Information on Special Events that Require Additional Registration

Information on keynote speakers, the President's Program, and other special events will be added to this page as the events are confirmed.

Information on the Exhibits and Exhibit floor events (including the Technology Showcase) can be found by clicking on the "Visit the Exhibits" link above.

Meetings and Discussion Groups

Over 3000 business and committee meetings, and over 200 discussion groups, featuring a variety of speakers and hot topics, will be held throughout the Midwinter Meeting.

A preliminary listing of discussion group topics and descriptions, along with a preliminary listing of all meetings, is now available. Fully registered attendees may also access the Event Planner to plan their schedules and search the exhibitors' listings.

ALA President’s Program
The Future Of Our Profession: Educating Tomorrow's Librarians

Sunday, January 22, 2006, 3:30-5:30 pm
Gonazlez Convention Center Theatre
Are ALA-accredited LIS programs providing libraries with graduates who have the skills, knowledge and values they need? Is the "L" in LIS receiving the attention it deserves? How can the perceived gulf between LIS educators and library practitioners be lessened?

Join ALA President Michael Gorman as he welcomes keynote speaker Andrei Codrescu for a discussion of librarians and education for librarianship. Mr. Codrescu will open the program with reflections on librarians who have had an impact on his life and career, both in his native Romania and his beloved adopted city of New Orleans. Michael Gorman will explore key issues in library education and invite questions from the audience. Don’t miss this timely program!

Andrei Codrescu is a weekly commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered." An outspoken and inventive novelist, essayist, filmmaker, and poet, he founded and edits the literary journal, Exquisite Corpse. The author of the soon-to-be-released book New Orleans, Mon Amour (pub. date: January 6, 2006), Codrescu has made appearances on the Today Show, the Tonight Show, the David Letterman Show, and Charlie Rose. His commentary and book reviews have been published in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, and Newsday, among others. His travel film, Road Scholar, won a Peabody Award. His best-selling novels include The Blood Countess and Messiah. Mr. Codrescu teaches English at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Forum on Education for Librarianship
Sponsored by ALA President Michael Gorman

Friday, January 20, 2006, 1:00 -5:30 pm
Gonzalez Convention Center Room 006
ALA President Michael Gorman invites library practitioners, educators and students to participate in a half-day forum to explore the big issues in library education: What is the nature of the profession of librarianship and what does the 21st century librarian need to know? How do we translate this understanding of our profession into a meaningful LIS curriculum? What are the implications for ALA accreditation? Presentations on these hot topics in LIS education will be followed by participant discussion and feedback. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard on an issue of vital importance to the future of our profession.

Beginning Friday, October 21, you may register using the online registration form at https://cs.ala.org/forumoneducation. There is no fee to register for this event.

Author Forum

Friday, January 20, 2006, 4:00-5:15 pm
Meet and discuss with three excellent authors Friday afternoon just prior to the exhibits opening. The Author Forum will be happening in the Gonzalez Convention Center Room 217A, Friday, January 15, 4:00 - 5:15 pm. Book signings from all authors will follow on the exhibit floor at the sponsoring booths.

The Color of Law, the debut novel by Mark Gimenez, has all the requisite earmarks of a wonderful legal thriller: brilliant pacing, a conflicted protagonist searching for redemption, provocative social overtones, and a setting in the glittering – and duplicitous – worlds of wealth and politics in contemporary Dallas. Mark Gimenez grew up in Galveston County, Texas. Once a partner at a major Dallas firm, Gimenez gave it up in order to start his own single practice and to write.
Sponsored by Random House, Booth 1360.

Joni Rodgers is the author of four books including Bald in the Land of Big Hair (Harper Collins 2001), a memoir about her cancer treatment and transformation from voiceover artist to critically acclaimed novelist, and No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me, written with Linda Armstrong Kelly. Her newest book is The Secret Sisters, the story of three very different women and the surprising journey each one takes as she reinvents her life after loss. Their personal histories, both complex and simple, unfold in rich detail via the braided narrative. The Secret Sisters delivers laughter and sorrow in equal measures, balancing scenes of life's toughest moments with some of the most touching--and sexiest--you'll ever read. Joni has written for syndication and for Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, and other magazines. A nationally known speaker, she delivers “fall-off-your-chair funny” keynotes for the American Cancer Society, Junior League, Komen Foundation, and others.
Sponsored by HarperCollins, Booth 833.

In The Memory Of Running, by new novelist Ron McLarty, we meet Smithson Ide, a 43-year-old, 279-pound supervisor at a toy factory who spends his days making sure the arms of GI Joe action figures are properly attached and his nights chain smoking, gorging on junk-food, and guzzling screwdrivers like they’re glasses of ice water. McLarty is perhaps best known right now for his appearances on television – including the recurring roles of Judge Wright on Law & Order, sex therapist Dr. Jacob Talley in Sex and the City, Frank Belson in Spenser for Hire, and other roles.
Sponsored by Penguin Group, Booth 826.