ALA Report
by Heather Underwood Momberger

I had a successful conference at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Toronto, where I attended several interesting programs.  The first program I attended was the New Members Roundtable Conference Orientation,   which was held Saturday morning June 20th.   It was a useful program to help new ALA members and first time ALA attendees have a successful conference.  The speakers gave us many tips on how to get the best conference experience possible.  Besides the usual tips about planning your conference agenda and making contacts, the speakers gave us one memorable and original suggestion: use your conference handbook to meet people.  Just find someone you fancy who looks like they need the book and use yours to strike up a conversation!  More importantly, the speakers urged us to be flexible, have alternate plans, and say “yes” to invitations you receive.  A lot of times people mention events and receptions you haven’t heard about.  I was able to go to three receptions and a luncheon that I hadn’t known about because I said “yes”.

During the orientation, I was also able to meet colleagues in the New Members Roundtable who I had been working with all year during my committee work.  Some people may not know this, but if you are a member of NMRT you are guaranteed a committee appointment.  All you need to do is fill out a volunteer form and a place will be found for you.  During my first year in NMRT I was on the Local Arrangements Committee, where I was promoted to chair, as well as the Governance Committee.  I wasn’t thrilled with Governance work, so I’ve moved to the President’s Program Committee with year.  As you can see, it’s easy to get involved, and I recommend everyone volunteer for a committee.
   
One of the highlights of the NMRT orientation was when ALA President, Mitch Freeman, and CLA President, Wendy Newman, spoke to us about their respective organizations and thanked us all for coming to the conference under scary circumstances.  I appreciated that they took the time to speak to us.
   
The second program I attended was a committee meeting of BRASS Academic Librarians [Business Reference and Services Section of RUSA (Reference and User Services Association)].  Attending the meeting was an accident.  The conference program wasn’t clear about the fact that it was a committee meeting instead of a program, and I showed up expecting a program.  I am glad I stayed though because it allowed me to see how a committee meeting operates and what are some of the main concerns facing business librarianship today.  I was also able to meet a number of business librarians and do some networking.  As it turns out, attending a meeting (even by accident!) is a good way to get your name out there, and I would recommend future conference attendees attend at least one meeting of interest.
   
The final program I attended was a program on the USA Patriot Act.  Lee Strickland (University of Maryland College of Information Sciences visiting professor and US Senior Intelligence Service Officer) discussed the changes the Patriot Act brought to US law and law enforcement.  He discussed what aspects of the Act are most troubling for US citizens.  A lawyer for ALA also spoke about how libraries should respond to the Act.  She said it is critical for the library to develop a formal policy of records management and a detailed plan of actions to take if law enforcement officers visit the library.  She pointed out that many library policies just say to call the director.  This practice is not sufficient because many problems arise when the director is not available.  It is critical to have a written plan, complete with chains of commend and alternate plans in case the director is unavailable.
   
While I learned a lot in the meetings and programs I attended, the most successful part of the conference for me was the new contacts I made.  I met a great number of people from fellow students to library directors.  Each will be a valuable contact for the future.  Making contact with vendors for the first time was also important.  I am not making decisions for my library at the moment, but I will be in the future.  Meeting the vendors and seeing their products and resources was a good first step towards the time when I will have greater responsibility in my job.  I also attended several vendor-sponsored receptions, which were a great deal of fun as well as a ready-made arena for making additional contacts.
   
In hindsight, the receptions (vendor-sponsored or otherwise) were the best parts of the conference.  The NMRT Social was a lot of fun, and I got to meet fellow students as well as new librarians.  Everyone had fun, especially on the dance floor!  Our very own Dave King won a gift bag full of goodies for his dancing!  Elsevier threw a great reception at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the baseball-themed reception at the Skydome sponsored by Swets Blackwell was wonderful as well.  Remember how I mentioned that one tip to come out of the NMRT orientation was to be flexible, have alternate plans, and say “yes”?  It’s true.  I was invited to the Elsevier party because I talked to various vendors about Pitt.  I was able to attend the Swets Blackwell party because my roommate was invited.  So, my advice to future ALA conference attendees is this: be sure to go to programs and meetings, but above all be open, have fun, and say “yes”.

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