Attendance Down but Discussions Lively at ALA Midwinter Meeting

摘要

Despite announcing reasonable pre-event registration numbers, the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Denver took a hit in attendance. With the economic downturn taking its toll on travel budgets and a location lacking good walk-in traffic, the event tallied 7,905 registrants and 2,315 exhibitors, down from 10,533 registrants and 3,068 exhibitors in Philadelphia in 2008. The traffic in the exhibit hall felt noticeably thinner than usual, but ALA representatives didn't seem unduly alarmed, given the circumstances and lower expectations.rnThe weather wasn't very cooperative either. There were snow flurries on several days, and blustery, cold conditions often made the hike between hotels and the conference center a dreaded task. When the timing and location worked out so that attendees could take the buses generously supplied by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, they were appreciated.