Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend and participate at the Reforma National Conference III in El Paso, Texas. It was a wonderful venue to hear folks present on issues relative to libraries serving the Latino and Spanish-speaker users; reaching out to the Latino community of library non-users; and other topics that would help attendees do a better job of serving this growing population in our country.

Besides attending programs and presenting programs, I was able to spend time with longtime Reforma friends and meet new friends. And, the fiesta that culminated the conference — a delicious banquet and dancing (!) until midnight to a wonderful band — was so much fun! If that wasn’t enough, I am reminded of my college days when we ended any party with a good bowl of menudo…only this time, we got back on the streets of El Paso on a quest for a delicious bowl on menudo. And, El Paso did not let us down on that point either.

But, back to my original purpose here. ALA is a strong proponent of these specialized national conferences offered by its divisions and affiliates. I plan to attend the ACRL National conference and the AASL national conference next year. I attended my second PLA conference this past last spring.

The beauty of these conferences is that you have the time to attend programs rather than run from meeting to meeting. If you are unable to attend ALA’s Annual conference, please consider attending these conferences. They are tailored to the interest of library staff who represent that specialized area. If you are able to attend both, even better.

You can check on the ALA website to find out the schedule of these various upcoming conferences.

CAMILA

]]> http://camilaalire.wordpress.com/2008/10/05/on-the-streets-of-el-paso/feed/ 0 Camila