As difficult as it was for the American Library Association to make the decision to go ahead with its annual convention in Toronto June 19—25, the ALA may have a harder time still convincing exhibitors and librarians to attend the show. The ALA executive board voted unanimously on May 2 to keep the convention in Toronto, following several weeks of debate about moving the show to another city or even canceling the event due to the outbreak of SARS.
Before the SARS outbreak, ALA was expecting about 25,000 people to attend the convention, which is being held in conjunction with the Canadian Library Association. ALA board members are still hopeful about a large turnout and pointed to a preregistration figure of 9,287, compared to 6,783 last year. Because of the uncertainty about the show, the ALA has extended its advance registration deadline to June 13, and cancellations will be accepted until May 19.
The association faces something of a Catch-22 in delivering an attendance of 25,000. Exhibitors are wary about sending a full complement of people if they believe librarian attendance will be off, and librarians may choose not to go if they think exhibitors will not be there in force. The early consensus is that most exhibitors will attend the show, although with scaled-down booths and employee attendance voluntary. Meanwhile, a number of librarians told LJ Academic Newswire last week that they planned to attend the conference.
