#ALAAC26 #ALA150 : the quilts!

 

The quilts were prominently displayed at the convention center. 

Connie and I started the ALA Biblioquilters when we met at the ALA conference in Washington, DC, in 1998.  For some years we planned a fabric-shopping excursion at the conference city. Now we make quilts (some collaborative, most individual) that are sold in a silent auction to benefit an endowed library school scholarship.  

This year the bids were the highest ever -- $7951!

I contributed these five.

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But wait, there's more.

This quilt was  on display (not in the auction).    

I don't know if you can grab the QR code from this photo.   The link goes to Laura Guertin
and you can see her other science and data themed quilts.

This patchwork caught my eye.

Look again!  It's paper collage made from catalog cards!   

Here's more about the artist.  

She donated these pieces to the silent auction (but not part of that $7951).  

I was the successful bidder for this one.  It's now on display on the mantel.  

#alaac26 ALA Annual Conference

In 1876 103 librarians (90 men and 13 women) met in Philadelphia and, on October 6, founded the American Library Association.  Of course they're busy celebrating another major anniversary in Philadelphia this summer so the #ALA150 festivities were in Chicago, which has been home to ALA since 1909. 

This was the 40th Annual Conference I've attended since 1984.  (I didn't go in 1991 or 2016 and the 2020 conference was cancelled.)   I'm retired from the job but not from the profession!  I go to see long-time friends, listen to interesting speakers, learn about issues, and of course to get new books.  

As it turned out, there wasn't extra time to go to issues-based programs (many of which dealt with the threat and the opportunity of AI).   But I managed all the other aspects just fine!  

Rachel Maddow was the Opening General Session speaker on Friday.

Dr. Jill Biden was the President's Program speaker on Sunday. 

Both were passionate and articulate!  

I had several responsibilities for the Retired Members Round Table.  I coordinated a group dinner Friday evening (no photos).   On Saturday morning I arranged for a guided tour of  Driehaus Museum.  Financier Richard Driehaus purchased the Gilded Age Nickerson House for his collection of late 19th/early 20th century decorative arts.  I hadn't been there for many years and it was new to the others who attended.  

The RMRT board meeting was Saturday afternoon, followed by the RMRT book club.  We meet by Zoom every fifth Sunday but in person at the conference.  The prompt for this session was "education" and as usual our interpretations of the prompt were varied.  (I chose Yale Needs Women and Good Morning, Miss Dove, both of which I've reviewed on this blog.) 

Monday's RMRT program was "Words Matter:  an Introduction to the Dignity Index ."  The presenters were my friends from the AAUW Batavia-Geneva-St. Charles Branch.  They are certified Dignity trainers. When I heard them at the AAUW-IL convention a couple of years ago I knew the idea would be great for ALA, and it was. 

I didn't get any really good pictures at the ALA150 Bash, the big party on Saturday evening.  But I was there! 

Books, you say?   Just a few -- and honestly not as many as previous years.  I shipped a small box home and was able to repack my suitcase to accommodate the rest of them.  

(And, I'll have you know, as of this writing -- a day and a half after I got home -- I've read two and I'm halfway through a third.) 

The Gala Author Tea was Monday afternoon.  I was able to get the 4:32 train.   It was a hot half-mile walk from the Winthrop Harbor depot, but I walked in my front door at 6:15.  

NOLA 27:  it's on my calendar. 

Next post:  the quilts! 

#alaac25 in Philadelphia (quilts included)

 

 I've been to five ALA Midwinter Meetings (January/February) in Philadelphia, most recently in January, 2020. This was the first Annual there since 1982.

My first ALA Annual Conference was in 1984. Since the I've missed two (1991 and 2016). 2020 was cancelled and 2021 was virtual. By my reckoning that means this year was #37.  I go to the conference to learn about issues and new books, hear interesting speakers, sightsee, and see friends.  My main involvement nowadays is the Retired Members Round Table.

 Issues:   ongoing threats to access information (from kids to researchers), 

federal budget cuts, 

and the firing of the Librarian of Congress.  

RMRT sponsored a panel about the ways that retirees can (and must!) be vocal advocates for libraries in their communities.  

I popped in for a few minutes at a session of ALA Council, the governing body.  I served on Council for 16 years.  

Books (new and nearly new):

The Carnegie Awards are the adult equivalent to the Newbery/Caldecotts.  (James is my book group's August selection and now I have a signed copy. I look forward to A Walk in the Park)

Left: two of the Literary Luminaries were audiobook narrators so instead of a book there were cards with QR codes for a free download.  

Upper right:  the HarperCollins book buzz is always fun.

Lower right: the Gala Author Tea on Monday afternoon is my last conference event. 

I read The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner on the flight home.  Like her first novel, The Lost Apothecary, it's magical realism set in two centuries. 

Interesting speakers:  there were many.  I couldn't coordinate my schedule to see all of them, but I did get to hear Dr. Brene Brown.

The RMRT President's Program was given by the librarian/archivist at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  She told us how their resources provide documentation and background for the museum's exhibits, using their current special shows about Surrealism and Marcel Duchamp as examples.  

Ann Marie, Nancy, and I thoroughly enjoyed a screening of Rebel With a Clause moderated by writer (and star) Ellen Jovin and filmmaker Brandt Johnson.   They traveled to all 50 states where she set up her grammar table and talked to people, answering their grammar questions and listening to their comments.   

You can watch the trailer here.Theatrical release will be in 2026. Don't miss it!!  Meanwhile, you can read Jovin's book of the same name.

Sightseeing: 

Ann Marie (my roommate), Nancy, Lisa, and I went to Independence Hall. Tickets are free but are timed-entry.  

Lower left: the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, where the delegates deliberated and then signed the Declaration. Lower right: Congress Hall where Congress met when Philadelphia was the capitol.  (It was originally the county courthouse.) 

Upper right: a bust of Franklin surveys the House chamber at Congress Hall.

We did not see the Liberty Bell. No tickets needed but the line is very, very long.  We contented ourselves with the replica in the visitors' center. 

RMRT sponsors a tour/field trip at each annual conference.  This year we went to the  Rosenbach Library

The tour is open to any conference attendee, hence the younger-than-retired in the group.  

Everyone enjoyed it.

Upper left:  a clock.  Center left: Jane Austen.  Center:  James Joyce (the Rosenbach celebrates every Bloomsday (June 16: Ulysses). Lower left:  the Rosenbachs facilitated the sale of several First Folios but never owned one. These are Second, Third, and Fourth Folios.  Lower center:  the royal charter for the Drury Lane Theatre specifying that women can play women's roles (in Shakespeare's time men played them). Lower right:  British and American first editions of Moby Dick.  

Friends:

Just a few....Nancy, Ann Marie, Carrie, Katharine, Larayne....

and a special meet up!  

Late Friday afternoon I took the train from downtown to the suburbs.  Marsha met me at the station and took me to Nancy's house.   (I met Nancy through blogging and Marsha because she is a librarian and a quilter.  They have been good friends (same church, plus quilting) for many years.)  Nancy served supper.  I met her husband Joe.  We four had a wonderful evening.

Nancy wrote about the flag quilt in this post

One quilt leads to another -- in this case sixteen of them.

This year's auction raised $4180 for the scholarship fund. My records only go back to 2013.   2013-2025: $44,513 (plus the 12 years before that). 

From left: Antipodes (one of mine): $500.   Cats: $500. School Colors 1: $175. School Colors 2: $175. Art Class: $100. One Fish Two Fish (stack 'n' whack): $175. Mrs. Tomte: $150. Dragon Reader: $475. Winnie the Pooh: $400. Tall pumpkin (partially hidden): $100. Short Pumpkin: $175. Wreath: $80.

You can see Ann Marie, Lisa's back, and at the far right Nancy's back.  The easels are for artwork donated by illustrators/graphic artists, also to benefit the scholarship fund.

I made these four.  The Beacon: $150. Morning at the Marsh: $250. Churn Dash: $275. Indigo Stars: $500.  

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And then it was Tuesday morning. Time to check out, get to the airport, and fly home.  The return trip went without a hitch. I walked in the door at 2:45.

I shipped just one box of books and swag. It arrived on Thursday. 

I miss having my first reader to greet me . . .

#alaac24 in San Diego, part 1

 

The American Library Association held its 148th Annual Conference in San Diego.  13,523 people attended. That is fewer than the two post-pandemic years (Chicago 2023: 15,842; DC 2022: 13,900) and many fewer than pre-pandemic (Chicago 2017: 22,701).    ALA is streamlining operations.  Librarians and library workers are accessing continuing education differently (online) and it's often difficult to get travel funding.  Still, the in-person gathering has such energy and enthusiasm!  

I joined the Legacy Society in 2004

The first annual conference I attended was in 1984. Since then I've missed two (1991: no funding; 2016: Orlando in June? no, thanks).  The 2020 conference was cancelled. The 2021 conference was virtual.  That means I've been to 38 out of 40 conferences in 41 years. 

Yes, I'm retired -- but from the job, not the profession!  I go to the conference for the friendships, the sightseeing, and for the books and authors.  

I signed up for a preconference about the Asian heritage in San Diego. 

 As an add-on to the preconferece,  Thursday afternoon there was a docent-led walking tour of the historic Chinese neighborhood. It started from the SD Chinese Historical Museum.  

Thursday evening the Executive Board Survivors met for dinner.  I was on the ALA Exec Board from 2004-2007 and was one of the three EBers who began the Survivors group.  

The preconference was 8:30-3:30 Friday. Rather than Asian heritage (as advertised) it was about Mexican settlement in southern California and Mexican genealogy.  The speakers were experts and their presentations were interesting, though not of direct use to me right now.  

Friday afternoon:  Trevor Noah was the guest speaker at the opening general session.   He was interviewed by ALA president Emily Drabinski.  He was great, as you would expect.

Friday evening:  the ALA Retired Members Round Table met for dinner.  This famous statue was on the way to the restaurant.  

I met Mr. Mychal!  Here is more about this true library hero.  

(I posted the photo on FB and got many likes and comments from nonlibrarians and librarians.  I saw him later in the day and told him. He smiled that beautiful smile and said he was happy to know that.)

Saturday morning:  RMRT field trip to the Geisel Library at UC San Diego (actually in La Jolla).  The library holds the Geisel/Dr. Seuss archive with most of his original artwork.  

We (=my RMRT friends Shelley, Ann Marie, Nancy, Lisa) took an Uber back to the convention center. I was in time to go to the Penguin Random House author lunch.  

I am halfway through Bad Liar, the first book by Tami Hoag that I've read. It's a thriller set in Louisiana and it's good!  (It will be published in October.)  

The RMRT business meeting was later in the afternoon. I moderated the RMRT Book Club discussion that followed.  Our prompt was California Dreaming -- any book related to California.  Quite a variety, from John McPhee to John Steinbeck to Gwen Bristow.

The Andrew Carnegie Medal goes to the best adult fiction and nonfiction of the year.  I went to the awards reception Saturday evening at the San Diego Central Library.  

Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco gave a reading before the winning authors gave their speeches. 

I read The Berry Pickers earlier this year but I haven't read the nonfiction winner, We Were Once a Family. 

Sunday began with Literary Luminaries, another book-and-author panel.  

The RMRT President's Program was at 11:00:  The San Diego Zoo's global conservation collaboration and the Zoo's library.  Both presentations were very interesting. 

The lower photo show the Red Books. The journals are at every enclosure for the keepers to record observations on every shift. The Red Books go back decades. They are being digitized.  

I spent more time in the exhibits and got more books. (And pens. And post-it pads. And little notebooks. And bookmarks.)

There's a USPS substation set up in the exhibits to ship stuff, but I was not there at the right time.  Instead I spent a small fortune for the convenience of FedEx.  Three boxes are going to arrive next Monday.  Some people just get another suitcase.  Someone else suggested getting an Uber and going to a regular post office.  

I sat in the Big Chair and read the passage from A Wrinkle in Time when Meg realizes it is her love for her family and theirs for her that is stronger than the hate that IT is. 

Dinner on Sunday:  we five (Shelley (my roommate), Nancy, Lisa, Ann Marie, and me) took the ferry across the bay to Coronado. We had dinner at a waterside restaurant.  

Lower left and right photos taken on the Convention Center steps after we got back. Left: a statue in the sunset. Lower right: San Diego Symphony in concert on the bay.  (Had we known we'd have gotten tickets.) 

Monday:   hotel checkout for both Shelley and me.  I had another (!) author breakfast.  
That handsome guy is Jim O'Heir from Parks and Recreation.  (I have not watched the show. Now I'm going to!)  

I sat in on the closing of ALA Council III.  I served on Council for 13 years (chapter councilor, councilor-at-large, and exec board).  

The Gala Author Tea was the final event.  Yes, more books and more authors -- and delicious refreshments. 

My return flight was a 10:30 red-eye, due to arrive at O'Hare at 4:40 a.m.  I  shared a cab ride with another RMRT friend and had plenty of time for dinner.    I was at the gate at 9:00 -- we were informed that the flight was cancelled due to mechanical trouble.  (The incoming aircraft hadn't even arrived.)  United sent a text automatically rebooking me and providing a hotel voucher.  What could I do but take it?   The Porto Vista Hotel is a quirky place in Little Italy with original art on the walls and in a vending machine.   I checked in at 10:15 p.m. and checked out at 4:00 a.m.  Did you know that the ticketing agents and TSA come on duty at 4:30 a.m.?  And there is already a line by the time they open up.   My SAN-SFO flight left at 6:15. The SFO-ORD flight left at 10:00.   I had first-class seats on both (I could get used to that....).     Arrived 15 minutes early, the limo driver was prompt, and I was HOME at 4:30.  

Back home:  Stevens and the caregiver got along very well.   Hooray!   He was happy to see me.  

Next post:  the quilts!