Special Needs

If you have a special physical or communication need that may impact your participation in this meeting, please check the appropriate box on your registration form and append a statement specifying your special need. While every effort will be made to meet attendees’ needs, we cannot guarantee the availability of accommodations in response to requests received after May 12, 2006.

Based upon availability in each city, we maintain a limited number of wheelchairs and scooters on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Kathy Harris at 800-545-2433, ext. 3220 or TDD (toll free): 888-814-7692, ext. 3220 as soon as possible to reserve a wheelchair or scooter, for use in the convention center only, or if you wish to discuss any other special needs.

For more information, please visit our accessibility page.

Child Care and Camp ALA

Make this year's annual meeting a family affair. Once again, ACCENT on Children's Arrangements, Inc. has planned a great children's activity center for ALA attendees' children. ACCENT is a nationally recognized professional childcare company organized to provide quality on-site children's activities in a nurturing, safe, educational environment. ACCENT's counselors are fun-loving professionals with plenty of experience with children. The camp will operate at Morial Convention Center from Friday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 27, 7:30 am to 6:00 pm daily. Children must be between 3 months and 17 years of age.

ALA will reimburse the charges expended on Camp ALA child care in the amount of $32 per day, per child to a maximum of $64 per day, per family to any fully-registered parent for each day of the Annual Conference week, June 23-27, 2006. The total cost of the care per child, per day is $80, with $48 paid by the parent member, and $32 paid by the Association. This covers only child care in the ALA day care center, Camp ALA. ALA will not reimburse child care expenses to delegates who live within the New Orleans area that would be paid to a regular provider whether the parent was attending the Annual Conference or not.

Registration for Camp ALA is available using this form. Print out this form and return via mail. The form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Online registration is also available.

Please note: Strollers are permitted on the exhibit floor, but children must remain seated in them at all times. Unescorted children are not permitted on the exhibit floor. See Children's Policy for more information.

Children’s Policy

Strollers are permitted on the exhibit floor but only if there is a child in them at all times. Unescorted children are not permitted on the exhibit floor. Children under the age of five must be restrained at all times (stroller, back pack, etc.). Any child over the age of five must have an exhibits only badge to be admitted to the exhibit floor. These badges are available at onsite registration for $25. An adult must accompany all children under the age of 16.

Poster Sessions

The ALA Conference Poster Sessions will be displayed on June 24, 25 and 26, 2006 at the Morial Convention Center. Poster sessions provide an opportunity for individual librarians or libraries to share graphic representations of current research, programs or creative solutions to library problems. Accepted presenters are given a time block during the conference to present posters, answer questions, and give away handouts relating to the session. Poster Session topics and times are listed in the Annual Conference Program.

Applications will be accepted between November 1, 2005 and January 31, 2006. For information or to apply, please visit http://www.lib.iastate.edu/ala/.

Descriptions of Poster Sessions are now available.

Placement Services

The Placement Services Center is provided by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR). The location of the Placement Center will be announced.
Hours of operation will be:

Friday, June 23
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Saturday, June 24 & Sunday, June 25:
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Monday, June 26:
9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Online registrations are accepted from mid-April through June, 2006 at the placement center website. Job seekers and employers are encouraged to apply regardless of whether or not they are attending the Annual Conference.

There will be a $200 fee for employers to register job vacancies. Interviewing facilities will be provided. Policy 54.3 states, "ALA is committed to equality of opportunity for all library employees or applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, physical or mental handicap, individual lifestyle, or national origin." By advertising through ALA services, the organization agrees to comply with this policy. All available salary ranges shall be listed.

Student-to-Staff Program

Each year during Annual Conference, the Chapter Relations Office puts together a group of student volunteers from the chapters to assist ALA staff at the conference. To qualify, the student must be a current ALA member and a member of a student chapter, and cannot have previously participated in the program. Each school has its own selection process, and the chosen student's name must be submitted to ALA by the group's faculty advisor. One student will be accepted per chapter. In exchange for working 4 hours per day at the conference from Friday, June 23-Tuesday June 27, the student will receive free conference registration, housing, and a per diem for meal expenses. Transportation costs (such as airfare and cabs) are the student's responsibility. To find out how you can participate, contact your ALA Student Chapter on campus for their selection criteria, or contact Erika Johnson in the Chapter Relations Office at ejohnson@ala.org.

No Smoking Policy

By Council action at its 1991 Atlanta Annual Conference, it was resolved that “smoking is prohibited at Midwinter Meetings, Annual Conferences, regional/national conferences, continuing education programs, exhibits and other gatherings sponsored by the ALA.”

Meals

Meals are not included with regular Conference registration. Some preconferences and banquets include meals as part of an additional ticket price. This information is included with the description of the event.

Cognotes

The Conference Newspaper will be available in the Convention Center Saturday - Tuesday, and a Highlights Issue will be mailed to all attendees after the Conference.

To submit a story or information in advance, please email the information to shoerner@ala.org. To submit stories onsite, please email them or bring them on floppy disk to the Cognotes Office in the ALA Office, Convention Center.

Be sure to look for "Unshelved" every day in Cognotes!