CHICAGO - Over 150 continuing education programs and talk tables will be offered during the Public Library Association's (PLA) 11th National Conference, "PLA 2006," to be held March 21-25, 2006, in Boston.
Utilizing PLA's educational track system, conference-goers will be able to build schedules tailored to their specific information needs. Program tracks cover eight areas of specialization: administration/leadership; collections/tech services; facilities; marketing; serving adults; serving youth; staffing; and technology. Talk tables on many subjects also are planned for each time slot.
Preconference programs on: the library as community partner; early literacy; cultural programming; organizing and staffing libraries effectively; managing building projects; the fantasy genre; and readers' advisory for history are scheduled to be held immediately preceding the conference.
In addition to these continuing education programs, the conference will feature nearly 800 exhibits booths and a number of special exhibit events including an opening reception and coffee breaks scheduled throughout the conference.
A number of special author events are scheduled for the conference including:
Preconference Luncheon (Tuesday, March 21, 2006) featuring Anna Deavere Smith
Opening General Session (Wednesday, March 22, 2006) featuring Linda Ellerbee. Support provided by Highsmith, Inc. for this event.
Book Buzz (Wednesday, March 22, 2006) featuring Nancy Pearl
Author Luncheons (Thursday, March 23, and Friday, March 24) featuring Elie Wiesel (support provided by Farrar, Straus & Giroux for Wiesel luncheon) and Jon Scieszka (support provided by Penguin Group USA for Scieszka luncheon) with more authors to be announced.
Beantown Banquet, sponsored by Audio Publishers Association, (Thursday, March 23, 2006) featuring Julia Spencer-Fleming, Clive Brill, and Joe Finder.
Closing Session (Saturday, March 25, 2006) with keynote speaker to be announced.
The conference also will feature several social events including a New Member Orientation/Reception scheduled for Wednesday, March, 22, 2006, at 6 p.m. and an all conference reception slated for Friday evening of the conference.
Visit www.placonference.org to register for the conference, to reserve housing, or to see more information.