Getting Real @ Annual

• Published in: Library Journal Vol. 141; no. 10; p. 34
• Main Author: LJ Editors
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York MSI Information Services 01-06-2016
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Associations; Conferences; Conferences (Gatherings); Counties; Events planning; Executives; Information Services; Librarians; Libraries; Library associations; Library Networks; Library Personnel; Library Services; Library technology; Literacy; Motion picture directors & producers; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Outreach services; Public libraries; Refugees; Schedules; Speakers; State laws; Task forces; Technology Education; Trends; United States > US
• ISSN: 0363-0277

Kvetching about the location of the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference is practically a rite of passage. While the meeting has been held in many unquestionably great American cities, the association's quest for affordable conference and hotel space in quantity tends to drive it to cold places in winter and hot in summer, and a certain amount of transit snafus and frayed tempers inevitably result. Objections to the location of this year's ALA, running June 23-28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, however, are on a completely different level. After the 2012 shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, Zimmerman's subsequent successful 2013 defense in court under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, and the state's refusal to reconsider the legislation, the Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) and many other librarians called on the organization to relocate the already-scheduled event to another state. Ultimately, ALA decided that course was impractical. It is clear ALA intends to go at the problem within the field head-on, both in Orlando and in the future. In the meantime, those who come to Orlando can expect an ambitious program of getting real about all the challenges facing libraries today. A schedule of the confernce is presented.