Report from the ALA Annual Conference
Posted by: Rebecca Vnuk
Hello from the ALA Annual Conference Washington D.C.
On Friday I went a RUSA preconference called “Reference Evolution,” which was valuable for me because I spend most of my time thinking and hearing about changes in reference publishing, and don’t get may opportunities to look at change from the reference services side. Publishing was at the forefront, however, on Friday afternoon at the regular Independent Reference Publishers Group (which now seems to include all reference publishers) meeting. A diverse group of panelists, including school and academic librarians, a wholesaler, and even a reference book contributor, led to a wide-ranging discussion.
Change has become a constant in discussions about reference over the past years. It’s been interesting to watch the way the changes change (remember CD-ROM?). I’ll be reporting in more detail about the RUSA preconference, Monday’s Reference Books Bulletin program “Reference Work from Idea to Reality,” and anything else I come across or learn while I’m here.
