Heading to ALA

I'm off to DC June 21 for the American Library Association conference, and it will be my first as well as possibly my last ALA conference. I get to see Stephen Abram, as well as the premeire of the Hollywood Librarian, some cool museums and a female Muslim refusenik named Irshad Manji. Some vendors will give me a free meal- the price I pay will only be my time as they introduce the latest product they have out. I am excited to go, though I may not sound like it. :-) We'll see if ALA can deliver- I'll be posting a few highlights here.

I have a theory about organizations: when they become too large (number of employees, number of people they are supposed to serve, etc) they become ineffective. There was a book written to this effect called Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, and maybe someday I'll take my friend Greg's advice and read it.

Back to ALA, it has become too large. It is ineffective. I send emails suggesting ideas for ad campaigns or requests for information, and I don't get a reply. None. Zip. My renewal confirmation comes 3 months after I send in my dues. How is that effective?

The Free Range Librarian says that the short answer to effect change "is to take over ALA governance." Awesome- let's do just that. I'll vote for you. There's a start. (Along those lines, if every 18-30 year old voted in 2008, we could put whoever we wanted in office. Pedro, anyone?)