Written By: Michelle Sosa and Genevieve Hammang
Edited By: Adina Vega
Image of the San Diego Convention Center
This year, ALA hosted its annual conference in San Diego, CA, where librarians from all over the nation gather to share their ideas, promote new services, discover new publications, and more. The conference also invites international librarians to take part in this unforgettable opportunity. ALA provides an opportunity for all, whether you are just beginning your career or are already a seasoned information professional, and there are workshops and events galore. This year, we (Genevieve Hammang and Michelle Sosa) had the privilege of attending the ALA conference.
Genevieve Hammang – Saturday, 6/29
This was my first year attending the ALA Conference, so my goal was to meet new people. I signed up for only three things: career counseling in the morning, the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Magical Tea in the afternoon, and a photo shoot at the end of the day. Everything else would be up to chance.
So how did that go?
Career counseling was the least successful part of my day. Despite arriving half an hour early and asking several staff members for directions, I couldn’t find the center and missed all three of my time slots. It wasn’t until later that I discovered its location.
Overall, it was disappointing. The career counseling services were not well advertised on either the ALA Conference website or at the actual convention center. I hope next year’s conference does better.
I spent the next two hours walking around the Marketplace, where organizations set up booths to attract potential customers. The biggest ones were dedicated to library technology, but there were also many universities with library programs, including SJSU. I also spoke to a few organizations looking for potential applicants, including the California Prison System.
However, most booths were for publishers, from big names like Simon & Schuster and DC Comics to smaller companies like Candlewick Press. All of them were handing out books and bags to carry them in.
Other standouts were the Zine Pavilion (where people could read and learn about creating zine collections at their library) and the Artists’ Alley.
Forbidden Library Knowledge, from the Zine Pavilion.
The Banned Books Week event proved unexpectedly fun! In preparation for Banned Books Week at the end of September, the ALA set up a space in the lobby for attendees to be filmed reading passages from banned books. I found a favorite childhood novel on the banned bookshelf: Tamora Pierce’s Alanna: The First Adventure. I decided to read the passage that likely inspired the banning, describing the main character’s first period. It was the first and, to this day, the only time I’d read about a character getting their period in a fantasy novel.
The video’s final version should be posted to the ALA website during Banned Books Week this year.
Me at the Banned Books space
The GNCRT Magical Comics Tea was my favorite event of the day by far. The format was less panel and more speed dating: every six minutes, 15 comic creators stood up and ran to the next table to talk about their work and field questions from attendees. I always love to hear creators talk about their process, but the addition of a time limit heralded by the Benny Hill theme elevated the experience to an art form. I highly recommend grabbing a ticket to this event if you ever get the chance.
I finished my day with a last visit to the Marketplace to say hello to my friend Hanna during her book signing, a photo shoot at the career counseling center, and a quick stop at the SJSU meet-up at the hotel next door.
Overall, I had a fantastic time at the ALA Conference! Even though I didn’t see any panels, I had a great time visiting all the booths at the Marketplace and talking to comics creators at the GNCRT. As an iSchool student, I don’t usually get to talk to people in the field face-to-face. This was such an exciting chance to change that.
Michelle – Sunday, 06/30
Like Genevieve, this was my first time attending an ALA conference! It was also my first time meeting with my mentor from Texas, who is currently assisting me with my librarianship career. My mentor gave me tips and suggestions on navigating the conference, including bringing a cart to store my souvenirs. Thanks to my mentor, I had a schedule made, and I felt fully prepared to make the most of my day at the conference.
Our first stop was a workshop on teaching practices for digital literacy. Granted that my current position is managing an adult literacy program in a public library, the information from this workshop has proven to be very useful for my strategies regarding literacy programming. The speakers in the workshop presented their project titled Marylanders Online, which seeks to empower Marylanders through digital equity and accessibility. Throughout the workshop, the speakers explained the types of digital divides in Maryland and the community-driven approach they took to retrieve more information from the residents themselves. Ultimately, the takeaways from this workshop proved very valuable to me, and now, I find myself practicing what I learned. Identifying the type of learner and their motivations for learning has drastically changed my thinking process regarding the teaching strategies I develop for them.
Our next stop was the huge marketplace, which consisted of library resources and publishers galore. Thanks to my mentor, I knew I would receive free items, but I had no idea–nor did I even imagine— that I would receive free books. It was then that I realized that my mentor is a lifesaver after suggesting I bring a cart. Everyone looked at me in envy as I strode with my cart behind me. In addition to the free books, I had the opportunity to meet different vendors and some people I know from school and work!
After the marketplace, my mentor and I went to a workshop titled Latinx in the Workforce, hosted by a colleague named Sheridan. This workshop was empowering–my colleague and his presentation partner (Leslie Masland) discussed difficult topics such as assimilation, Latinx ancestral trauma, and critique of libraries through a Latinx lens. Not only was this presentation informative, but it was also emotional for me–I felt seen and heard as a Latina myself. The presentation taught us how to fight for our rights in our workplace and understand the value of our skill sets as bilinguals and/or bicultural people. Furthermore, this workshop taught us to stand in solidarity and lend a helping hand to our fellow Latinx coworkers to help each other succeed. What an inspirational discussion this was.
Pictures of me with Sheridan Cazarez and Leslie Masland
After a great lunch and another round of the library marketplace, my mentor introduced me to one of her coworkers from Texas. He was headed to a horror genre author panel, and this sounded like my cup of tea. My mentor advised me that attending fun events during the conference is a good idea–not just work-related things. I want to highlight this because the conference can be pretty exhausting, so it’s important to relax one’s mind and take a break from the information-heavy workshops. The author panel proved extremely fun–one of the authors turned out to be a UC Irvine PhD student, and that is my alma mater! During this panel, we received insight into the writing process and the inspiration behind each of the authors’ books. And, of course, we received a copy of each book (yay!).
Photo of author panel
Overall, my first ALA annual conference was fantastic. I had such a great time with my mentor, and seeing so many librarians and other information professionals in one place was lovely. I left feeling inspired and excited about my career field. Some excellent tips that improved my experience include planning a schedule, bringing snacks, comfortable shoes, and last but not least…a cart!
For more information on ALA Annual, visit the website here. Next year, the conference will take place in Philadelphia.
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