Exhibits: March 25, 26 & 27

After the opening keynote, we had a chance to view the vendor exhibits. Plenty of swag available, and a wide array of products, services, and publishers. The big players were on hand, of course, and had the most elaborate displays.

I had the chance to speak with representatives from Statista, National Library of Medicine, Lyrasis, ABC-CLIO, The Fed (!), Springer, Mango, and several others. Got my badge scanned at many of the booths. Didn't win the Gale ring-toss, but I did win a reference book. (I know, right?) 

First Day in Portland

After a day-long journey I arrived in Portland, and my first glimpse was this gorgeous view of Mt Hood. The theme of the 2015 ACRL conference is "creating sustainable community," so it is very fitting that it takes place in Portland. I was able to take the light rail directly from the airport to the hotel. After checking in at the conference, the next day,I was able to eat lunch at a "quick service " restaurant that uses local, natural food. I'm  really looking forward to this week's events. :)

Countdown to Portland

By this time tomorrow, I will be en route to Portland for the ACRL conference. Except for a few last-minute details (like packing) everything seems to be in order.

I must say that ACRL, besides choosing the hippest possible city for the conference, also seems to have chosen well in terms of the logistics of getting around. Almost all of the relevant presentations and events will be held at the Oregon Convention Center itself, and Portland is blessed with an excellent public transit system, which runs between the airport and the city, and throughout downtown and environs.

Another thing that I'm enjoying is the online planner, which allows you to search the conference program and save the information about presentations and events you're interested in. This has saved me a lot of time. Next stop, The Rose City.

Re-launch Redux

Resuming regular posting on a blog is something that I approach with ambivalence.  This, of course, is because regular blog posting is something that tends to come  and go in cycles. I mean seriously - who, besides someone with a regular gig blogging for a library or academic publication, actually has time for it. I certainly read Barbara Fister and The Annoyed Librarian regularly, but I wouldn't think of subjecting myself to the earnest musings of  some other random librarian bloggers for love or money. I'm just saying.

That said, I've decided to breath some life back into this moribund venue - at least temporarily - as a convenient vehicle for chronicling my attendance at the 2015 ACRL conference. So, rather than reconstructing a narrative of what I see, hear, and think about the events and presentations at the conference , I'll record them here.

All seems simple enough, eh? Well, we shall see. So, I invite you, gentle readers (meaning those of you in my department, and other friends , colleagues, and co-conspirators) to follow my experience via this quaint early 21st century convention: the personal blog.