Hi all -- I agree with Larry about the overall excellence of the conference, and especially the use of the large ballroom for small meetings and exhibits, and even the membership luncheon.
His e-mail prompts me to ask, however, was there a conference evaluation form that I missed, or will there be one online?
Best to all,
Suzy
Mary Frechette
Fine Arts Dept.
St. Louis Public Library
1301 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
-----Original Message-----
From: ART LIBRARIES SOCIETY DISCUSSION LIST
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Laurence McGilvery
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 12:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Boston? Wonderful!
Dear Friends,
Thanks to all for an excellent experience in Boston. It was an
outstanding conference for me personally and as an exhibitor.
Although I could attend no sessions, the evenings were lively, thanks
in large part to the generosity of both Peter Bernett and his staff
and Elmar Seibel of Ars Libri and his wife and staff.
After a rocky start in the weeks before, apparently due to the
management company's misunderstanding of ARLIS exhibits, everything
went very, very well. Richard McElroy and all the other members of
the conference committees deserve all the credit we can give them.
In at least one respect, Boston should serve as a model for future
conferences. Traffic in ARLIS exhibits always has been a problem: the
typical pattern has been bursts of large crowds -- often the product
of a distinctly artificial event -- followed by bleak stretches of
nothing for hours. Last weekend was different. The flow of visitors
to and through the exhibits was both more even and -- I thought --
more relaxed than in other years. A contributing factor certainly was
the decision to use the far half of the hall for the large meetings
and, more importantly, for all the many small meetings.
Historically, ARLIS conference coordinators have had difficulty
finding hotels that will take us because of our need to accommodate
so many different groups. The decision to scatter the small interest
groups, chapter meetings, and the like around that large area instead
of booking them in separate, dedicated rooms, seems to me the perfect
solution. From my vantage point during those hours, I could see five
or six people gathered around one table, fifteen or twenty at
another, a dozen at still a third. Each of these groups was quietly
intent on its own concerns, but all of them together were
contributing to the same close community. Simultaneously, other
people came and went en route to meetings, and some even stopped in
the exhibits to browse. The tableau struck me as a perfect metaphor
for ARLIS as a whole.
Even if this specific arrangement is not possible in every setting,
it is a good lesson for the future.
See you in Minneapolis.
Cordially,
Larry
--
Laurence McGilvery
Member, Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America
Post Office Box 852
La Jolla, California 92038
USA
(858) 454-4443
[log in to unmask]
www.mcgilvery.com
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__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
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Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
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ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
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