Saturday July 11
On Thursday our group went by aeroplane from Portland to Chicago. In Chicago, the so-called second city, the Annual Conference of the American Library Association brings more than 15,000 librarians together. Friday is the day for preconferences. Our group attended the preconference "Digitization in Developing Countries". The exhibition with over 1,500 booths opended on Saturday morning. Apart from hard- and software for libraries you can also find the newest books printed in the USA there. After the registration we find ourselves loaded with material and program guides. For the three conference days we choose our individual programs. I'm lucky, the conference interesting lectures e.g. one on "Political Engagement : facilitating greater participation in civil society", but of course there are far more programs for public libraries. The full program is online: http://www.ala.org/