Subject: Electronic Postcard #2 Hi everyone, Greetings again from San Francisco, site of the ALA Annual Conference. There is much to take in here -- 1300 vendors in the exhibit halls, and often several meetings or programs that you'd like to attend in progress at the same time. I haven't had a great deal of luck in sitting through an entire program during this conference -- I'll catch part of one, and then when that's over I'll go to another hotel to join another one in progress. I've been concentrating on the technologically oriented programs, and I must say I'm finding fresh inspiration to explore the hot new applications. Some programs were so popular that I actually got turned away from a couple of them (for the first time that I can remember) because the room was too full. Another diversion for your attention is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Pride Celebration Parade, which was held on Sunday. You couldn't help but notice it if you were trying to move between conference venues -- it ran up Market St., separating the Moscone Center to the south from many of the hotels to the north. I didn't really see much of the parade, being a not very tall person myself. But you didn't need to see the actual parade to be entertained, as many of the spectators and other people along the route were spectacularly and outlandishly dressed -- men in drag, men and women in leather and chains, accentuating and even exposing parts of the human body not normally seen on a city street. I took a break between sessions and took the scenic route between the Sheraton Palace and the Holiday Inn Union Square, using the surprisingly uncongested underground BART station to get across the street. Once I reached the Holiday Inn, I attended the "Outsourcing Book Selection and Cataloging in Hawaii: A Critical Examination" program, at which a panel of speakers primarily consisting of librarians in the Hawaii State Public Library System described the problems they experienced under the controversial contract with Baker & Taylor, in which the company decides which materials to send to the libraries. Difficulties in dealing with the library system's administration and complaints about how the ALA and other entities have dealt with the issue were also discussed. The audience was enthusiastically supportive (well, except maybe for the B&T reps sitting quietly in the front) and expressed admiration for a group of professional librarians, working hard and taking risks by opposing their administration in the interest of the quality of the collections and the quality of service to their patrons. In the evening was the reunion dinner of the U of H School of Library and Information Studies at the New Pisa restaurant in the North Beach section of the city. It was a smaller gathering than 5 years ago -- with scheduling and other conflicts precluding the attendance of many people who would otherwise be there. I had a lot of fun, having a chance to meet a lot of interesting people, and seeing a lot of people who I haven't seen in years. Also at the dinner were several current SLIS students who were attending the conference as I did as a student in '92. Ralph Toyama / We now pause Automation Librarian /__ for station University of Hawaii -- Leeward Community College / identification: rtoyama@hawaii.edu http://www2.hawaii.edu/~rtoyama / This is NH6PY/6