ALA Midwinter was my first ALA conference. It's not something I normally attend, but given that my cousin lives 4 blocks from the convention center and I could attend at the student rate, I felt like it was an opportunity I needed to seize. All in all, it was a positive experience. Here's some of my thoughts:

• The New Members Roundtable was a little intimidating. I got there late because I went to the wrong building. By the time I arrived, they were breaking because the speaker had not shown up. ALA is pretty much this big, unfriendly mass to me, and this didn't change that impression any.
• I found things to be very esoteric. It was impossible to know what sessions to attend. Some of them were useful, others not so much. The catalog was very confusing. But when I did get to a good meeting, it was worth it. It's nice to be surrounded by very smart people who are doing cutting edge work (other than those I see every day, of course).
• As with most conferences, the most valuable part was meeting people and getting some face time with vendors. I was able to meet the people at CONTENTdm, and even go over to their offices to work on a few problems I had been having. Got a Primo demonstration (which is no longer vaporware). Very productive.
• The most important products and sessions I went to had to deal with open source software. There are some really cool products and services offered in the open source community. Open source ILS systems are starting to come to maturity, and some new ones are on the market. There are vendors in the Linux/Redhat vein that are supporting these systems. There are open source metasearch tools coming online. Lots of libraries are engaged in open source efforts and there is a growing open data movement. This, to me, seems like where the action is. Many people are exploring how to liberate their data from prohibitive proprietary systems.
• I learned I can drink a lot of coffee. For the first time I was able to stand on one corner at a Starbucks and across the street there as another Starbucks two-hundred feet away. Crazy!
• Other highlights: touring the Seattle public library and meeting Grammar Girl from the Grammar Girl podcast.

Will I go back? Probably not. LITA would be a worthwhile organization to be involved in, but I'm not sure I have the resources or time at this point. However, it was nice to get away from work woes for a few days, even if it was to do more work.