Thoughts on PLA 2008

Nearly 10,000 library staff, supporters, exhibitors, authors, and guests descended on the Minneapolis Convention Center the last week of March for various workshops and discussions that focused on key issues such as technology; serving adults; youth and new Americans; gaming in libraries; library design; and collection development.

Best-selling travel experts and Authors Arthur Frommer and daughter Pauline Frommer spoke to a crowd of more than 700 attendees. Mr. Frommer stated that his boyhood public library was his town's "only cultural outlet, and it was there I began traveling in my mind." The Frommers also shared various tips and recommendations for traveling overseas and within the U.S. on a budget. They no longer publish “on $40 dollars a day”, instead publishing “budget” guides.

The program highlighting audio books featured best-selling author Jacqueline Winspear; actor, screenwriter and audiobook narrator Scott Brick; and Books on Tape Executive Producer Dan Musselman. Each speaker talked about creating audio books from their own perspective in amusing and informative manners.

In one of the sessions the presenter told about having special shelving for DVDs; it looks like a vending machine but displays the DVDs and provides security. The vendor was present in the exhibit hall so the machine could be viewed.

The conference also offered access to 800 exhibiting companies including top book publishers, who showcased the latest in products and services aimed specifically at public libraries and their users.

One of the best aspects of a gathering of this sort is the opportunity to informally exchange ideas with librarians from all across the U.S. and Canada. If you plan to go to Cape May, New Jersey take your own reading material; they do not allow non-residents/non-property owners to check out materials and all online registrants must provide ID when picking up their cards. Several libraries around the country have staff work only one weekend a month, both Saturday and Sunday. I was surprised how many libraries out there still do not have session management.

Many of the seminars I attended dealt with merchandising libraries; making sure the displays were secure, timely, and uncluttered. Another seminar dealt with preschool story time observations. This discussion was lead by librarians from Columbus, Ohio Public Library; there was a lot of interest in their formal procedure and forms for observing and evaluating preschool programs, in-depth training of new children’s librarians, and established traveling program boxes.


A highlight of my visit to Minneapolis was a tour of Minneapolis Central Library. This new 353,000 square-foot Library with a 2.4 million-item collection opened in 2006. It is a spectacular combination of architecture, technology, a separate teen center, and a really fun children’s room and discovery center. With this new building with all the extras, they seem to have spent all the money on the building and are left with half filled shelves. Items returned are put through a book slot that reads their RFID tags, puts them on the correct conveyor belt and then drops them in the appropriate box for shelving or delivery to another branch. The Teen Center is in its own area that floats over the street. It clearly is for teens and subtly discourages adults. It is the only area in the library that allows food and drink. (Drinks are allowed in other parts of the library) The book cases are gorgeous red stained wood for face out display, tile floors, special furniture and speakers for their games. Bean bag chairs were piled in the corner unused. One room has specially finished walls to allow the kids to write “graffiti”. Teens were sprawled around reading and plugged in. Not only was the building beautiful but throughout the library were fantastic pieces of art, mostly folk art reflective of the Minnesota heritage. The Children’s Room had a built in activity wall as you approached it and lively art work throughout. There is a “museum” within the library, a FOL store, and a coffee shop. Throughout the building are computers and study tables and rolling shelves accessible to the public. There is paid parking underground for and in the vicinity for $3 an hour payable at machines similar to the ones at Bethesda and Rockville libraries.

The day after I left they had several inches of new snow!!