Albuquerque in 2010
As you know from the many posts here, the 2008 Ya Lit Symposium was awesome and amazing. The information, the contacts, the networking – it was a fabulous time, one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended. The next one, in 2010, will be November 5-7 in Albuquerque.
Why mention this now? Because it’s never too soon to budget. I know what you may be thinking…. “I want to go, but my library will never pay for it.”
One thing that impressed me at the 2008 Symposium is how many librarians and YA lit lovers came on their own dime. They paid for the registration, including preconference and genre lunch. They paid for their own airfare or drove (I spoke with someone who drove sixteen hours!) They stayed with relatives and shared hotel rooms to save money.
I want to go in 2010; I want to go whether or not my library will be able to send me. As I mentioned above, the 2008 Symposium was so valuable I see this as a “must attend” event. I figure, starting now, if I put aside between ten and fifteen dollars a week, by the time the 2010 Symposium rolls around, I’ll have enough saved to go.
Will I be seeing you in Albuquerque?
Hopefully!! I had a great time in Nashville also. I met some really wonderful librarians and heard some really amazing authors speak.
It was an amazing conference! I highly recommend going to anyone who is considering Albuquerque in 2010. I was one of the people who went totally on their own dime (sharing a hotel room with a librarian I met on the symposium wiki helped a lot!), and I have to say it was completely worth it!
the yalsa y.a. lit symposium in nashville was a transformative event in my professional growth as a y.a. librarian. maybe that’s just because travel broadens the mind in general, but being around so many awesome y.a. librarians from all over america was inspiring! i didn’t even mind charging the entire trip on my visa, sleeping on my college gal pal’s couch (with her cat, to whom i was violently allergic) and eating instant oatmeal all weekend. it was so worth it! andi can’t wait for the next one! so, yes yes yes! you will see me in albuquerque in ‘010! =)