ALA Boston - Midwinter

So, I was in Boston last week for the ALA Midwinter meeting. The first day I got up there, I drove in massive rain and fog. The next day, it was 55 degrees out, later dropping to about 20 degrees. I kicked off my Midwinter by attending the ALA Recruitment Forum, heading a discussion table on "Diversity Models from other Professions" (mostly my experience at the NAE). You wouldn't think it, but librarians are very similar to engineers.
1. Noone knows what they do.
2. There are all sorts of groups doing different diversity and recuitment efforts, but it is scattered and not coordinated.
3. They both rely (or should rely) on their communities to educate their members about opportunities in engineering and librarianship.
4. They should target youths.

At Midwinter, I hit the Exhibits and brought back a ton of books. Now, I just need to find the time to read some of them. I also attended meetings of the Washington Office, the Committee on Legislation, and the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. I also got to hang out and see Matt and Laura, and they were introduced to Wendy and Francis. We all had dinner together on Fri. night in Davis Square at a Tibetan Restaurant. Matt said that he'd had the best cashew chicken he'd ever had.