A Packed Day in Manhattan

Returned to the World Trade Center site this morning, to see the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site (last time I was there was shortly after the bombing). It was wicked crowded on a Saturday morning, but still very moving. I so wish I could be here next month for the opening of the actual memorial.

In the afternoon, we went to the Morgan Library, where I almost stepped on the Xu Bing installation in Renzo Piano's atrium - whew! Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and husband Bill were leaving as we entered. His vegan diet looks healthy on him. I wanted to see the Piano wing, especially since I missed the Jaume Plensa exhibit by days (that was a disappointment).

I also wanted to see the stunning "Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands" exhibit - if you're in NYC by 4 September, it's definitely worth seeing. Of course, Pierpont Morgan's study and library are also beautiful. My husband said the study looked like a room in a European castle, and I said it looked like he raided several castles. I guess he really did - even the ceiling was cut out of a palazzo and re-assembled in his study!.

Save the Date: ALA Virtual Conference

The ALA Virtual Conference will be held July 13th and 14th. If you couldn't attend ALA in NOLA, this is a less-expensive chance to hear some of the presentations - no travel or hotels involved! If you did attend, this is a (free) chance to hear presentations you may have missed the first time around. HINT: watch for a condensed version of YALSA's Pecha Kucha: Teens & Technology.

Last Minute News: I'm Presenting!

I'm presenting on QR codes at the ALA 2011 conference Sunday morning. Look for "Pecha Kucha: Teens and Technology" @ 10:30 in rm 394! Please come for a YALSA panel on various ways to use technology to serve teens in your libraries. Check the conference scheduler for all the presenters, topics, and presentations.

If you're interested in more information on using QR codes, there's also a link to my four handouts: QR Code Generators/Readers, Ideas for QR Codes in Libraries, Ideas for QR Codes in School, and Thanks to My PLN (a list of early adopters who have already been exploring creative use of QR's in their libraries).

On My Way... to ALA 2011

I can't wait to leave for ALA 2011 tomorrow - even if it does seem that I don't have half the things done that I need to before I go. It will be my first trip to New Orleans, but I'll be traveling with a fellow teacher-librarian who has spent a lot of time there (and has connections in the local music community), so we're sure to be spending time eating good food and checking out the music scene.

I'm looking forward to so many of the AASL and YALSA sessions, to networking with my Twitter buddies in person, and meeting some of my librarian heroes, but most of all to the chance to meet Paolo Bacigalupi!

Seen in Chicago during ALA

ALA Chicago another day

A new BBYA list, Teen Programs Under $100: there was so much to see and do on Sunday, that I had to take a long nap afterward!

I stood in line for Sarah Dessen's Along For The Ride and Joe Meno's Demons in the Spring.

I couldn't resist the Parade of Bookmobiles, even though my teen companion sighed over my geekiness, and my adult companions went back to the Exhibit floor for more serious pursuits. Yes, I toured almost every one of the 15 bookmobiles.

They filled me with nostalgia (regular Bookmobile visits fired my childhood interest in reading); they fed my automotive love for big trucks; and they piqued my architectural fascination with outfitting them. Racks and cubbies and reading benches and wheelchair lifts behind secret-panel-doors, oh my!

And, speaking of fun, the Library Book Cart Drill Team Championship was about as much fun as you can have with library equipment. Check out NPR's report. My camera didn't do the Baraboo Bookers justice in the semi-dark ballroom.

See you at ALA in Chicago!

I'll see you all there, July 9-15.