CHICAGO — Registration and housing are now open for 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Philadelphia, Jan. 24-28. “The conversation starts here . . . ” every year at Midwinter Meeting, where you’ll find the usual gold-standard networking; updates on research, reports and legislation; innovators and thought leaders; hundreds of discussions on current key topics including ebooks, digital content and community engagement; more than 400 exhibitors and hundreds of authors; pre-Midwinter Institutes for indepth professional development; and more.
Attendees have told us that they want to take home new tools and ideas for successful innovation and improvements, based on participatory sessions offering current content and on formal and informal dialogue with colleagues and peers. To that end, look for all this and more to come:
“News You Can Use.” Sessions focusing on the latest updates from experts on public policy, ebooks and digital content, technology, community engagement, accessibility, LIS research, book industry data, RDA, grant priorities, library user research and more, based on new research, surveys, reports, legislation/ regulation, projects, beta trials, focus groups and other data. Providers include ALA divisions and offices, the ALA Digital Content Working Group and a wide range of other organizations.
Process the implications and share with peers. Dozens of formal and informal opportunities to engage, learn and network. Bookend your meeting with the Unconference on Friday and Library Camp on Monday afternoon to ask questions, explore options, make recommendations, examine ideas and reflect on the implications of what you’ve covered at Midwinter. Participate in the “kitchen-table” type conversations started at 2013 Annual Conference, with a focus on your aspirations for ALA as your professional community.
ERT/Booklist Author Forum. Five acclaimed children’s book creators—Tonya Bolden, Brian Floca, Kadir Nelson, Steve Sheinkin and Melissa Sweet—join fellow author and Booklist Books for Youth Senior Editor Ilene Cooper as she moderates the discussion about award-winning nonfiction for youth.
Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture. The 2014 lecture will be delivered by Ishmael Beah, a UNICEF Ambassador and Advocate for Children Affected by War and member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Advisory Committee. His bestselling book "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" has been published in more than 30 languages.
President’s Program. The high-demand speaker and energetic activist Andrew Slack, creator/ cofounder/ executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance, will address the importance of libraries in the community and the work of the Alliance. Slack is currently developing the Imagine Better Network, "so that fantasy is no longer an escape from our world, but an invitation to change it for the better."
Plus:
- More than 400 exhibitors and related events in the Exhibit Hall
- ALA Youth Media Awards announcements
- Auditorium Speaker Series (be on the lookout for speaker announcements)
- Midwinter Institutes, in-depth professional development
- ALA JobLIST Placement Center
Registration and housing for ALA Midwinter Meeting are open at http://www.alamidwinter.org.
Stay in touch and get updates at the Midwinter website, by tracking the tag-- #alamw14, by joining the Facebook Event, or on Tumblr and Pinterest.
Use these resources to make your case for attending!
Related Links
Twitter #alamw14
Contact:
Alicia Babcock
ALA Conference Registration
American Library Association
Conference Services
ababcock@ala.org
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