Often uneasy with publicity, librarians have handled their new celebrity status with dignity. They stuck to their guns, opposing the USA PATRIOT Act in programs and meetings nationwide - they are much more active in that opposition than they were before Attorney General John Ashcroft attacked them for it. They come to San Diego, January 9 - 14, for the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA), poised to continue the battle against that pernicious law.

There will be heated arguments over whether or not ALA's legal counsel are in conflict because they represent both ALA and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the copyright wars. The lawyers will also be under attack for their recent advice that ALA not allow its Reference and User Services Association to post on the web material criticizing the products of the system vendor Ex Libris.

Attendees will worry about the vulnerability of the Master of Library and Information Studies, and ask, again, why ALA eschews socially responsible investing of its endowment. Some activists will ask ALA to protest the U.S. involvement in Iraq, while others will push for action on behalf of the "independent librarians" jailed in Cuba.

The next steps in the development of ALA's new parallel organization, the Allied Professional Association (APA), will be charted, as some impatiently wait to see if it can sustain the important effort to strengthen librarians' salaries.

These issues and many more will wind their way through the ALA processes in hundreds of committee, board, task force, and other unit meetings.

Most of the issues confronting librarians will come up in one way or another at the meetings of the ALA Council, Executive Board, and, of course, at sessions featuring candidates campaigning for ALA office. To get an idea of the items on ALA's agendas, plan to attend the ALA Council/Executive Board/ Membership Information Session (Sun., Jan. 11, 9 - 10 a.m.) and the ALA-APA Information Session, immediately following (Sun., Jan. 11, 10 - 10:30 a.m.).

Directly after, a Core Values Discussion will continue the unending struggle to figure out just what those "core values" are. Most ALA members agree on what they are, but the task forces and committees attempting to articulate those values in readable prose have failed miserably. As the wise old librarian once said, "The devil is in the details."

The actual meetings, at which action is taken (or not) on ALA's agenda, are open to observers. The ALA Council meets as follows: ALA Council I, Mon., Jan. 12, 10 - 11:15 a.m.; ALA-APA Council I, Tues., Jan. 13, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.; ALA Council II, Tues., Jan. 13, 9:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; ALA Council III, Wed., Jan. 14, 8:30 a.m. - noon.

The ALA Executive Board meets, also in open session, as follows: Session I, Fri., Jan. 9, 1:15 - 4:45 p.m.; Session II, Mon. Jan. 12, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Session III, Wed. Jan. 14, 2 - 5:30 p.m. (the starting time of the last session will depend on when ALA Council III ends).

The two members of the ALA Executive Board who want to be ALA president are Michael Gorman, dean of library services at California State University - Fresno, and Barbara K. Stripling, director of library programs at New Visions for Public Schools, a nonprofit New York City educational reform organization. The two will debate on Monday evening (Jan. 12, 5 - 6 p.m.).

Candidates for ALA treasurer will face off at the same session. They are Erika Linke, associate dean for library services at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Teri Switzer, assistant director for human resources and budget at the Auraria Library in Denver.

A gang of candidates for the ALA Executive Board will share an hour on the issues at their forum earlier on Monday (Jan. 12, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.).

Save Saturday morning (Jan. 11) for the important Legislative Update from the Legislation Committee and ALA's Washington Office (ALA WASH). First ALA WASH staff will demonstrate their fine new Legislative Action Center. It lets you click from their homepage (www.alawash.org) to your zip code, where you'll find who represents you in Washington, what bills of interest to libraries they support or sponsor, and how to contact them. It also provides a listing of local media contacts. The demonstration starts the day (8:30 - 10:15 a.m.).

The three-part update follows (10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.). U.S. Superintendent of Documents Judy Russell will take librarians through the changes Public Printer Bruce James has initiated at the U.S. Government Printing Office. Then the Department of Education's Maggie McNeeley will detail how school media centers can use the new federal program to improve literacy through school libraries. The third part of the update features Daniel Rung of Groekster, Adam Eisgrau of P to P United, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Fred Von Lohman on the crucial topic of file sharing.

The ALA President's Program, "Living in a Post-CIPA World" (Sun., Jan. 11, 3 - 5 p.m.), should help librarians decide whether they should comply with the CIPA decision or if it is cheaper and better to forgo the E-rate and federal technology funds. ALA president Carla D. Hayden and a panel of distinguished speakers from the private and public sectors will discuss the impact this far-reaching Supreme Court decision has had on libraries and information and its implications for equity in the Information Age. The panelists will examine issues relating to compliance, library/industry relations, possible legal challenges, future legislative actions, and public policy concerns. Don't miss this timely and informative program.

The ALA Midwinter Exhibition, housed in the San Diego Convention Center, is packed with demonstrations and free samples from over 425 vendors. At the All Conference Reception, replete with an opening ceremony, entertainment, and refreshments, conferencegoers can attend the exhibits on Friday night (Jan. 9, 5:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.). A Basket Raffle promising "exciting gift baskets" will be part of the night's attractions. Regular exhibit hours include Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 10 - 11, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Monday, Jan. 12, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

This year the Technology Showcase consists of free concurrent programs featuring new products and demonstrations on the exhibit floor. It starts at 10:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 12, and runs until 1 p.m.

The Adult Literature Spotlight, new to the Midwinter exhibit floor this year, promises a Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10, 2 - 4 p.m.) of live adult authors and free galleys of some of their books. Participants will be autographing books at publisher booths. Check your program for a list of participating authors and publishers.

On Friday (Jan. 9, 4 - 5:15 p.m.), just before the exhibits open, the Author Forum will feature two authors of growing significance. Bertice Berry, the author of the novels Redemption Song (Doubleday, 2000) and The Haunting of Hip Hop (Doubleday, 2001), plus four nonfiction works, is billed as "an inspirational speaker and former stand-up comedian." Random House just released Berry's Jim & Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy in paperback and sponsored the author's trip to Midwinter. Mexican author Ángeles Mastretta, originally a journalist, published La Pájara Pinta (Colorful Bird), a collection of her poetry, in 1975 and her first novel, Arráncame La Vida (Tear This Heart Out), a decade later, winning the Mazatlan Prize for Literature. Her recent Women with Big Eyes is autobiographical. Sponsored by her publisher, Penguin Putnam, Mastretta will read from her books. Both authors will take questions.

Sponsored by ReferenceUSA, the annual Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) Author Brunch (Sat. Jan. 10, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., $45) features renowned poet, activist, and scholar Nikki Giovanni; novelist T.C. Boyle; former teacher and author of Educating Esmé, Esmé Raji Codell; and author and world recordholder for swimming the English Channel, Lynne Cox. A book signing will follow at which some free books will be given away. The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1969 - 1983 (HarperCollins) was recently published, as was Boyle's Drop City (Penguin), Codell's How To Get Your Child To Love Reading (Algonquin), and Cox's Swimming to Antarctica (Random). FOLUSA will present the 2004 Kingsolver Award during the program.

FOLUSA's Using Books To Inspire Young Readers To Learn, Grow, and Live Large features authors Lynda Madaras (Ready, Set, Grow! and What's Happening to My Body?, Newmarket Pr.) and Ellen Libretto (The General Slocum Steamboat Fire of 1904, Rosen), plus Beth Sutinis, senior editor for children's books, DK Publishing. They will discuss it all on Monday afternoon (Jan. 12, 2 - 4 p.m.). Sutinis will explain the partnership between DK and Google^TM to create e.encyclopedia, which combines a quality reference book with authoritative, useful web pages.

A free FOLUSA Nuts and Bolts workshop (Fri., Jan. 9, 1 - 5 p.m.), where library Friends, volunteers, and staff share best practices and hear experts on advocacy, library foundations, fundraising, marketing, and strategic planning, will be moderated by FOLUSA board members.

There's lots more to do, including exploring the beautiful city of San Diego. See you there!