Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

(Crossposted to The Itinerant Librarian)

As some readers may know, I work in a commuter campus. That means no dorms. As a result, there is no big Cinco de Mayo celebration today, but there was a great one yesterday. Our campus celebrated a Fiesta on the Bayou from 6:00pm to about 11:00pm. The event was sponsored by various campus organizations. Since I myself commute via the public bus, I could not stay for the whole thing. But I was able to take some time after work and enjoy the festivities. I arrived just in time to listen to the mariachis. I happen to enjoy mariachi music very much, so I could have just sat there and listened to the songs all night. After the mariachis, there was a folkloric dance troupe performance where a group of young ladies in very bright colored dresses performed a traditional Mexican dance. To make things better, there was free food and drink (non-alcoholic. For a couple of bucks, you could have gotten a margarita, but I did have to drive when I got the park and ride). So, I had some time to enjoy some food, hear some music, and be with the students and campus community. It made for a lovely early evening.

So, today is the holiday. If you follow the first link above, you can get a quick overview of this Mexican holiday, which by the way is not the "Mexican 4th of July" (yes, I have heard some, shall we call them "not so informed" folks, say this. Mexican Independence Day is on September 16). The Census Bureau, once again, has a holiday feature for Cinco de Mayo. Some facts from the Census document:

• 25.9 million
  Number of U.S. residents of Mexican origin in 2004. These residents constituted 9 percent of the nation’s total population.
• Trade With Mexico
  $290.2 billion
  The value of goods traded between the United States and Mexico in 2005. Mexico is our nation’s second-leading trading partner, after Canada. <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

Get a few recipes in case you are having your own celebration, via the Food Network, here.

Here are some links from the Librarian's Internet Index.

TLA Conference: Final thoughts and wrap-up

Between sessions, I had time to do a couple of things for fun. For one, I went to see the Precision Book Cart Drill Team Competition. Who knew you could do all those things with bookcarts? The ballroom was packed, and it was great fun to watch.

I also had time to visit the exhibition hall during the three days. I mostly took my time and wandered about as a gypsy librarian would. I quickly learned the lesson of don't grab it if it is something heavy that you will have to carry back. You don't even have to bring a bag; they give you a few. I got a few free books, mostly those advanced copies, which I will be reading over time. Much of the books are YA, so I see it as an opportunity to read in an area I don't often read. I did buy a couple of books on a good deal, too. During the second day, I also had a chance to watch some storytellers and performers. Two of the acts I caught were Trixie Bond and Julian Franklin, both magicians. Hey, you do magic, and you definitely have my attention. I still have a strong sense of wonder. They both use their talent to promote reading and books. Ms. Bond uses a very whimsical and playful approach. Mr. Franklin used a secret agent approach to make reading and libraries cool as he searched for his missing bunny. There were various performances throughout the day, about every half hour or so. There were also various authors, mostly YA, on hand signing their works. I did meet Barbara McBride-Smith, performer and author of Greek Myths, Western Style. That is one book I am looking forward to reading. I have been hooked on myths since my mother put a copy of The Iliad in my hand at a very young age (not an abridged one, mind you). I even picked up some manga samples, so we'll see as I read them.

In wrapping up, I have to say that this was a very positive experience for me. I enjoyed being surrounded by other librarians and learning about what they do in other settings. I did not attend any of the social events, since I was commuting, but overall, I did not feel I missed out much given the rest of the conference. Sessions were good overall, informative and useful. I came back with many ideas, some of which I would like to try out in my library at some point in the future. So, will I go next year? It's San Antonio for next year. Well, certainly the conference is not terribly expensive for one, and it is a local thing, which makes travelling a bit easier. Additionally, in a case or two, I found myself saying that I could do a presentation at one point. So, at this point in time, I think I would like to go, but we'll see. I think if my employer provides me a vehicle for travel, I just might. Year after is supposed to be up in Dallas, which means I can stay with my folks in Fort Worth.

So, with luck, I may see some of you next year. Best, and keep on blogging.

P.S. One of the things I was slightly "miffed" about is that there were many good sessions happening at the same time. I still have not figured out how to clone myself (haha), so I had to make choices. One of the sessions I missed was Michael Stephens' and Jenny Levine's on Social Software. However, Professor Stephens did post the information about the session on his blog here. While some of it may be stuff I know already, it does not hurt to have a little extra.

Additionally, Loriene Roy has made her remarks to the General Session available on her blog here.

P.P.S. On a different note, I may have mentioned before that I find it very useful when people blog about conferences and sessions that I am interested in but cannot afford to attend. However, one should view blog notes from conferences with a bit of a critical eye. At least, that is the view of Robert Berkman, the Intelligent Agent who gives some tips on how to supplement blog notes from conferences here. To my readers, I say feel free to shop around. My notes are exactly that, my notes (now, I am a pretty skilled notetaker, having done it for pay in college for the campus office of disabled student services. Let's just say you learn to take good notes). While I aim for accuracy, I am still only human. At any rate, Mr. Berkman's observations provide some good food for thought.

P.P.P.S. (Can you even have this many "p's"?). On the final thought, and I mean it now. If you get slightly bored at a particular session, maybe it is not quite what you expected, you can find a nice way to keep yourself amused here, courtesy of the Librarian's Guide to Etiquette.

Update Note (5/22/2006): Mr. Stephen Abrams, VP of Innovation at SirsiDynix and blogger at Stephen's Lighthouse, has made available his TLA presentations, one on Millenials and the other a trend forecasting presentation. I took a look at them since I missed them. As noted before, a small problem for me was too many good things happening at the same time. So, you can find his blog post with the links here.

TLA Conference Notes, Day 3: Session on Students and Academic Ethics

Title: "Students and Academic Ethics."
Presenters: Claire Gunnels, reference librarian; Monica Rabel Norem, reference librarian; and Tracy Williams, instruction librarian. All are from Cy-Fair College, North Harris Montgomery CCD.
Note: Materials from the presentation as well as a few extras can be found at Ms. Williams' site here.

This was an interactive session where the presenters demonstrated one of their teaching techniques using members from the audience.

Some reasons to teach about ethics.

• The 2003 Survey of Student Engagement found that 87% of students observed cutting and pasting of material without attribution.
  
• 1993 and 2001 studies found dishonesty was an ingrained attitude, not situational.
  

Why librarians can help.

• They are advocates and experts in citing sources.
  
• They can serve as an objective third party to present ethical issues in the classroom.
  
• It is part of getting all campus groups involved. The "it takes a village" approach.
  

TLA Conference Notes, Day 3: Session on Revolting Librarians

Title: "Revolting Librarians Redux."
Presenter: Jessamyn West, editor and author of Librarian.net and editor of the book Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out.

Note: Ms. West's presentation is up online here.

This was the session that I actually planned to do first on Day 3, but I was early. At any rate, part of the reason I went to see this session is that I am actually in the middle of reading Revolting Librarians Redux. I think I decided to do it when I saw a few references to it in other places. At any rate, I figured it would be good to listen to the editor. In addition, librarian.net is on my blogroll, and when it comes to bibliobloggers, Ms. West's name is basically one of the luminaries, so another reason to go. Overall it was an interesting and inspiring session for me. I think it part it was inspiring for me because it validated a lot of the things I do in my line of work. You do need a degree of the progressive librarianship to work on the mission I do. Since her presentation is online, these are then very brief notes. By the way, one of the hands I am using to type this is the hand that shook Ms. West's hand (what can I say, it was like meeting some mythical yet brilliant author. Yet she is probably one of the most down to earth people I have been fortunate to meet). The crowd in the room was a bit sparse, but the ones there seemed clearly interested and engaged.

She began with an overview of our profession's history. She learned over time that there is more to librarianship and SuDocs and Dialog queries. On publication of the first Revolting Librarians (1972), she saw that librarians can use their knowledge for good. Redux came out 30 years later. Good is not just providing the most books in the cheapest way possible for the most people. Progressive librarianship means letting people be who they are.

Challenges we face.

• Digital divide versus the ideological divide.
  
• Networked versus local. Who are the constituents of a library given networks but local funding?
  
• The "loyalty" thing.
  

Problem in the profession: librarians need to "own" the technology and Internet in order to educate and show why librarians go well with technology and the Internet. Contrary to popular belief, not everything is online, plus the World Wide Web can be a very confusing place. Librarians can help with this and more.

TLA Conference Notes, Day 3: Session on Youth Publishing Trends

(Day 3 was April 28, 2006)

Title: "Hot Trends in Youth Publishing."
Presenters: Michael Green, author, Penguin Young Readers Group; Lisa Q Matthews, senior acquisitions and development editor, Peachtree Publishers; Liz Szabla, editorial director, Scholastic Press.

(Note: These are the names listed in the program. However, the panel had a gentleman representing Scholastic, and there was at least one other writer, so it changed, but I was not able to get the names).

I got to this panel by serendipity. I wanted to go to a different panel, but it turned out that it was an hour later. So, this was on, seemed interesting, so why not learn a thing or two while I wait for what I had planned? It was definitely worth it. The session was an open panel discussion, led by a moderator asking questions to the panelists.

Changes in YA readers.

• They are a visually oriented audience, so stores have to be visual and capture readers quickly. Also, writers need to dive "headforth" into the story. This is not new, but it seems more important these days.
  
• Kids are "wired" to multitask. Their constant overscheduling may preclude reading.
  
• Kids write more, though it is things like text messaging. Overall though, there is more comprehensive use of words, better exemplified by things like blogs. The "notebook under the pillow" has gone online.
  

Changes in books (layout, the writing, etc.).

• Many editors look for voice, also plot, a good story. Voice is the most intangible part of a story. This has remained a constant.
  
• Success makes the bar go higher. Look at the market. For instance, there is so much good YA fantasy out that it is harder for a new writer to break in. Publishers now have larger backlists, so need new stuff.
  

The "line" of YA is going down now to tweens from 10 years old to about 14 years old.

Technology and constructing the book.

• Trim sizes adjust, nicer trade paperbacks. Hardbacks seem to be going back to having book jackets. This is cyclical overall. Overall as well, kids are flexible in their choice of reading material in terms of book style.
  
• Children's lit. has gone to "bottom line" more, thanks in large part to authors like J.K. Rowling.
  

Book covers.

• For 6, 7, 8 year olds, cover of a book is a major factor in choosing a book according to research. As a result, editors will work, sometimes aggressively, with authors and artists to create that perfect cover. Covers need to look great. Pretty much all publishers are doing good covers these days; it is very competitive in this regard. Also, covers are shown to salespeople and book group buyers, who do wield quite a bit of power in making decisions on covers. This is a reflection of the market and the more "bottom line" approach.
  

Finding the next big thing.

• Publishers may sometimes try to orchestrate this, but a lot is still looking for a good and well-written story. Sometimes, the book may fall within a trend, say fantasy. Sometimes it will not, say an art-based mystery.
  
• A lot of novels are going over to graphic novel format.
  
• Editors not only read books. They need to live the YA world: what movies are being watched, what are the kids blogging, text messaging and putting on places like MySpace, what activities are they interested in, so on.