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I had it this morning.
On the new computer.


Happily preparing for ALA antics. There will be a blogger salon, hands-on play with WorldCat social tools workshops, a somewhat offbeat game show (complete with prizes) and much, much more.
And I just booked my flights. Oh, the anticipation of it all. Wha Hoo!

As always...thoughts brought to you from the OCLC Blog Salon 2007, in revelers' own words:


First post of the night. Stay tuned. (tinfoil+raccoon)
Beer is better on the West coast. (eclectic librarian)


Great party, all - next time save the name tags so you have a big old list of all the bloggers who came and drank your beer (Erica, the un-cool librarian - http://www.uncoollibrarian.blogspot.com/)

How about I just save this and then it will not lock? Everyone else, save after adding, Thanks. The room is bigger and we are still packed in and do you want to know why? Bloggers are awesome. Tonight, I have talked about kids, merging a reference desk and circ desk, managing ALA programs, and people's lives. Where else can I do that (with drinks?) - Cheers and thanks OCLC, Michelle Boule (Jane)

Thanks for one L of a party! (LisforLibrary.wordpress.com)

OCLC Rocks! Thanks for making my first ALA conference a great one!

i<3>
Thanks all! A great time, as always! (photos coming soon, or on Flickr...)

Hey bloggers. The blog salon is queued up and almost ready to start.
We have a BIGGER ROOM this year, so expect to have a bit more breathing and elbow room this year. The veggies are coming in, the pretzels and chips are ready and the beverages are abundant.

The Blog Salon is in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1st floor in room 176. Otherwise known as the Congressional Suite! Come hang out for a blog salon congress!

The Best Driver In DC.

And while yes technically I got us lost -- it was really the fault of the drivers who wouldn't let us in the lane we needed to be in.

Technically, I also got us un-lost and to the hotel without a major detour.

We have a room that is great to entertain, but little or no drawer space and a tiny bathroom. I *think* we are in walking distance of the precon.

It looks like we should have free wifi, but I couldn't figure it out so at the moment, we're spending $12/24 hours to use the hotel high speed internet services.

And it's raining. Drat.

If you're going to ALA and you'll still be in town on Tuesday (unfortunately, I will not be...), the ALA Washington office has organized the opportunity for Library Day on the Hill. Now before you start envisioning Jack and Jill fetching a pail of water, this sounds like a great way to join forces with other librarians in your region and make your voice heard.

At the very least, it is a chance to remind your national elected official that you indeed have a voice. Here's the PDF letter you can use to invite your elected official to go to the Gold Room, see the bookmobiles or--this seems pretty cool--have their own READ poster made. Now if you could work a deal, where your elected official would ALSO provide a copy of their unique READ poster for your library...what a better way to give them a spotlight in your library, with constituents, and help remind them of why your library is so important and needs their support.

Speaking of library support, I just saw the LJXpress about the House Subcommittee slashing LSTA and IMLS funds. Not exactly a rosy outlook. But at least you'll have something to talk about, when you're on the Hill.

I'm going to be at the Book Launch and Bhangra Party for First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover by Mitali Perkins. And yes, it's Mitali; but it's also a "pretend president's daughter" book, a genre I have loved since Ellen Emerson White. So I'm excited. Plus, the party is in DC, and again, the whole presidential connection!

Full details are at Mitali's Blog. You have to RSVP; get the scoop there.

Let me note, however, that I love food so am looking forward to both the samosas and the tiny franks (do not get between me and the food.) I'm a bit leery of anything in the yogurt family, but I'll give lassis a try.

And despite my inability to know my right foot from my left foot, I am looking forward to the bhangra lessons because what I lack in talent, I make up for in enthusiasm, especially when I have a few diet cokes in me. Bring your video camera; the YouTube version of my dancing will be priceless.

As we have done for many years, OCLC will be hosting a Symposium at ALA Annual in DC. It will be June 22, 1:30 – 4:30 pm, at the Grand Hyatt Washington, Independence Ballroom A and registration is here. The topic of this one is related to our forthcoming report Sharing, Privacy and Trust in the Age of the Networked Community.

Title: Is the Library Open?

Hear from three experts on the issues of information privacy law, copyright, digital communication, intellectual property and patron privacy rights in relation to library policies.

The speakers are:
· Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and professor of privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center. "EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values. EPIC publishes an award-winning e-mail and online newsletter on civil liberties in the information age – the EPIC Alert."

· Siva Vaidhyanathan, a cultural historian, media scholar and an associate professor of culture and communication at New York University. He blogs at Sivacracy.net. A journalist before he became a professor, he has written several books (including The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System) as well as for many periodicals. And he's been on The Daily Show, but you can't see that clip on YouTube anymore because of the Viacom copyright claim.

· Mary Minow, a library law consultant with LibraryLaw.com, coauthor of The Library’s Legal Answer Book and a public librarian for 10 years. She is the coauthor with Tomas Lipinski of The Library's Legal Answer Book (ALA Editions: 2003). She blogs at LibraryLaw.Blog and says this about herself, "I studied library law, that is the combined study of First Amendment, Copyright, Local Government Law, Disability Law, Negotiations etc. Now what I care about is sharing the most practical parts of the law that I learned, the good, the bad and the ugly, with my former colleagues, the librarians of the world."

Although it feels to me like mere weeks since our last Blog Salon, it is time to tell you about the next one. If you came to the ALA Midwinter Salon in Seattle, you can't forget it was very crowded, noisy and hot--all signs of a ripping good party, but not great for comfort.

So, we are holding this Blog Salon in a larger room, that isn't beside the bedroom of one of our conference managers who won't, then, be kept awake by carousing bloggers into the wee hours. We've chosen a time right after Leslie Burger's President's Program featuring Robert F. Kennedy which means you should be able to cross the street to the Grand Hyatt hotel, attend the Salon and still go for dinner afterwards.

Where: Congressional Suite at the Grand Hyatt
When: Sunday, June 24, 2007 , 5:45pm - 8pm
Who: Libraryland bloggers, pals of libraryland bloggers, bloggers-to-be
Why: Because it's such an interesting group of people
What: light snacks and adult beverages

See you there!

PS. I know this conflicts with the GLBTRT Social and I apologize to those wanting to attend this and the Blog Salon...maybe start with us and go on to the Social?

Are you going to the ALA Annual Conference in DC in June? I will be going, but I haven't registered yet. If you're going and interested in getting together for dinner or lunch, let me know; also, are you going to any of the "extras", either preconferences or awards? I'm trying to figure where to stay & what to include in my budget. And, you know, wondering what the cool kids are doing.

Thanks!