The author summarizes their experience attending their first ALA Midwinter conference. They found the conference to be overwhelming with many lectures, exhibits, and events to choose from. Despite advice to wear comfortable shoes and that many meetings would be closed, the author discovered many open committee meetings and lectures. They enjoyed several high profile speakers and getting new ideas for programming. The conference reignited their passion for their work and they encourage others to apply for scholarships to attend future ALA conferences.

1. 1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2016/01/27/my­ala­midwinter­2016­experience/ 1/4
27
Jan 2016
MY ALA MIDWINTER 2016
EXPERIENCE
by Christina Vortia ⋅ Leave a Comment
TweetI just attended my first ALA conference and it was awesome.
I have heard many things about what to expect. Wear comfortable shoes, they said.
Bring business cards, they said. Most of the meetings will be closed door, they said.
Some of the things they said were right (seriously…who wants to walk around for 8 hours
in cute new shoes that pinch the sides of your feet!..), but nothing prepared me for the
magic that is Midwinter.
Like most Midwinter neophytes, I didn’t know what to expect, so I arrived bright and
bushy tailed to the hotel at 7:30am sharp. I could not check into my room, so I left my
bags with the hotel staff, and ubered my way over to the Boston Convention and
Conference Center. (For those of you who cabbed your way around Boston, I would
highly suggest you invest in the free Uber app. Most of my rides around the city did not
cost me more than $6, some as little as $3.)
I arrived at the Conference Center to find that the exhibits were still being put together,
and that I was late to all of the lectures that started at 8am. In hindsight, I could have just
sat in, but I didn’t know if I needed a ticket. Is it okay to walk in late? Would I embarrass
myself in front of my peers? Would I be asked to leave? Instead of tackling these hard
questions straight on I decided on the very safe, unintrusive, and foodie-pleasing
decision to register, find a coffee shop, and read the Midwinter guide over a hot cup of
Joe and a cheese danish.
The guide was very helpful. It was delightfully color coordinated, included start and end
times of lectures, events, and meetings, and provided a legend that had information on
whether events were ticketed, closed, or open to registrants. I highlighted everything
that looked of interest to me – which was half the book, so I marked it up to a fairly
unrecognizable degree. And then I discovered there is an app.
I LOVE apps! I mean, I am a Teen and SOCIAL MEDIA Librarian, so anything that
compliments my mobile device and makes my life easier immediately brings me joy. I
found the 2016 ALA Midwinter App easily on Play Store and downloaded it. After an
initial glitch and assistance from two very helpful ladies at the Registration desk, I was
digitally planning my Midwinter schedule and hastily hopped in one of the shuttles on
my way to a Committee meeting.
Despite what I had been told, there are many Committee meetings that are open, and
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2. 1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2016/01/27/my­ala­midwinter­2016­experience/ 2/4
that provide ample opportunity for attendees to speak up! This is also true for lectures. I
attended The Future of Teen Services in LIS Education, Career Development: How to Get
Your Bounce Back, The “New” Youth Librarianship: Y(outh) eXperience), and the
Programming Librarian Interest Meeting. But perhaps my favorite lecture was Teens’
Social Media Attitudes and Behaviors: What the Research Means for Library Services by
Denise Agosto of Drexel University. This lecture was inciteful, engaging, and I even got to
advertise my Social Media Correspondent program with my fellow librarians, that was
well received.
And now I must talk about the Exhibit Hall.
The Exhibit Hall was completely overwhelming, and I found myself avoiding it if possible.
I did attend some of the Diverse Book Talks and happily picked up a few bags full of
Advance Readers Copy books. There was no shortage of ARCs at Midwinter, and I did not
complain lugging my new “To Read” list with me all over Boston.
I attended the Cory Booker talk and was very moved by the charming yet poignant way
he shared his stories of growing up in suburban New Jersey, his challenges and triumphs
as mayor in Newark, NJ, and I cried when he spoke of attending the funeral of his
neighbor Hasan. I also attended the Chelsea Clinton talk and enjoyed her anecdotes of
favorite books she reads with her daughter Charlotte, the adorable letter she mailed to
President Reagan when she was a little girl, and the cute bag with a large poster, stickers,
and a Mrs. Field’s-cookie-sized button that’s I’ve been wearing every day for nearly a
week. I’ve already posted her “It’s Your World” poster in my Teen Center, and many of the
young adults in my library have already begun posting affirmations of things they will do
in our community.
I crashed the Ebsco Academic Librarian Luncheon, and then was bold enough to post it
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (…and to my surprise Ebsco actually liked it!) I also
attended two publisher parties. One a Dessert Bar party at Top of the Hub celebrating
the launch of Cassandra Clare’s new book (…go ahead, it’s okay to ooh and aah!) and
attended a Random House dinner at Strega Waterfront celebrating debut authors
Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, Gavriel Savit, and Kara Thomas.
As one of the recipients of American Library Association and Ebsco’s 2016 Scholarship to
attend Midwinter, I was invited to attend the delectable breakfast held in honor of the
award recipients. It was such a pleasure to meet the women and men who made the
decision to sponsor my first ever ALA Conference. They were gracious, kind, and over
berry stuffed pancakes, home fries, a fresh fruit platter with cinnamon yogurt, they
laughed and shared funny stories with us like old friends.
And then there was the Youth Media Awards.
I had the pleasure of sitting in the front row with the journalists and the fabulous
publishing glitterati as they welcomed this year’s award winners with tears and cheers. I
got to see some of my favorite books and authors win the world’s most prestigious
literary awards and I cheered until I was hoarse and tweeted until my phone died. The
room was just electric and I was lit up.
I had such an amazing experience at Midwinter, and am very humbled to have been able
to attend. The conference brought back those butterfly feelings I got after I’d just
graduated. I could almost feel my superhero cape flying as I came back home with new
ideas for programming, and have new vigor to tackle the challenges I face. I am
extremely excited to see what the Annual Conference has in store this year! In the words
of the Boston Globe, “If you see a group of wild revelers…this weekend, it’s probably just
the librarians.”
If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend an ALA Conference, you should definitely
apply for the Ebsco scholarship. There is still time to apply for a scholarship to attend
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3. 1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
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About Christina Vortia
I'm a snarky youth services librarian. I like listening, being useful, and snacking.
View all posts by Christina Vortia →
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this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Sun…Fun…Disney World… and
LIBRARIANS! Apply now! http://www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/yalsaawardsgrants
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4. 1/28/2016 My ALA Midwinter 2016 Experience – YALSAblog
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