ALA is A-OK

So I went to the ALA convention on Saturday.

And I realized that I'm not part of that club. We'll get to that in a moment.

I was actually a little excited...they advertised GAMING PAVILION! And GREEN PAVILION! And TECHNOLOGY PAVILION! I got a Wii demonstration, low-emission carpets and new OPAC software. This appeals to a certain demographic, I'm sure.

However - I did see some cool stuff. A lot of great books, the Unshelved people (I got this shirt), and some interesting technology that could be used in my own industry. I also got to meet some people at the SJSU booth, where I had an intriguing conversation with some random guy about Second Life and how it should be made "safer".

But I'm not part of the public/school library group, to whom this convention is directed. My true "a-ha" moment came while I was speaking with the county library system and told them that I was interested in emerging technologies. They thought I wanted to work in technical services. One of them kind of poo-pooed the work that those folks do, making them sound like a bunch of trolls living in their pajamas with no communication skills. It didn't help that the people manning the booths were HR directors, not librarians.

Obviously, my time has not come...it's a little discouraging, but everyone around me thinks it's exciting. What it really means is that I'm going to have to convince the library world that they need someone like me.

In the meantime, I did see that someone has re-written "I, Robot" - taking the original book and the movie and making it better! At least that's what he says. AND...I saw the two creepiest little girls EVER. They wrote The Strand Prophecy - and they were dressed exactly as they appear on that website. I have pictures.

And I REALLY wanted to take pictures of the fashions of the ALA, but it was just too grim. I did, however, send a token picture of one of the worst to Miss NPW. Suffice it to say that the rest involved a lot of denim, flowers and a collection of the most sensible shoes I've ever seen.

I wore Dr. Martens clogs, by the way. A girl has to maintain her dignity.