Chicago ALA meetup

This thread is for all the Chicago area LT'ers who want to attend the ALA Conference on Sunday, June 30, 2013 and then meetup afterwards for a social gathering.

A couple of us ALA Conference attendees did this in Seattle in January of this year and had such a good time that we decided that we would do the same thing in Chicago in June. I am going to depend on you guys to post this thread on your threads so that we get a good turn-out for the meetup.

Abby and Tim, from Librarything will be in the Exhibit Hall at the Librarything booth. They have kindly offered us some free passes to the exhibit hall and I will get that link posted as soon as I can.

The preliminary plans for the meetup are:

Sunday, June 30, 2013
Meet about noon at registration desk to get registered and quick orientation on exhibit hall etiquette
Exhibit hall closes at 5:00 p.m.
Leave to go for supper and social gathering

As I get time I will post here so that all of you will have a good idea of what to expect and then can make your plans accordingly.

The American Library Association (ALA) has two conferences per year. One in the winter and one in the summer. The summer conference is the big one. There will be approximately 15,000 people associated with libraries who will be attending this conference so be prepared to fight crowds. (There may be even more attendees because librarians love Chicago. The only city that gets more people to attend this conference is Washington, D.C.) There will be another 5 to 7,000 people attending because they will be working in the exhibits. There will be about 5,000 exhibits in the exhibit halls. These booths will range from huge booths that will cost the companies tens of thousands of dollars for the four days to the small stall sized booths that don't cost as much.

The conference starts on Friday, June 28 at 4:00 p.m. and ends on Tuesday, July 2. The conference usually starts with a preliminary author talk. This is usually a panel discussion of local authors and there will be some well known authors and some newcomers on the panel. At 5:00 p.m., whether the panel discussion is done or not, the Exhibit hall will open. It will close at 8:00 p.m. that night. The exhibit hall will be open each day thereafter at 9:00 a.m. and close at 5:00 p.m. except for Monday, when it will close at 2:00 p.m. It will not reopen.

The exhibit hall is a fascinating place to visit. Every kind of vendor who has anything to do with libraries will be there. Furniture manufacturers and big information companies will be there. Some of the biggies in the information world will have huge exhibits that will look like stalls at carnivals. The latest in techno gadgets will also be on show. Library friendly companies like 3M, IBM, Xerox, etc. will be there. Even companies who produce scheduling software and other logistical support for libraries will be on the floor. Of course, the big book publishers will be there. As will the authors whose work they are trying to promote will be there as well.

On the surface it would seem that this is a place just for librarians, but it is so much more. Join the legions of people who have their hair up and out of the way, wearing comfortable shoes and clothes, who conveniently have their eyeglasses on chains and are caring lots of bags full of swag. So wear your walking shoes and be prepared to carry home lots of "swag."

Oh, cool!

Unfortunately, I'm busy on June 30 (annual 4th of July Parade and picnic). But I'd love to get a pass and visit with Tim & Abby some other time during the conference.

I will only be passing through town. I would love a pass for Sunday afternoon, June 30, the only time I'll really be able to (possibly) visit the exhibits. I won't be there by noon. Maybe 3pm or so. Regardless of how little time I'll have to visit, I'm looking forward to it!

#3
The passes are good for any day. I don't know how many passes Librarything is going to give out, but as soon as I can I will get the link up so you guys can print it out.

Unfortunately, we'll be in central Wisconsin that Sunday for the "offseason" family reunion (the annual big get-together is in Sept). I'm sorry to miss the out-of-towners (and the locals, too, of course).

Going to the conference on Saturday might be a possibility. I'll have to check out the schedule etc.

I'm in on Sunday, Benita, along with my wife and daughter, both LTers. Thanks for posting this! Very helpful. I've put the link on my thread.

Benita- Thanks for setting up the thread! You know I'll be there. My wife will be tagging along too! We were planning on getting there between 10-11am on Sunday. I think we'll bring a suitcase on wheels.

This is a good time to tell everybody that there are no wheeled carts allowed on the exhibit hall floors. That will include wheeled suitcases. This proved to be a problem in Seattle. That is why Karen and I had to be judicious in picking out our books. Tote bags and backpacks get heavy after a couple of hours. The vendors will provide tote bags, and you can fill cardboard boxes. There is even a U. S. Post Office on the exhibit hall floor - and it is open on Sunday - so that you can mail your boxes of books using the very very cheap book rate provided by the U. S. Post Office. Do NOT use UPS or Fed Ex as shipping books through them costs a mint. Boxes for mailing books can be found at the vendors booths, but you have to be fast as these boxes are the ones the books were shipped to the vendors in, so books fit into them very nicely for shipping purposes. The U. S. Post Office will also have boxes and tubes for mailing posters. You will have to pay for them, but you don't have to carry them into the exhibit hall. Be prepared for long lines, even though the U. S. P. S. will have two or three clerks working. (I have waited in line at the Post Office for an hour or more on Sunday to mail boxes. Sunday is the big day at the Post Office.) All of this is the reason why you need to park close and make frequent trips back to the car. Hence, the need for that exhibit hall pass on a lanyard around your neck.

On average I ship 4 boxes of books back to my home after this conference.

I am sorry to be so slow to get things posted to this thread, but I have simply been swamped at work.

I plan on writing a series of instructions on this thread on Exhibit Hall Etiquette. I will give you the short version here and you guys can ask questions as they occur.

1. It will cost $35.00 (they upped the price - it was $25.00) for the Exhibit Hall pass. It is good for the entire conference. So you could attend for more than one day using your pass. The passes from LT will work the same way.

Here is the link to the ALA web site for the Exhibit Hall. It vies a brief overview about what you can find in the exhibits. In no way will it prepare you for the amount of stuff you can see and try out.
http://ala13.ala.org/general-exhibits-info

Here is the web address for some handy tips on doing the exhibit hall.
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/02/21/ala-annual-walking-the-exhibit-hall-like-a-...

2. No wheeled carts allowed in the exhibit hall. You can bring wheeled carts and check them at the bag check counter. This will cost $2.00. You can fill your tote bag and then transfer them to the wheeled carts you have stored at the bag check counter.

3. If you are handicapped and need a wheel chair or other motorized vehicle you can get a special pass for that at the ALA registration desk.

I know it sounds mean, but there is a reason for the no wheeled carts rule. This is a huge conference and as big as the exhibit hall is, trust me on this, it gets very crowded. (When those doors open first thing in the morning it can be like the after Christmas sale at Bloomingdales. There is no shopper so fierce as librarians bent on getting free stuff for their libraries.) There will be long long lines to have books autographed so it will get crowded in the book, zine, and graphic novel sections.

When my niece as in Chicago with me for the conference three years ago, she said, "Oh my God! Authors are like Rock Stars here." Very true.

4. The tech vendors ( companies like ProQuest, Springer, Elsevier, ExLibras, EBSCO, Thomson-Reuters, etc.) and supply companies (Brodart, Gaylord, etc.) often have cloth shopping bags that they will give away. Librarians then go immediately from their booths to the book aisles and fill them.

5. If there is free food, there will be a long line. It doesn't matter if it is insipid white cake from the nearest grocery store. There will be a line. Sometimes the free food is more hidden. Springer has free espresso. But you have to ask for it. Thomson-Reuters, sometimes has free coffee, but you have to go to the upper story of their booth to get it.

6. Not all books are free. I will tell you more about that later. So bring cash. Or a check book. Don't plan on using your credit card. Many of the vendors don't want to pay the thousands of dollars for the service fees they get charged for allowing you to use your credit card. Visit your ATM before you come. I start out with $200.00 in cash and if I need more, I go to the ATM.

7. I don't know about parking at McCormick Center.

8. There is a free bus shuttle service offered by one of the big publishers, Gale/Cengage. This runs from the big conference hotels starting at 6:45 a.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m. You could take local transportation to the Chicago Sheraton, Swisshotel, Chicago Hilton, etc. and then ride the ALA bus to McCormick Place if that would work for you. I still don't know about parking at the hotels, as I will be flying in.

Thanks, Benita. Is there any way we can pay for and get the passes in advance?

> 10

RE: 7 & 8

Depending on where people are, there are buses and a Metra train that run to McCormick Place. I find the Metra train very handy.

Info about parking at McCormick Place (and other transit options) can be found here: http://www.mccormickplace.com/attendees/getting-here.php (it ain't cheap, but then there is pretty much no cheap parking in Chicago).

LT is providing some free passes. These can be printed anytime. I just have to get to my regular computer to get the e-mail where the link is located. I'll get that up later this afternoon.

Here is the e-mail from Abby Blachy. She will be at the Librarything booth along with Tim Spaulding. (He is the one who started Librarything)

Sounds great. Tim and I will attempt to join the evening social meetup, depending on our work-meeting schedule. But we'll definitely be in the booth when you stop by!

Yes, I have free exhibit hall passes. I'll blog it soon, but you can have the link now:
https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=505&oi=RM%2BAYv47ug%2FHoIiGj...

Feel free to post this link to your threads if you wish. I would ask that if you print out one of these passes make a point to stop by the Librarything booth and talk to Abby and Tim. Karen did in Seattle and they appreciated talking with her. I don't know how many free passes they are offering so it might be a good idea to print yours off now. Take the pass with you to the ALA Registration booth. This will be a giant area and one of the lines will be for people with passes. Your pass will be scanned and a registration badge will be printed. You will have to have this badge with you when you go into the exhibit hall. From there, it is happy shopping.

I don't have to use this exhibit hall pass, so I am not sure if the link works. If you have trouble just post here and I'll get to it later this weekend or Monday. There will be more exhibit hall etiquette later as well.

It seemed to work, Benita. I've got passes with bar codes, after filling out a good bit of information.

We're looking forward to meeting Tim and Abby.

I won't be able to print my pass until Sunday, but the truth is that my time in Chicago is going to be so short that I'm not sure it makes sense for me to use one. As I will be traveling and under some pressure for flights and such, I will not want to deal with shipping of books. SO, I'm not sure what I'll do about the exhibit hall and all that. I may just be in town for a beer. :-)

Benita- Thank you for everything! I printed 2 passes for my wife & I. And thanks for the wheeled suitcase info. LOL. Now, I know. We might take up your idea about checking a suitcase in and then returning to fill it.

I think the reason for getting all that information is that they will print a badge from it, and the vendors will send you mail, both snail and e-mail. There will be a bar code attached to the badge and vendors will want to scan that in order to register you for some of the daily prizes.

The exhibit pass will not allow you to get in to see any of the programs. However, it allows you to be in the exhibit hall non- stop so you can get into more lines to get autographed books. Sometimes publishers will give away books for the signings and sometimes you have to pay $5.00 to $10.00 for the books. But as my niece said "Cool. I got to see Gregory Macquire. Who gets to do that?"

The exhibit hall will be divided into sections. There will be the tech section and the publisher section. In the publisher section there will be a portion for the book publishers, one for the zine publishers, and one for the graphic novels. There is also a section for sci/fi.

There are several stages where you can sit and rest and listen to authors talk about there books. There is a fiction stage and a cooking stage and one for poetry. Each day on the fiction stage is devoted to a different genre. I am not sure of the schedule yet, but will get to that in a day or two.

I am glad the link worked for the passes. I did not have time to check it out before I posted it. I know that Abby will be posting it in her blog as well so I think they are hoping that people take advantage of the offer.

Has anybody looked into a place for is to gather socially for the evening? I am fairly sure that the LT Gods will be downtown at one of the hotels. I will be staying at the Palmer House and will take the conference shuttle back and forth to the convention center. I will get to go past the Salad Bowl every day. I hope to make it to Millennium Park. I just love getting spit on and love that bean!

I'm attending ALA, though I already have tentative plans for Sunday after 5:00, and at least one session that I plan to attend Sunday afternoon. However, if there's a group roaming the exhibits, I'd love to at least meet up and say hello!

#19
We haven't decided on a time to meet up, but there will be a group. The Chicago LT'ers are going a meetup with those of us from ALA who will be in town. I think that Mark plans on being in the exhibit hall around 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, and I think that one person is going to do the exhibit hall on Saturday. Just keep following this thread and that should keep you up-to-date with what the group plans on doing.

Now that the Printer's Row Festival is over you guys can start concentrating on the ALA conference. Here are a few pointers regarding the books in the publisher's aisles.

1. Not all books are free. If you are in doubt ask. Most of the publishers love to talk about the books and authors, but they don't like to get robbed.

2. If books are on the floor they are generally ARC's and are free. If in doubt ask.

3. Books piled on the tables are usually for sale, or are being given away during an author signing. Sometimes books for author signings are also being sold. When in doubt ask the Publisher reps.

4. Books on or in the display cases are for sale. If there is more than one copy of the books you can usually buy one, but if in doubt ask.

5. Books are usually for sale for half price. However, they are often cheaper than that. Paperbacks are usually 5 to 7 dollars and hardbacks are usually priced at 10 to 12 dollars.

6. If there are lines at a booth it is because there is an author there. This is a conference at which the authors talk to the people in line so the lines often move slowly.

7. Take time to talk to the sales reps, sometimes you can talk them into giving you a copy of the books. Especially if there is more than one on display.

8. There will be lots of children's authors present. Sunday is the day, night of, the Newbery and Caldecott banquet and the award recipients will be there to give talks and to sign books. That means that there will be long lines and the aisles will be crowded. That does not mean that there won't be adult authors it just means that the place will be crowded so pay attention to what line you are standing in.

9. don't set anything down once you have paid for it as it is likely to disappear.

10. There will be lots of graphic novels there, however very few of them will be free. They will be discounted but most likely won't be free. Same is true of cookbooks, unless they are given away at the Cooking Stage and an author signing. They will be discounted, but not free.

I looked on the ALA website and found the schedule for the author signings. Here is the URL for that.

http://ala13.ala.org/sessions/all?keys=meet%20the%20authors

These are the authors that ALA knows about. There may be more coming that aren't on the calendar yet.

The other thing I wanted to tell you about were the stages. Like music festivals this exhibit hall has several stages where authors give readings and do talks. This summer there will be a cooking stage were cookbook authors come in and do demos from their newly published cookbooks. There is a mystery stage that will feature different mystery authors. Some of this will be solo talks and some will be panels of authors. These stages are great places to sit down and rest those tired doggies and still be in the world of books and authors. Often these stages will offer free copies of the books that you can then get signed. These stages are usually at the back end of the exhibit hall. You can work your way to the back and then find a chair and sit down for a book talk/lecture.

The url for the cooking stage is
http://ala13.ala.org/whats-cooking-stage

The url for the mystery stage is
http://ala13.ala.org/poptop-stage

Sunday is Sci/Fi day at the poptop stage. That means that there is a high likelihood that several popular sci/fi authors will be at booths doing book signings.

Mark and Joe

We need to be finding a place for us to meet afterwards and talk. We will need to post the place here as Ellen will be flying in and probably meeting us at the pub/restaurant/pizza place. I have a friend from Kansas who will be attending with her daughter and she would like to meet up with us as well. She is not an LT member and so I need to e-mail her with the place ahead of time.

As most of you know I am not using the free passes that LT is providing for this meetup. A friend of mine who is going to attend on Sunday for sure, and maybe Saturday, told me that when she got all done with registering it told her to bring the printout to the Advance Registration desk. I am sure that the rest of you got these same directions so now is a good time to explain what that means.

When you get to the convention center look for the signs that will tell you where the registration area is located. Usually they have huge printed out signs on the floor as well as the scrolling screens hanging from the ceiling. When you get to the registration area it will be huge. There should be a line for Advanced registration. If you have to purchase a pass there will be a line for that. Above that line it will say "exhibit hall only passes." You will pay the $35.00 and they will give you the exhibit hall pass.

If you have the advanced registration pass from LT go to one of the lines for Advance Registration. On Sunday there shouldn’t be much of a line but don't count on it. Get in one of these lines and when you get to the desk give them the printed out pass you have with you. You will also need a picture ID to give to them. They will give you the conference registration packet. They will also give you a lanyard and a name tag. This name tag will have a bar code on it and it is your official exhibit hall pass. You will have to have the name tag pinned on you or hanging around your neck at all times or you won’t be able to go in or out of the exhibit hall. The registration tag will be good for any or all of the days of the conference. You are not restricted to just one day. You could come for more than one day if you want to do so.

I plan on being at the registration desk at noon on Sunday, or as close to that time as possible. I have a meeting on Sunday morning, but it should be over by noon. I will try to post on this thread what I am wearing so you guys can find me.

ALA provides free wireless access during the conference so if you have smart phones or iPads, they will work in the convention center. Feel free to bring them along, but remember that they will be one more thing to carry and you will probably have a maximum load before the afternoon is over.

Please don't do too much planning on my behalf. If it works out for some of us to have a beer together on the 30th, great, but I may also be connecting with some friends in the Chicago area (it's been a long time since I lived in the area, but you never know), so please don't do too much adjusting of your lives with me in mind. On the other hand, if you are going to meet for a beer or food, anyway, let me know where and I'll try to join in. I'd love to meet (or re-meet) some LT folks!

It sounds like you all will be having your hands quite full (literally) with the convention!

Good news guys. I just got an e-mail from Random House and Peter Heller will be at the Random House booth on Sunday. He wrote Dog Stars. I am not sure what time he will be there, but I will keep looking.

On Saturday, June 29, 2013, Random House will be hosting Naomi Novak, but I am not for sure what time in the booth. She is the author of fantasy novels. On Saturday afternoon Wolf Haas will be reading from his mystery The Bone Man at the Live Stage at 11:00 a.m. and at the Mystery Pop Top Stage at 1:00 p.m.

Maybe everybody can manage two days in the exhibit hall?

Everybody getting ready for the big weekend? (All except Mark who will be coming down from his Big Weekend in D.C!) From here on out please watch this thread carefully as I will post any updates I get to this forum.

Here is what I know at this point.

The LT group will be meeting up in the exhibit hall of the Convention Center. I will be arriving there about noon, as I have meetings to attend. I will go to the registration desk first. I will stay there about a half hour, so if you are not at the registration desk by 12:30 I will assume that you are already in the exhibit hall or you are not coming. If you need to contact me give me a call. My cell phone number is 205-535-7455. Please remember that the exhibit hall is huge and that I may not hear my phone ring. However, I will check it regularly. I intend to do some hanging out at the Pop-Top Theater and listen to some of the authors, so that will be a likely place to look for me. I will post what I am wearing so you can look for me that way. I usually wear Birkenstock's but that won't help because there will be hundreds of grey haired women wearing sensible shoes all over the place.

The exhibit hall closes at 5:00 p.m. Mark says that we are going to gather and eat at the Haymarket Brewery. He has a car and will be happy to give us rides to the restaurant. To get a ride from him you will need to contact him via his thread or PM him off of his LT page. I will be riding with him.

Ellen will be coming in from the airport and I am not sure at this point if she will come to the Convention Center or if she will meet us at the restaurant. She will let us know when she knows something.

So far there will be 9 of us. A friend of mine from Kansas and her daughter will be coming along with us so we will be a sizable group. I don't know if Abby and Tim will be coming, but will find out in the next couple of days.

If you have any questions just post them. I'll get you an answer.

Hoping to get there, but it may just be a quick dash to say "Hi" to Tim and Abby. It's a very busy weekend for me, and the timing may not work out to spend a lot of time in the Exhibit Hall. On the other hand, that could be a good thing because I have too many* books already.

* assuming there is such a thing as "too many" books!

#28
I will be glad to see you there. I guess you won't be coming to socialize with us? We will be happy to have you along, but you will get enough of book people during the afternoon.

> 29

No, I can't come at all on Sunday, as I am getting together with friends for our annual 4th of July barbecue & parade in Waukegan.

If I get there at all, it will be sometime Saturday afternoon, possibly Monday morning.

Benita- Thanks for supplying all the great info! We plan on getting there, sometime between 10-11, but can meet you at the registration desk for noon.
I am pretty sure Ellen will not be making the conference. I think she will meet us at the restaurant.

I will indeed be meeting you at the restaurant. My flight doesn't get in early enough from the west coast to make the convention center work. I'll plan to be at Haymarket shortly after 5pm.

Yah!!

#30
I will be busy most of the day on Saturday, but if you call or text me maybe we can meet up sometime between noon and 3 in the exhibit hall. I will spend most of Monday afternoon on the exhibit floor, so maybe that would work out best.

OK guys - it appears that many of us will be at the exhibits on different days. Not a problem. Here is my cell phone number 205-535-7455. I promise I will answer calls or texts, but I may not do so immediately due to not wanting to interrupt meetings and programs. Just let me know if you need anything or need help. My only advice is ask before you take anything piled up on tables or that are in displays. The publishers have a word for people who don't ask - vultures. I just call them thieves.

Thanks for all the good info, and your #, Benita. Looking forward to seeing you there!

I am now on my way to the conference so will be out of touch for about 24 hours. If you need to get me you have my phone number.

I e-mailed Abby Blachy and she and Tim will be in the Librarything booth in the exhibit hall. Stop in and say hi to them and thank them for the free tickets. I will be in meetings most of the day on Saturday, and part of the afternoon on Sunday. However, I will spend most of Sunday afternoon in the exhibit hall and will see all of you then. I hope the weather is nice. If it is hot and humid I may have to go get spit on in the Millennium Park when I go look at the Bean. I'll be close because on Saturday I have a meeting in the Chicago Hilton so I might go get spit on just for fun. If Mayor Dailey the Younger did nothing else for Chicago he gave them that wonderful park in which to play.

See ya!

With the Blackhawks parade downtown on Friday late morning/early afternoon, the Loop will be a zoo. Upwards of two million people are expected along the parade route and in Grant Park.

High of around 80 on Friday. Upper 60s for a high on Sat. Low 70s on Sun.

Enjoy!!

> 37

There's a good concert at the Pritzker Pavilion on Saturday night - Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. I sat in the sun and listened to the rehearsal today.

Hey. Who are we buying a drink for and where?

#40
Sorry about that. I guess I forgot to post it on this thread that we were meeting at the Haymarket Brewery for the social hour after leaving the exhibits. Mark told me he stopped and talked to you guys, so I assumed that he had told you where we were going to meet-up. I have now had two times to practice on setting these things up, and you would think I would do better.

#37
I did not get out on Saturday night, because I had other things to attend for the conference, but I did get to the Pritzker Pavilion on Monday night for a free concert and got to here a local funk/jazz band. It was great fun, and the 23 million that the city paid for the "Bean" was worth every penny. That thing is great fun. I sat there and watched the people for over an hour.

I think you Chicagoans ordered up perfect weather for us.

I'm sorry I couldn't join you all on Sunday, but, thanks to Tim's guest pass, I visited the exhibit hall twice (Friday evening and Monday morning) and would have brought more books home except that I can only carry so much!

I just got my post-conference update from ALA. 26,300 people attended the conference. No wonder there was such a crush in the exhibits! There were only 8,000 in Seattle in January.

Thank you again for all your help in our attending, Benita. We had a great time.

That was a big crowd. I didn't know it was that big!

That number is back up to pre-recession numbers. That surprises me because things are not back to normal yet at our library. I had forgotten how much of a crush the exhibit floor can be. Especially with numbers like that.

Chicago is a good place for our conference. It is home headquarters for ALA and the hotels in the city treat us well. Next summer it will be in Las Vegas.

I am so glad that all of you could come. Even if I didn't get to see all of you.