ALA Update

After I wrote my last blog, I went to the Library of Congress for a special after hours event they had for ALA attendees. This was quite the experience. Basically, they let us roam around the main reading room and some of the librarians who work there told us about the history of the room. We even got to go below the central desk for a peek at the inner workings of the library and the stacks that are off limits to the public. All the attendee librarians were like kids in a candy store.

Then I attended the premiere of Hollywood Librarian, a documentary about librarians and how they have been stereotyped through film. This was an excellent film that was at times funny and heartbreaking. You can see the trailer on youtube if you search the title. The writer/director is asking that libraries show it to their patrons (for a fee) during Banned Books Week.

This experience is pretty overwhelming on many different levels. There is so much going on and I want to see everything and meet everyone, but I'm trying to take it easy on myself and pick and choose events carefully. Also, as a very new MLIS graduate, with my future as a librarian still in front of me, it is a little daunting to face all this information at once.