Random Ramblings—The Future of the ALA Midwinter Meeting

摘要

I have a long-standing tradition of watching the exhibits shut down at both the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference. I find it fascinating to observe how efficiently the vendors dismantle their booths with only a slightly hidden smile to be done with the conference rigmarole. I also ask vendors about the conference, perhaps because I served on the ALA Conference Committee twenty years ago. I have never encountered such unhappiness as I did after the 2018 Midwinter Conference in Denver. Most were quite willing to express dissatisfaction with the traffic in the exhibit hall. I noticed the relative emptiness of the exhibits myself, not only during this closing time but earlier in the conference. Another indication was how early the vendors started packing up. One vendor told me about several exhibitors who left Sunday night and completely skipped the last day. Many others started dismantling their booths around noon, well before the 2:00 pm official closing, since so few customers were on the floor. Only a few had fully functioning booths at the end.