I went to ALA Annual this year thinking that it would be my second-to-last time, planning on Denver 2028 to be the last. Other than the annual deans and directors meeting I go to in Sacramento, no other conferences planned. Retirement in 2029, after all. But I came out of ALA Annual this year realizing that this year was, in fact, likely to be my last conference.
When I was a bright young thing, I loved going to conferences. I loved going to programs and dozing off in the back but also hearing about things I could aspire to do at my library. I loved listening and using that as a springboard to ideas to follow up on for research when I was on tenure track. I loved seeing presenters talk about things that were completely outside of my area of work just for the fun of hearing about those things. I loved attending key note sessions and feeling a little thrilled at the big names that were sometimes up on that stage.
Even before 2010, my ALA life took at turn. I'd always wanted to be involved, and the added need for tenure to do service at a high and national level meant that I sought out such opportunities. From inauspicious beginnings on an ACRL section committee and an NMRT committee (where I met the awesome Aaron Dobbs, who was chairing it). In 2010, I was elected to ALA Council, and in the years that followed I spent a total of 13 years on that body, six of them as a member of the Executive Board, three of those six as the Treasurer of the association. I chaired committees and served on others since then as well. Conference became a place for meetings, lots and lots of meetings in some instances. I stopped going to programs. Annual (and Midwinter) became different for me than for most people.
At this year's Annual, I had no obligations. None. I am not elected to anything, I serve on no committees. I came in with so much freedom to schedule as I wished. And that was weirdly disconcerting. I combed through the program and tried to find the things that would interest and even excite me, and there wasn't much. I attended programs, and I came away uninspired, not having seen much that I wanted to bring back to my workplace. I appreciate all those who presented - thank you to them! - but I just didn't feel engaged. On the last night of conference, I was at a hotel bar later on, sitting next to one of the association's senior staff members. She asked how I enjoyed the conference, and I hesitated before deciding to be honest. I told her that the time had come for me to stop going to ALA and instead encourage and support my library team in going to conference and then in facilitating the new things they want to try as a result of their attendance. But me? No, I was done.
I also came to Annual with a real desire to lie low, to avoid running into so many of the people who made my last years of governance work so unpleasant, so acrimonious, so personally draining. I don't swear much on this blog, but wow, did I fucking hate dealing with those people and those matters by the end of my time. So I came to Annual, and I made the deliberate choice to seek out the people I really like and care about and wanted to see. Dinners, lunches, coffee breaks, drinks late at night, morning walks. I made the most of those, I tell you. And it was awesome. Because that's what ALA still has to offer me: the incredible people. Let's not call it networking. Let's call it what it is: real friendship. That was what made Chicago so worthwhile for me. I loved my time with them and how Conrad could plug into it at times (no, no Van at the conference - he didn't see the need to be towed along, and I don't blame him). True, I avoided people at conference, almost entirely successfully, but I saw so many that I love dearly.
And I don't need Annual to see them again. To stay in touch, to send emails and texts and cards. To do online happy hours. To visit. So that is where I will focus in the future. I won't go back to ALA, and it is weird that there are so many professional associates in my life whom I will never see again in person, but I hope to see my friends time and again.
That's a less sunshine-y dump of my thinking than I usually do on this blog. Sorry about it. Let's course correct a bit, and let me share some photos of my friends with my thanks to them for the time we had together. There will be other friend photos to come when I post about a few special meals.
Matt and Kim!
I had such a great morning with them, grabbing breakfast together and heading to a day spa where Matt had his first ever facial. We then wandered down to my old place of work, and I showed them around a little there. A few days later they finally got to meet Conrad when we had a quick evening drink. Van and I had dinner with them when we were in Montana a couple of years ago, and I would love to go back for more of a visit.
John!
I got to see John earlier this year when he gave us a tour of his library at Dartmouth. This shot was when we crossed paths near the exhibits hall. We had breakfast a few days later as well. I always delight in seeing him.
José!
I'm sorry April wasn't with him to catch up with as well, but it is always great when we can get together. Much chat about concerts and tenure and the like, and a good coffee break with him.
Amy! Karen! Kathy! We were missing Sara from our little cohort reunion, and I for sure will get to see Sara her way (and look forward to her coming our way). Lunch together that included Stephanie, who is now a Board survivor like us and who is another person I really enjoy seeing.
What a terrific cohort we were, though. Bonded through that experience and now beyond. Amy and Karen were morning walk stalwarts this past trip, and Kathy and I got to have one last coffee together as well.
Peter and Matt!
It should be easy to see them again and again so long as we are in SoCal and they are in Sacramento. And I have Peter on my guybrarian text message thread. Conrad got some time with Matt one day when Peter and I each had other obligations, and I'm glad the two of them had that time.
Robert!
Our country's acting Librarian of Congress, but also someone I've know for years. The three of us had a good lunch together and talked all over the place. I do hope we can get to DC next year or soon and see him and his John there.
Ed!
(And Amy, again) I feel very lucky that I connected with Ed at Council and then through additional work within ALA. That has turned into messages and postcards and dinners in Fullerton - hooray for that happening again next month! - and even a trip to Rhode Island. One of the most thoughtful people I know in so many ways. I'm rooting for Cabo Verde for him.
Lessa!
So close-by in SoCal, but we see each other far too seldom. I think Lessa must be my favourite ALA president I have ever worked with, but she is a friend a delight all around, and I look forward to our dinner plans with her and Christian next month.
There were other folks I didn't get photos of: Brett, Ann, Steven, Sophia, Maggie, Christina, Ana Elisa, and more I can't quite think of at the moment. People I'd love to see outside of a conference setting one day, and perhaps I will. There were friends I know more from a non-ALA setting, like Gary
and Phil,
more people I would love to hang out with one day and not have to travel across the country to see at a multi-day event.
I'm going to be busy in years ahead with seeing folks, I hope. But maybe some lazy Saturday this summer I'll get busy with some notecards, some snail mail hellos to friends. Conference behind us, friendship rolling ever forward. That would be nice.
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