Mr. Olson Goes to Washington #1 -- Councilor Report from the ALA National Conference

Report by Chris Olson, Minnesota Chapter Councilor

The nation’s capitol is always an exciting place to visit and as the host city for this year’s American Library Association’s annual conference, it proved to provide a number of opportunities for learning and advocacy. Registration figures included: 21,466 registrants and 7,169 vendors for a grand total of 28,635 attendees, which is the largest conference ever in ALA history. This conference completes my three-year term serving as the Minnesota Chapter Councilor. As I have done in the past, I would like to share some of the highlights of the conference and give a report of Council activities to the members of the Minnesota Library Association. (I will also admit that Councilors share their reports with each other and give permission to use each others summaries. My thanks to Shelly Walchak (Colorado Chapter Councilor), James Casey (Councilor At Large) and Jonathon Betz-Zall (Washington Chapter Councilor) for providing excellent text for portions of this report.)

If you would like to learn more about the ALA Council or its activities during this past conference, please feel free to contact me at chris@melsa.org or view information on the ALA Council Page. In addition to my representation on Council, there are also currently three other Minnesotans who have been elected as Councilors at Large: Monika Antonelli (Minnesota State University Mankato); Rory Litwin (University of Minnesota, Duluth); and Ria Newhouse (Metro State University). I am sure that each of them will agree to answer questions.

One of my first activities in DC (and one of the most interesting) was to visit the National Museum of the American Indian to attend an honor dance in celebration of Loriene Roy, who became the president of the American Library Association at the conclusion of this conference. As many of you know, Dr. Roy grew up in northern Minnesota and is currently a professor at the University of Texas in Austin. There are a number of photos from the honor dance posted in a flickr account. (These are even better than the ones I took!) This honor dance was one of the first of its kind to take place in the recently-opened museum. It is exciting to have a colleague with Minnesota-connections serving in the top leadership position for the Association.

There were several thought-provoking speakers at conference including former Senator Bill Bradley and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The closing session featured Garrison Keillor, who reflected upon his early years and how he had come to view the library as a refuge. His admiration for the work of libraries and librarians came out amid the often hilarious remarks and depictions. A portion of the presentation is available on salon.com.

Please note: This entry from Chris will be posted in installments over the next several days. Please check back to read the latest!