Winter 2015 TLJ

President’s Perspective
imagine • collaborate • innovate
by Sharon Amastae
You’re holding in your hands a
preview of what we’ve planned to
be four stimulating, informative,
and fun days of professional
development in Austin next spring. The
60+ members of the Program and Local
Arrangements Committees invite you to
Sync Up! on April 14-17, 2015. Just as
there wouldn’t be an association without
our members, you are the essential
ingredient for our annual conference!
During the four days of solid conference
programming, you’ll find preconferences,
350+ sessions, daily health events, meals
featuring authors, hands-on labs, poster
sessions, and an exhibit hall brimming
with all the top library vendors. Add in
time to sync up with your colleagues and
friends from across Texas, and you can
create a personal conference schedule
tailored to your professional needs and
preferences.
To make the 2015 conference even
more your own, we’ve added a special
space, the Sync Up Station, a commons
area that can be anything you want
it to be. Connect with a librarian at
the Opening Luncheon and want to
continue your conversation Come to
the Sync Up Station! Have questions for
a session speaker but no time left to ask
them Invite the presenter to the Sync
Up Station. Want to discuss ideas for
genre-fying your collection Post your
topic and time to meet on the Sync
Up Station’s calendar. When you pick
up your badge at conference, you’ll see
the Sync Up Station, right outside an
entrance to Exhibits. As one clever
ProCo member put it: “The Sync
Up Station: Your Destination for
Imagination, Collaboration, and
Innovation!”
Our 2015 service project features
a pajama drive for the Austin
Chapter of the Pajama Program,
a national nonprofit that provides
new pajamas and new books to
children in need of comfort and
care. The Austin chapter works
with 37 shelters and has a source
for new books but needs new
pajamas for both boys and girls in all
sizes from newborn to adult XL. “Put on
your pajamas, and I’ll read you a story”
is a night time ritual that most of us
take for granted. Children in transition
seldom have heard these comforting
words, but the pajamas you provide will
show them that someone does care. So,
remember to pack your pj’s for TLA!
One parenthetical comment about
conference planning: since I became
President I’ve been frequently asked,
“why doesn’t TLA ever meet in El
Paso” Actually, the TLA annual
conference was last held in El
Paso in 1973, but it simply doesn’t
have enough convention space or
appropriately-located hotel rooms
to hold a convention of over 7000
attendees. So if you’ve wondered why
TLA rotates among just a few Texas
cities, that’s why. Aren’t you proud to
be part of such a robust conference
Over the past year, I’ve learned that a
reality of a professional conference is
that it’s an expensive undertaking, and I
realize that the reality of many libraries
and schools is that funding is scarce. Is
it possible to “do” TLA “on the cheap”
Here are some money-saving tips from
veteran attendees. Driving to Austin
Take three or four friends with you, and
split the cost of gas. Flying in Take the
Route 100 Airport Flyer bus straight
from the airport to downtown Austin
Members of the Conference Program Committee posed
in PJs to announce the TLA 2015 service project.
for only $1.75 (the ticket price after
1/15/15). Reduce your hotel cost by
sharing your room with other librarians.
Don’t know any potential roommates
The room and ride sharing feature on the
conference page of the TLA website will
help you out. Austin’s food trucks can
provide inexpensive meals – and be sure
to attend the Exhibits Opening Party
and the President’s Party for free food!
The Austin Convention Center has free
wifi, so using your devices will be easy.
Vendor swag and books at reduced prices
(sometimes free) are perfect souvenirs for
yourself and those back home. Creative
planning can make the conference
affordable and even more fun.
There isn’t space in a one-page column to
highlight all the marvelous details of our
2015 conference. I haven’t told you about
the return – by popular demand – of
the Book Cart Drill Team Competition,
our Hands-On Service Project planned
for an Austin school library, our first
ever “TRI-logy,” with running, cycling,
and swimming events, the Placement
Center, or even described any of the
more than 350 sessions that are the heart
of the conference. That’s what this issue
of the Texas Library Journal
will do. I hope you’ll share our
excitement as you read through
the program and highlight the
sessions you don’t want to miss.
We can’t wait to
sync up with you! J
2 Texas Library Journal • Winter 2014