ALA Annual 2024 Conference Takeaways from Amigos Staff

Several Amigos staff attended this year's ALA conference in San Diego, California. Below, two of them share their notable conference activities, takeaways, and insights.

Bea Ramirez, Manager, Member Discount Services and Trans-Amigos Express

• Bea explored new products and services in the exhibit hall, attending sessions and scheduling meetings with Amigos vendor partners, including Oxford University Press, LexisNexis, Morningstar, and FE Technologies. In addition to speaking with established vendors, she began conversations with potential new vendor partners Amigos is exploring for members.

Tracy Byerly, Chief Programs Officer

• Tracy gained insight into issues and challenges being faced by state association leaders when she attended the ALA Chapter Leaders forum, where breakout groups discussed chapter conference challenges such as speakers, dealing with rising AV costs, and decisions to continue or discontinue offering hybrid conference options. The Office for Intellectual Freedom reported on the current state of book challenges and resources available, including chapter responses to censorship. Tracy can apply this information in her work with Amigos Association Management Services clients.
• As one of the invited leaders of the Missouri Libraries 2 Go OverDrive group, Tracy attended the OverDrive breakfast on Saturday. The group received an update on activites and discussed challenges and wins in managing shared collections.
• In a session on technology developments, Tracy heard a panel presentation on AI focused library developments new and in the works.