#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.  

# # # # # #

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 . . .

ALA Midwinter Report: books, art, and fabric

The American Library Association bylaws stipulate that the association will have two business meetings a year. One is the Annual Conference and the other is the Midwinter Meeting.  Not only do ALA Council and Executive Board meet but also the boards of all the ALA units -- divisions, round tables, interest groups.  The trade show helps pay the bills -- publishers and vendors of library supplies, furniture, etc., etc. demonstrate their latest wares.

This was the sixth MW I've attended in Philadelphia. (The others were in 1995, 1999, 2002, 2008, and  2014.)   Based on the experience I had with AirBnB last September (P.E.O. convention in Des Moines) I tried AirBnB rather than a conference hotel.  The location was billed as "adjacent to the convention center" which it was, though ALA was at the other end.   It was at the entrance to Chinatown and above this bar/lounge/nightclub -- the doorway is at the center of the photo.  My roommate was my longtime friend, Denise. We liked the bargain price (half the cost of a hotel) but weren't so wild about the disco music that played from midnight to 2 a.m. one night and loud comings-and-goings in the hallway. It was an adventure!

I attended several board/committee meetings, the most important of which were the Retired Members Round Table (which I chair) and the Freedom to Read Foundation (to which I am a liaison from RMRT and United for Libraries).



Book and author events abound, with free ARCs (advance reader copies) of forthcoming books.

HarperCollins' Library Love Fest is always on Saturday morning.

 Mystery editor Otto Penzler has a new line of reprints of classic detective fiction.

Simon & Schuster's spring preview breakfast featured Janet Skeslien Charles novel The Paris Library.  "Librarians vs. Nazis," she said. "The librarians win." (Based on the true experiences of the staff at the  American Library in Paris which celebrates its centennial this year.)

I met Scott Simon, host of NPR's Weekend Edition.  He not only knew where Winthrop Harbor is, but he told me about a famous person from here. (And now I've forgotten the name.) He also sang a song about Kenosha.

The Gala Author Tea featured these six authors.  I'm most eager to read The Light of Days by Judy Batalion. It is the true story of Jewish women who fought in the resistance during WWII.

The Reference and User Services Assn. announces the Book and Media Awards at an early-evening session. Awards are in a variety of categories -- Notable Books, Best Reference Book, Audiobooks.   This is the adult version of the Monday-morning Youth Media Awards  when the Newbery and Caldecott winners are revealed.

Chanel Miller was the closing speaker. She is the Stanford rape victim called Emily Doe whose attacker got six months due to his family's influence on the judge. Chanel is creative, courageous, and charming.










Visiting with friends and seeing the sights in the host city make the conference all the more enjoyable.

 The pipe organ in the former Wanamaker's (now Macy's) department store is the largest still-functioning pipe organ in the world with 28,750 pipes in 464 ranks (read more here).  I watched the 5:30 p.m. Thursday concert.











Denise and I and our friend Peggy got tickets for a docent-led tour of the Barnes.  The Barnes Foundation (and the official site) is renowned for its collection of Impressionists and other important turn-of-the-20th-century artists.  (Back in 1995 when the museum was relocating from suburban Merion, PA, to Philadelphia, I was fortunate to see selections on exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  There is a documentary about it -- The Art of the Steal -- that I haven't watched yet.)

Barnes grouped his collection according to themes he determined (e.g. similar shapes, or colors) with antique furniture.
There are 125 Renoirs (which we didn't count) and eight Van Goghs (we saw three).














Denise left Tuesday morning. I set out for Fabric Row.  There aren't many stores left on the Row and they specialize in home dec/upholstery and fancy fashion fabric (bridal, sequins, etc.) -- but I found a big selection of my new favorite genre, African wax resist prints, at three stores. Just $6/yd!  You can see my selections in the upper left. Mr. Baldwin, proprietor of a tailor shop and school, showed me his latest vintage acquisition, a white Featherweight in a pristine case.

Tuesday afternoon I met Carol at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. (We became acquainted on our 2018 Road Scholar trip at Acadia National Park.)  We wandered through the galleries until the museum closed and then enjoyed dinner at a Burmese restaurant.

The flight back on Wednesday was uneventful. I got home at 4 p.m. -- good trip, good memories, and lots of great reading ahead!

The final box arrived on Monday