Comments on: ALA Annual Countdown

By: whitney

whitney — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:49:04 +0000

I’m also headed to ALA for the first time and have just followed you on twitter. Am thinking about making my twitter stream public so I can maximize the connections.

Best of luck at the conference and with the presentation. I will try to catch it!

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:28:04 +0000

Thanks, Will, for the compliments! That really made my night and I thank you for your kind words.

From my friends who have gone before, they have given me the same sort of advice: your schedule is more of a guideline than a rule. With the exception of the activities that I have committed to (like speaking on Saturday and Battledecks on Monday), everything else is up for grab. I have penciled in all of the social activities offered but, as you suggested, I’m remaining pretty flexible.

I certainly hope to meet up with you at the conference. Maybe you’ll give me a chance to explain Twitter for you. (And it’s not a completely pro-Twitter case. =D )

By: Will Manley

Will Manley — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:12:47 +0000

Andy, as a guy who’s been to many ALAs, here’s my advice: a) don’t overschedule. Be flexible. The best ALA experiences are the ones you don’t plan. You might bump into someone interesting and could spend 2 or 3 hours picking that person’s brain. b) You’re a bright and creative librarian with an awesome future. Seek out people in the area of library publishing who can help your writing career. You have a great blog and you’ve done some creative things in the profession. You have something to say. Get connected to the people who can lead you down the publishing path. c) Scrap the history tours. You can do DC anytime. Maximize every minute of ALA. Get out of your comfort zone attend programs and listen to speakers who might challenge your thinking rather than validate it. d) Like I said, you are a future big time leader. Hang around the leaders in the profession, and take tons of old fashioned business cards. Good luck. I really do love your blog. You’re not afraid to take a stand. I like that.