ACRL 13th National Conference Report
| Pages | 4-6 |
| Date | 12 June 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050710780326 |
| Published date | 12 June 2007 |
| Author | Jeanine M. Scaramozzino,Julia Gelfand |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
ACRL 13th National Conference Report
Jeanine M. Scaramozzino and Julia Gelfand
4LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 5 2007, pp. 4-6, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050710780326
The city of Baltimore, Maryland,
hosted the ACRL 13th National
Conference, with the theme, Sailing Into
the Future Charting Our Destiny,
29 March-1 April, 2007 at the Baltimore
Convention Center. The record number
of attendees included over 3,000
individuals representing 16 countries,
with 318 new members and 1,008 first-
time attendees. This was one of the
largest ACRL National Conferences and
the range of programs and events
reinforced this largesse, with a variety of
programming options and ways to
participate.
A number of innovative conference
mechanisms were introduced at this
conference including a first-time
attendee orientation that involved
meeting ACRL leaders, information on
teaching and publishing, and discussions
by various ACRL sections. The virtual
conference components were enhanced
and included live webcasts, blogs, polls,
conference snapshots, and hot topic
discussions. Cyber Zed Shed, a platform
for demonstrating new technologies and
their library applications, was an
additional learning forum for conference
attendees. The National Conference Wiki
allowed participants to share Baltimore
travel suggestions. Go to www.acrl.org/
ala/acrl/acrlevents/baltimore/baltimore.
htm to link to the conference blog,
conference wiki, watch video of
conference highlights, purchase audio
recordings of most conference
programs, and download podcast
interviews with Cyber Zed Shed
presenters. Attendees of the physical
and virtual conference can log in to
ACRL’s National Conference Online
Community at http://home.learningtimes.
net/acrlnational?invitation_key=2007acrl.
This will allow you to access discussion
boards, face-to-face ACRL National
Conference and Virtual Conference
presentation materials, presenter’s
images and biographies, and webcast
session recordings.
Early arriving attendees were able
to choose from six day-long pre-
conferences. Activities included
assessment effectiveness, outreach
liaison strategies, digital copyright, and
knowledge management. They also had
the option of choosing one of three
Baltimore exploration tours of famous
landmarks and libraries.
The conference officially opened
with remarks from Mary Reichel, the
13th National Conference Committee
Chair and other ACRL leaders. Michael
Eric Dyson, Avalon Foundation
Professor in the Humanities, and
University of Pennsylvania Professor of
Religious Studies and Africana Studies,
gave the opening keynote address. He
spoke about the virtues and crises of hip
hop culture, racial conflict and black
identity and the role generational and
racial differences have on the way
students learn. He was incredibly
passionate and presented much like a
minister at a revival meeting. Reactions
to Mr. Dyson’s remarks varied greatly
among conference attendees. A number
of people left during his remarks while
many were energized by his message.
He has very strong opinions, and though
I did not agree with all he said I found
him entertaining and thought provoking.
The Opening Exhibits Reception that
followed the keynote speaker featured
more than 200 companies displaying
and discussing state-of-the-art products
and services for academic librarians and
information professionals. Michael Eric
Dyson was also available in the exhibit
hall to sign his book, Pride: The Seven
Deadly Sins.
The Friday luncheon opened with
welcoming remarks from ACRL
National Conference Chair Mary
Reichel, ALA Executive Director Keith
Michael Fiels, and ALA President
Leslie Burger. ACRL President-elect,
Julie Todaro, presented Best Practices in
Marketing Awards to Winston-Salem
State University C.G. O’Kelly Library
and Eastern Illinois University Booth
Library. The featured keynote was given
by John Waters, the Baltimore native,
creator and director of a variety of films
including A Dirty Shame,Desperate
Living,Female Trouble,Pink
Flamingos and Polyester and, most
notably, the film Hairspray that was
turned into a hit Broadway musical.
A confessed bibliophile, he recounted
some of his first experiences with books
including illicit acquisitions. He made a
number of unique suggestions for
bringing people into the library and
making books cool again including
putting sticky notes in books to mark the
dirty parts. He also made the statement,
‘‘It is impossible to commit a crime
while reading a book’’. Later he was
available for a book signing. Some
attendees were horribly offended by his
language and remarks, with some
people exiting early. I found him terribly
amusing and saw many of the
conference, ACRL and ALA leaders
laughing so hard I thought they would
fall off their chairs onto the floor! He
spoke to the fact that librarians need to
participate in the reforming the images
of books, libraries, and librarians.
The All-conference dessert reception
was held at the National Aquarium in
Baltimore, Saturday, March 31, 8:00-
10:00 p.m. and was a huge success and
great fun. The aquarium’s exhibits are
designed to replicate natural
environments from around the world
and display more than 10,500 aquatic
animals from mammals to invertebrates.
It was a beautiful setting in which to
celebrate. The place was packed and it
was obvious from the general
boisterousness that people were
enjoying themselves.
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