Putting the Special Back in Libraries
I spent most of this week in Baltimore at the annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association. (Special libraries are libraries with specialized collections, like law firm-, medical-, and newsroom-libraries.) There were almost 6,000 people in attendance. Highlights included:
Mindy, glad to have gone, glad to be back home
- Participating on a panel with five other speculative fiction authors, ostensibly discussing The Future Of Libraries - but really chatting with conference attendees about writing, reading, etc.
- Being recognized as the author of GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT (I'd read from it at a prior library event) and getting to chat about the rapidly approaching October 1 release date
- Listening to the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg discuss the future of the Internets (yes, he refers to them in the plural, but not like Our Fearless Leader - he believes that there will be an evolution toward a "credentialed" Internet that will run parallel to our current anonymous, say-what-you-want-when-you-want net), the need for changes in copyright law, and the longevity of specialized searchers such as librarians
- Attending a vendor party at Baltimore's National Aquarium, where I could eat amazing food, spend hours watching rays "fly" through the water, and laugh as bartenders poured frou-frou flavored martinis through carved ice sculptures of fish before serving them up in perfect glasses
Mindy, glad to have gone, glad to be back home
That just means I'll get to take another trip up to Baltimore!
Mindy