Category Archives: ALA 2006

Posts from the 2006 American Library Association conference in New Orleans

I Need a Wallet, or One of those cry for the blogosphere to help someone choose something to purchase

Hey all. My wallet (which I got in 1996 by trading my sister a scrap of paper or something) is falling apart. Long ago I took the rude-girl chain off, and it’s served me well lo these 10 years. It’s finally starting to fail, and I need a new wallet.

Does anyone have any good website suggestions? I’m thinking cute and big-eyed more than black leather and Dad-esque. I’d prefer small over large, especially since I only carry cash and small plastic bits. (Note to stalkers and thieves: I do not carry cash or small plastic bits.)

I saw this duct tape wallet,
duct tape wallet and the description warns that homemade duct tape wallets tend to ooze adhesive. I think I agree.

Then again a homemade duct tape wallet is much, much cheaper. Also, I like the idea RFID blocking, even though I don’t own anything with RFID tags. I think. It mentions paper money as starting to have RFID tags, so one can’t be too careful.

Anyway, this was mostly a chance to blather on about online shopping and RFID tags. Did I tell you about the time I talked to the 3M people at the ALA convention about their RFID tags for library books? It ended in a fisticuff.

No it didn’t.

Honk shu

I really wanted to post about my last day at ALA, and tell you all about the programs I went to. But instead, I’ve played Farm Hustle until I hit near-unconsciousness. I’m going to nappity until the free-speech dinner, which is the last ALA event I’m attending.

Then I’m going to get up really early in the morning, drive home, and jump into the waiting arms of my beau. (And then make him help me carry all the books and posters I got from the exhibit hall.)

ALA update

I had made a list of all the programs I wanted to go to at ALA, and I’ve ended up not attending a lot of them. I participated in a zine discussion, and went to the Radical Reference meeting last night. My knowledge of Radical Reference increased dramatically from seeing the actual people behind the website. I know what an infoshop is, and even participated in the discussion (my superpower is the ability to interject something into any conversation happening anywhere). I suggested that besides political events, Rad Ref could show up to large cultural events like Bonnaroo, which would increase awareness of what they’re doing outside the sphere of librarianship.

Last night, after the Rad Ref meeting, I went out for late dinner and drinks with rad librarians. (See what I did there?) We ended up a nucleus group, drinking beer on steps that lead down to the water of the Mississippi. I love being near rivers, and I love legal outside drinking, so I was very happy.

Today, we’re eating breakfast (thank Jebus), then heading down to the conference for programs. Hopefully I’ll finish the pair of socks I’m knitting. They’re for another librarian, and I love that they’ll be ALA-knitted.

ALA in NOLA

I’m in New Orleans. I’m at the India House hostel, which has WIFI. I’m gearing up for a day of hanging around, then going to a YALSA thingie this evening.

So, the drive went really quickly, because there are four of us in my crew, and we yakked all the way here.

Driving into the city, we began to see signs that things are NOT OK. (I mean that mostly architecturally.) We’re staying in the midtown area, and it is a bit sketchville. I’m taking photos, and will upload them Tuesday night (to Flickr). The NOLA area of midtown I saw last July was by no means new buildings and maincured lawns, but now everything has a deserted feeling, and there are a lot of large piles of trash and stuff outside a lot of the houses. (I assume it’s the stuff that people purged from their homes because it’s water damaged.)

When we got the hostel, there were probably 15 people on the front porch. Apparently, the power had gone out. A transformer had blown a fuse. The hostel had rigged enough lights to see, and they said the power comany was on its way.

It’s not that I felt actively unsafe, it’s that it’s a bit barren. We’re travelling as a group, and we befriended a bouncer who stays in the hostel who to took the trolley (all pub tran is free till the end of the month) with us and walked us to a restaruant.

We played the “ooh, ooh, I bet they’re a librarian” game. Decending from a tour bus, carrying tote bags, wearing sensible summer sweaters made out of cotton.

When we got back to the hostel (after having a drink in Pirate’s Alley), the power was back on, so we retired to our room, turned on the air, and promptly crashed.

We’re about to go down to the French Quarter, find the convention center, register, then see what kind of sweet free stuff we can get. I think I’ve promised a free tote bag to about 14 people, so I’ll have to be diligent.