Midwinter Musings

I see it's been a while since I posted, so it's time I brought myself up to date on what's happening.

Rose Parade

In honor of their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, the Dodgers entered a float in the Rose Parade. They also offered grandstand seats, a t-shirt, a hat, and a pin. I purchased the entire package.

January 1 found me up at oh-dark-thirty. I called a cab to take me to Union Station, and from there went to Colorado Boulevard on the Gold Line in search of my seat. It was quite a walk from the station to the seating area, and I was very much out of breath when I finally found it.

My seat was in row AA. I haven't been in such a nosebleed seat since I sat in the Top Deck many years ago. I could have used an oxygen tank and a pack animal to climb the heights!

The parade started pretty much on time. The Dodgers' float featured several former and current players, Tommy Lasorda, Nancy Bea Heffley (the organist - she allegedly was playing, but couldn't be heard over the LAUSD band that preceded the float), and Roger Owens, the noted peanut vendor. When the parade was over I climbed back to ground level, and grabbed a burger at the McDonalds conveniently located next to the grandstand. I had hoped the crowds would have thinned out, but they hadn't. I made my way back to the Gold Line and thence to Union Station, where I grabbed another cab home.

ALA Midwinter

Midwinter was in Philadelphia this year. I asked for - and got - rooms in the Marriott that's attached to the convention center. What this meant was that I didn't have to poke my little nose outside until it was time to leave. I did some sightseeing on Friday. It rained cats, dogs, and little fishes. (The only thing worse is hailing taxis...) I went to the Independence National Park Visitors' Center, and got information on the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

The Liberty Bell is housed in a small pavillion on the mall in front of Independence Hall. In order to get in, I had to have my bag and fanny pack searched, just like at the ball game. The exhibit includes the history of the bell. A group of Asian men went through about the same time, and everyone got his picture taken in front of the bell.

I've been to Independence Hall before, but it's always good to revisit. Once again, I passed through the screening system and lined up for the tour. Our guide gave us the history of the building. The first room on the right as you enter was used as a courtroom under the colonial and Confederation years. After a brief presentation, we went across the hall to the room where the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution were drafted and signed. There are some relics that belonged to the founders. The guide held up a small pamphlet and asked if we knew what it was. Of course, the librarian here did: Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

I think this was the first time I saw the second floor. Elevators hadn't been invented in the 18th century, so we climbed what seemed to be a long flight of stairs to get to some rooms used for social events.

I then slogged back to the hotel/convention center/Reading Terminal Market on the bus.

Midwinter Itself

Midwinter is allegedly to conduct Association business. NOT! Although we did have meetings, there were also programs. For some reason, I wrote down the wrong time for the President's Program, and so didn't get to hear Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talk about his new book. I did meet him at the reception afterwards.

Council appears to meet constantly. (it only seems that way)

The most controversial issue was whether ALA should open discussion lists (such as the Council list) to read-only by all members. We referred the resolution to the Task Force on Electronic Participation, which will deal with that question, among others.

We did have the perennial resolution against the Iraq war (contrary to what some people think, ALA does not have a foreign policy). We also approved new standards for accreditation, which I voted against. The standards, IMNSHO, are wishy-washy, and don't specify courses a potential librarian must take. We are feeling the problem at my library because the Hispanic Services librarian doesn't know how to catalog.

Even with all the controversy, we managed to complete our agenda and adjourn well before the 12:30 p.m. end time.

So it goes. On to Anaheim (the annual conference site)!