Welcome to the 2006 "ClassiCAL Celebration of Libraries and Literature"!

We, the conference committee, are so excited to have you here!!

The conference situation room is where the co-chairs and committee live during the conference making all of the decisions that will assist in the successful flow of the conference. Please stop by the Frisco room if you have questions or need any help. Also, all of the committee members are wearing yellow flashing notes and they would be glad to help. Stop them to just say Hi also as we all love to meet new people.

The pre-conference sessions have been really wonderful with participants speaking very highly of the learning opportunities. Way to go presenters!

Seeing many friends from around the state has been such a joy and it is one of the many wonderful aspects of the conference. It is always a celebration whenever friends get together and when you have a chance to share ideas for work improvements it is an added benefit.

Enjoy your time - talk to you soon!!!

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Latest events in the conference office:

Conference staff were asked if we had a pen someone could use. Heidi asked, "For good?" The response was, "For evil." Needless to say, we gave him a pen.

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7:17 PM on Thursday evening. Whew! So far, mostly good. :-)

Core conference crew is still "tight" and smiling at each other and everybody else, always a good sign. The various unexpected surprises today (oh, wait ... is that an oxymoron..?) seem to have been solved satisfactorily, except for the cold weather moving into the Metro area that also tended to blow into the hotel hallways when the vendors unloaded their deliveries into the Exhibit Hall, necessarily nearly all the time nearly all day. Brrrrisk! (Reminder: Be sure to visit the vendors!!! They're the BEST and we couldn't do it nearly as well without 'em.)

The missing keynote speaker was found (YEA!) and was the highlight of the day with his stories (The Dog Poop Initiative) and incredible energy. Oh, and did I mention the decadent chocolate fantasia hosted by AskColorado during lunch? Yummy!, as well as the fab "Suite" Reception that introduced the new Library Song. Great comments so far about the sessions, so that's also going well so far.

1 day down and 2 1/2 days to go, and the conference is just starting to crank up. From my room, I can hear the cheerful voices and laughter of my fellow librarians floating up from the Atrium networking area. What am I doing sitting here when I could be down there?! Gotta run ... special showing of "Charlotte's Web" starts in 25 minutes, so I'd best be finding my jacket. See y'all around somewhere tomorrow.

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11:11 PM on Friday evening.

Alright! The temp outside is more-or-less back to normal fall temps and the dock doors are mostly left shut, and that means the wind-tunnel effect of yesterday's frigid experience is mostly over. Hooray. We're seeing that some of the efforts to provide LOTS of workshop opportunities in response to popular requests may have been too much for the space available. Ah, well ... live and learn, and the actual sessions are receiving rave reviews, so that's a good thing.

Networking highlights for today ... coffee break time in the Exhibitor hall with the very happy exhibitors (!!), and tonight's wine-tasting dinner with Dr. Simpson (a very nice guy with the funniest and nicest wife ever). And the built-in exercise program (running, literally on some occasions, from the pre-con lobby down to the Trade Center end of the conference center) is working well ... I've been eating everything in sight and clothes are still fitting. :-) Cheers ...

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9:39 PM on Saturday evening.

Gosh - the conference is almost over. Where did the week go????

Brent Hartinger ... fabulous, funny, insightful, someone to watch and learn more about. Great speaker provided by the IFC!

Awards luncheon ... what incredible people we have in the Colorado library community! Omigosh ... it's an honor to know these icons. This is probably my favorite event of every conference. :-)

Oh, HEY ... ICE CREAM BREAK sponsored by CAL ... YEA!!!

Brrr ... the dock doors are open again - our fabulous vendors are going home.

IFC reception with Jello Biafra and Julie's parents - a very lovely event, and certainly an interesting one.

The BIG BOOK BASH .... wow! Have credit card, will buy.

The Hollywood Librarian with the incomparable Ann Seidl was a very inspiring experience. Ann is doing an amazing job of documenting the world of librarians - the clips were wonderful, and we can't wait until the premier at ALA next summer. Who's your favorite cinematic librarian???!

Time to start tearing down where possible in preparation for departure after THE Sweet Potato Queen Her Own Self on Sunday. Kudos to the incredible crew and multiple committees and myriad volunteers who made this happen, and .... most especially ... the incredible and irreplaceable Kathleen Noland for keeping everyone together and everything moving forward on schedule and in its proper order. She's amazing.