Swag

I just returned from this year's Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) conference.  This year the conference was held in Green Bay, WI and as always is was incredible.  I sat in on a few good sessions which gave me ideas for new things to try at the library.  I actually got to work with a few other librarians to present a session about science for preschoolers (more on that later).  I had a blast meeting up with librarian friends that I haven't seen in ages.  I went to a lunch with a great presentation by an author/illustrator that I love and got him to sign a book for me.  I even attended a program called Librarians Rock, where I got to kick back, listen to a band, and watch some librarians sing in a Librarian Idol contest.  I was at the conference for less than two days and attended only a fraction of the planned events, but it was still such a great experience.

One of the fun things about a library conference like this is that there's always an exhibit hall where library vendors come to set up booths and talk to librarians about their products.  The vendors range from book sellers to architects to consultants to database gurus.  There's always a lot to looks at and plenty of people who want to try to sell you something.  Fortunately for everyone, the vendors always come up with some good ways to get you to approach their booths and get you to talk to them.  Namely, there's always lots of good swag to take with you!

This year I actually made out like a bandit when it came to all of the goodies.  Two factors made this year's swag better than usual:  1) I made it into the exhibit hall during a time when many other librarians were attending other sessions/meetings so I had most vendors' full attention, 2) I also visited on the very last day that vendors would be exhibiting, which made them desperate to unload all of their extra stuff to whoever would take them.  Take a look at all the stuff I came back with:

This year's haul includes:  Four tote bags, three galleys from a small press, one audiobook, a preliminary list of titles from the CCBC's annual Choices list, a whistle/keychain, a pizza cutter, four pens, a BrushBot (plus a kit to make four more), a Superman bookmark, a rubber bracelet, five buttons, and lots of candy.  Not pictured:  Dozens of fliers and pamphlets advertising various products and services, business cards, and a few packages of promotional bookmarks.

That's a lot of great stuff!  I was a tad stingier this year than I was last year when it came to taking the bags and pens, but some of the other items more than made up for the difference.  The audiobook alone was a huge score in terms of monetary value, given to me by an audiobook supplier who just didn't want to take all of his display items home.  I'm also hugely excited about the BrushBots (available for purchase here), which I'm sure will turn into a great program next summer.  Everything else just seems like good things to have around - especially the chocolate.