what’s happening in April, 2013, at Moscone?

Dates	Event Name	Location	Type
April 2013
04/02/13 – 04/04/13	MRS 2013 Spring Meeting	Moscone West	Convention / Tradeshow
04/09/13 – 04/09/13	ad:tech	Moscone West	Convention / Tradeshow
04/11/13 – 04/13/13	American College of Physicians	Moscone North and South	Convention
04/15/13 – 04/17/13	AACRAO 99th Annual Meeting	Moscone West	Convention / Tradeshow
04/20/13 – 04/22/13	2013 AACC Annual Convention	Moscone West Levels 1-3	Convention / Tradeshow
04/20/13 – 04/24/13	Cataract and Refractive Surgery	Moscone North and South	Convention / Tradeshow
04/28/13 – 05/01/13	SAS Users’ Group International	Moscone West	Convention / Tradeshow

—

Moscone West cannot accommodate a weekend show, as the midweek shows require at least one day of moving out and moving in.

Moscone North/South?  It could host WC the weekend of the 6th and 7th, or the 27th and 28th.

But Moscone can host whomever they wish.  As a public venue, they are susceptible to public pressure, so perhaps a grassroots effort could be made to convince the village elders to accommodate a local cultural event.  Perhaps Jerry Sanders could call Edwin M. Lee and clue him in to the amount of money being lost to Anaheim.

—

So, in 2013, WonderCon will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center to the east of Los Angeles.

Here’s the plan of the convention center:

Last year, WonderCon used Hall D for exhibition space.  (Here’s the exhibitor map.)  That’s 221,284 square feet.  It’s a huge building, with over 813,000 square feet of exhibition space (Halls A-E).  Moscone has 538,000 sq.ft. of exhibition space; San Diego, 525,701 sq.ft.

In 2011, WonderCon used Halls A-C of Moscone South for the dealer’s room.  That’s 260,560 square feet of space.  2010 had the same footprint; in 2009 it was Halls B & C.

——————-

So, if Moscone disowns WonderCon like a single mother tossed out into a snowstorm, where could they relocate to?

Well, there is Anaheim, which will have hosted two shows.  Comic-Con International has filed to claim “Anaheim Comic-Con” as a trademark.  (They have also filed for “Los Angeles Comic-Con” and “San Francisco Comic-Con”.)  There is a lot of space to expand, both in the Arena which can host “Hall H” media events, as well as a large ballroom on the Third Floor.

I attended the annual conference of the American Library Association here last June.  There are numerous hotels around the area, mostly due to Disneyland.  I had no trouble finding an affordable hotel room, and though the trek was a bit long, the weather was pleasant.  There was no “fighting” with Disneyland tourists for hotel rooms or restaurants.  The convention center was easy to navigate, both horizontally and vertically.  The length of the center was not weary to walk, even on the last day of the show.  I especially liked the outdoor courtyards built between each hall.  There were 20,000 attendees, yet it wasn’t difficult to walk between hallways. (Of course, surf the web for reaction to last year’s WonderCon in Anaheim.)

—

But, where else could it go?  Some local fans are criticial of Comic-Con International moving out of the Bay Area, wondering why they do not move the show to another regional venue.

What exists?

First, there’s the Oakland Convention Center, which originally hosted the show from 1987-2002.

It has 48,000 square feet of exhibition space.  That’s one-fifth of what WonderCon used in 2011.  There’s also not a lot of space for programming.

—

San Jose?  Located on the south side of the San Francisco Bay, it once hosted CCI’s Alternative Press Expo at Parkside Hall before it was moved to the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco.

The San Jose Convention Center has 143,000 square feet.  54% of WC ‘11.

—

Santa Clara?  112,775 sq.ft.

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Now, what if WonderCon went back to its fan-based heritage, and followed the hotel-centric layout of Dragon*Con?

What’s that?  A major regional convention which doesn’t use a convention center?  YUP!  Dragon*Con is a science-fiction convention which has grown to epic proportions!  They embrace almost every fandom, and like smaller conventions, rent conference space in various hotels, decentralizing everything.  Exhibitors and dealers are housed in three separate ballrooms.

Our host hotels for 2012 will again include the familiar surroundings of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta along with the legendary Atlanta Marriott Marquis, the Hilton Atlanta, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.

They sell out the hotels, usually a year in advance!  Which is what convention bureaus love!  46,000 fans attended in 2011, according to Wikipedia.

Could that happen in San Francisco?

WonderCon could use the Marriott Marquis, the Westin, and the Four Seasons for events (with the W and St. Regis for overflow), bypassing Moscone completely.  The three main hotels are all in the same block just north of Yerba Buena Gardens (and two blocks north of Moscone).

WonderCon had about 39,000 attendees in 2011 in San Francisco (the latest year I could find).  WonderCon is similar to Dragon*Con in scope and size, so let’s see what space D*C has available [click on the hotel name to go to the hotels' meeting space pages] :

• Hyatt Regency Atlanta 113K  (six different spaces)
• Westin Peachtree Plaza 51.8 K (four floors, multiple rooms)
• Sheraton Atlanta Hotel 43.4K (three floors, numerous meeting rooms)
• Hilton Atlanta 41K Exhibit Hall + 41.3K + meeting rooms (four floors)
• Atlanta Marriott Marquis 88.7K +meeting rooms (four floors

The Grand (hotel) total: 379,200 approximate square feet.

Now, realize that Dragon*Con has three exhibition spaces:

• Dealers (retailers) are in the Hyatt’s International Hall (9,150 sq.ft.)
• Exhibitors (companies) are in the Marriott’s Marquis Ballroom (21,983 sq.ft.)  and the Imperial Ballroom (15,640 sq.ft.)

—

Now, what if we tried the same thing in San Francisco?

• Westin San Francisco Market Street 12K + smaller ballrooms (two floors)
• San Francisco Marriott Marquis 64.9K + numerous meeting rooms (five floors)
• Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco 9.4K + 4 meeting rooms (one floor)

That’s a grand (motel) total of approximately 86,000 square feet, all on the same city block.

Add the nearby St. Regis (13.3K) and the W (7.4K) and the total is 107,000 square feet.  That’s a tight fit.  The Marriot Marquis could host the Exhibitors space, the Westin could host the dealers.  Meeting rooms might be a concern, although there are smaller boutique hotels with smaller (but not numerous) meeting rooms.  Of course, that all depends on the major exhibitors.  If Marvel, DC, Capcom, and/or Nintendo balk, then the show might suffer by their absence.  (Of course, fans could view it as WonderCon returning to their fan-based heritage, ignoring the hyperbole which fuels Comic-Con International: San Diego.)

——————-

But there’s another possibility, further north.  Sacramento.

Sacramento, the capital of California, has two major exhibition spaces:

1. The Sacramento Convention Center
2. Cal Expo

The Sacremento Convention Center has 134,006 sq.ft. of exhibition space, which is smaller than San Jose.  So that’s not worth the trouble of moving outside the Bay Area.

But consider Cal Expo.  What’s that?  It’s the site of Big Fun, the California State Fair.

It has a complex of buildings which could be utilized for a large convention, turning it into a “comic-county fair”!

Think that’s crazy?  Consider CeBIT, held every year in Hannover, Germany.  Held at Hannover’s Messegelände (fairground), that electronics trade show uses 5 million square feet in 27 different halls and attracted 312,000 attendees in 2012 (850,000 during the dot-com boom).  CCI:SD caps attendance at 130,000.

So, what sort of space does Cal Expo offer?  Here’s the map of the fairgrounds.  Specifically, Buildings A, B, C, D, the Pavilion, the Cove, and the Expo Center.  The PDF of building specifics is here.

• Building A 27,700 sq.ft., with 8,600 sq.ft. on the mezzanine.  [Connects with Building B]
• Building B [identical to Building A]
• Building C 28,000 sq.ft.  [column free, connects to Building D]
• Building D 20,000 sq.ft.  [column free]
• The Pavilion 98,000 sq.ft.
• The Cove A shaded seating area, seats 4100, stage measures 48 x 40 ft.  (Think “Hall H”.)
• Expo Center 58,870 sq.ft.  Eight buildings sharing an outdoor brick plaza.
• #1 = 7,549 #2 = 5,987 #3 = 7,929 #4 = 7,860 #5 = 7,934 #6 = 7,832 #7 = 7,931 #8 = 5,848

That’s a grand total of 277,470 sq.ft. of space, larger than the 260,560 sq.ft. used in Moscone South.

The column free space of Building C and D would be perfect for the larger exhibitors.  Each Expo Center building could cater to a different fandom, grouping retailers together.  Or the Expo Center could be one big miss-mix-mashed bazaar, encouraging attendees to wander from one building to the next, and congregating in the middle.

Hotels?  There are many north of the fairground, so shuttle buses would be used, just like at every other comic con in the country.  Big Fun lists local transit options to downtown. Or, unlike most other shows, you can camp in your RV.  Parking?  15,000 spaces, $10 a car.

What about the weather?  According to Wikipedia, the average temperature in Sacramento for April is 47-72 degrees Fahrenheit.  San Francisco?  50-64 degrees.

Will people travel from San Francisco?  Well, to drive from Moscone to Anaheim takes 6 hours, 45 minutes.  From Moscone to Cal Expo?  1 hour, 35 minutes.  Lots of parking!

The Big Fun Map.  The Golden1 stage is The Cove.

——————-

So, those are the most likely solutions for WonderCon.  I’m hoping that Moscone and CCI can come to some agreement, while Anaheim can become another great regional convention.

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Hey all! ALA Annual 2012 will be held in Anaheim right here in sunny Southern California!
I know I have a heck of a time keeping names straight (not to mention finding everyone's pages and so forth) so I'm making a page for it... if you are attending #ALA12 and would like to share your info here, please do so in the appropriate section!

Attending Authors: Webpage only (Please only add your url here if you are a) an author AND b) attending ALA Annual 2012. Add Twitter names in the appropriate linky below.)

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Attendees: Webpage only (If you are not an author but are attending ALA Annual 2012, please add your url here and in parenthesis, mark your role: librarian, blogger, etc.--see example. Add Twitter names in the appropriate linky below.)

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Twitter @names and #hashtags (Make sure you add the whole URL where needed, not just your username, or we won't be able to click on it!)

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Guides and Resources (I don't want to write a whole brand new guide to etiquette, what to do, where to eat, etc. So let's all just add the links to resources and guides right here. Deal?)

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Back in my studio after an excellent weekend in Anaheim. Here are a few images of the exhibits from husband’s camera.

And so here are the...

Things I learn in Anaheim: Maps are deceiving. A two block walk in the broiling streets of Anaheim—from hotel to convention center—means a sweaty 25 minute workout.

Things I ate at Anaheim: Ice-cream sundae I made myself at the Roaring Brook Press Bowling Party on Friday evening. I also ended up with stiff right forearm and a 14 point score.

Things I saw in Anaheim: Books by Latino, for Latinos, about Latinos:

Pablo. Pablo Neruda, by Gerogina Lazaro and Marcela Donoso.

Outstanding: The work of Rafael Lopez continues to mesmerize me, wow! Take a lookybook of Our California , written by Pam Muñoz Ryan

And BOOK FIESTA! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day; Una celebración de El Día de los niños/El día de los libros

And I also found Rudy Gutierrez’s two first books, feasts to the eyes.

Papá and Me by Arthur Dorros

And Pele, King of Soccer/Pele, El Rey del Futbol, by Monica Brown, of which I don’t have an image of, but I can testify for its magnificence.

My attention went to these books not only because these are Latino, but because they are visually and thematically outstanding.

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*Whew!* I'm back from my whirlwind trip to Anaheim for ALA's Annual Conference. I left almost before it started since my main thrust was my presentation at the Diversity Leadership Institute, which you can read about over at the ALSC blog! A truly inspiring and informative event!

After the Institute was over, I headed out with my colleague Lana for dinner and we ended up in Downtown Disney. It was quite a sight! We ended up having some pretty delicious tapas before calling it a night.

Next up was the ISS sponsored Independent School Libraries tour. We were fortunate enough to visit two incredibly different and amazing libraries. The first was at the Chadwick School in Palos Verdes. A beautiful facility with a reading room featuring beanbag chairs that our middle school kids would die for! Librarian Sarah Knetzer-Davis gave us a fabulous tour, and went above and beyond by delivering some of our ISS members back to conference so that they could make their sessions! Thank you Sarah!

Next up was the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. This felt a bit like home to me as Crossroads is a progressive school, and I have the feeling that many of the students there are quite similar to the ones I have! We visited the Middle and High School library, and it is an amazing site. Most of (if not all of) Crossroads is made up of buildings that used to be used for industrial purposes. The librarians there were great and it sounds like the library is a super active place during the school year, with the students really feeling at home there!

The afternoon was taken up with an ALSC 101 session. Even though I have been a librarian for YEARS (about 12 now), I have been active more with YALSA. Now I am looking to dive into ALSC, so I figured that I would head on over and meet some folks! We had a rousing get to know you fest, and I came away with a better sense of the organization (as well as an author contact for next year! Woot!)

Finding dinner on Friday night was a bit more difficult. Many places had an hour wait. Wandering home I happened upon Gandhi Palace, where I had some really, REALLY good Indian food. So if you are still at Conference and like Indian food, you really should head on over for some dinner!

Then a 4:10 a.m. wake up call this morning, and here I am back in NYC. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get a chance to head onto the exhibit floor, but I am happy to be home!

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Walt says what I’d be saying if I were even at the “Hey I’m going to ALA” post yet.

See you in Anaheim? Say Hi. I’m terrible with names and still an introvert, but I’m almost always approachable and ready to chat. And if I seem to be in a hurry…that’s just the way I walk, and shouldn’t carry any deeper meaning.

I’ll be at ALA starting from Friday sometime to Sunday late or Monday sometime. I am pretty much not available for one-on-one hangout mealtime but I really like running into people and finding ways to sort of co-conference.

After cycling off of Council I swore I wouldn’t work at another ALA conference unless someone paid my way. So, I’m presenting on a panel with Louise Alcorn on Saturday and MaintainIT is footing the bill. I’m getting day passes for Saturday and Sunday (blogging a panel then) and not registering for the conference which I can get away with because I’m not technically a librarian and not an ALA member anymore. I anticipate trouble.

Anyhow, here is my schedule. Please say hi if you see me. I’ll have my cell phone on me, ping me if you’d like the number, or it’s on facebook.

Thursday
- arrive LA, dinner/stay with high school pal

Friday
- get to Anaheim somehow [anyone want to give me a ride? late morning?]
- Mover & Shaker lunch maybe (unlikely actually)
- dinner with Macee from MeFi

Saturday
- my panel, 10:30-12
- MetaFilter meetup
- late night facebook meetup maybe

Sunday
- ALA Privacy Panel 1-3 Room 201D (I’m blogging, not participating)
- OCLC Blogger thing @ Hilton, Palisades room

Monday
- get to LAX (share a shuttle, anyone?) fly home at noon

I’m staying with Louise Alcorn at the Disneyland Hotel, lord help us. Anyone else staying there?

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