ALA Annual Conference To Merge with BEA Show? ALA Said To Be In Talks with Reed (Updated)

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By Norman Oder Sep 7, 2010

Update 4:38 pm: American Library Association Executive Director Keith Fiels tells AL Inside Scoop: "ALA is most definitely not selling its trade show to Reed." He did say that "BEA and ALA have been talking about ways in which we might work more closely together in the future. Discussions are ongoing; we'll let everyone know if and when we have anything to report."

For years, there have been rumbles in the library world regarding a potential link up with BookExpo America (BEA), the annual trade show for the publishing world.

Now, reports Publishers Weekly, the American Library Association (ALA), is in talks with Reed Exhibitions, BEA's parent, about running the Annual Conference, usually held in June, and the Midwinter Meeting, held in January-and combining the summer event with the BEA show.

Presumably, the size of such a combined event would limit the number of potential host cities, given that the number of attendees could be 40,000, or more. Last year, BEA attracted 21,919 industry professional attendees, and 27,211 total visitors. The ALA Annual Conference figure was 26,201.

(Publishers Weekly and Library Journal were until earlier this year part of Reed Business Information, a corporate cousin of Reed Exhibitions. PW is now owned by PWxyz; LJ is owned by Media Source, Inc.)

Start in 2012?
Reports PW, which apparently drew on sources in the book industry, "The process is far enough along that Reed has talked to a number of the major trade houses about the prospect and about the idea of combining BEA with the ALA annual meeting."

Next year, however, the ALA Annual Conference is scheduled for six days in New Orleans in late June, while BEA is scheduled for three days, a month earlier, in New York City. So, according to PW, "Reed is believed to favor locating BEA and the ALA annual meeting in 2012 in Chicago, creating in effect two shows under one roof." ALA's Midwinter Meeting would still be held as planned, in San Diego in January.

PW got confirmation of discussions from the principals, but no more. LJ has contacted three ALA officials; we'll update this article if they have any comment.

Implications
The BEA features a book-centric show floor and far fewer panels or business meetings. Librarians have become an increasingly important presence as book buyers.

The ALA Annual Conference is a mix of ALA business, panels, program, and trade show. The biggest exhibitors on the ALA show floor have long been vendors of library equipment, such as automation systems, and library-focused products, such as databases.

The mainstream publishing houses, as well as smaller ones, have expanded in their presence, acknowledging the importance of libraries as a market. Indeed, at the most recent ALA Annual Conference, in Washington, DC, this past June, publishers sent a significant number of high-profile authors.

That said, PW reports that "New York houses appear cool to the idea," suggesting that the publishers understandably prefer a trade show focused on their needs, even if it would save them a second conference.

However, the increasing pressure on organizations like BEA and ALA to run successful shows may be the impetus to shave costs via the merger of the two shows.

Would such a merger be good for librarians, who would see the uniqueness of the ALA event diluted? Expect debate as more details emerge.

Reader Comments (8)

In principle, this is an excellent idea. The article states: Presumably, the size of such a combined event would limit the number of potential host cities, given that the number of attendees could be 40,000, or more. Last year, BEA attracted . . . 27,211 total visitors. The ALA Annual Conference figure was 26,201." Surely there is considerable overlap in the counts from the two respective gatherings. ALA offers an enormous numbers of sessions and meetings, many of which might interest traditional BEA attendees. However, many of us miss too many meetings/sessions already in order to get time in the vast ALA exhibits. To accommodate the increase in exhibitors stemming from joint BEA participation, I hope that ALA will extend to hours of the exhibits and offer longer days or extend the number of days the exhibits are open.

Posted by Donna Longo DiMichele on September 7, 2010 04:36:33PM

Combining the two conferences is a good way to save money, but along with Donna I believe the exhibit hall would need to be open longer - maybe with dedicated times for each group. I would also hate for any combined conference to only be located in NYC. Part of the fun of a conference is seeing new places.

Posted by Marge Shaffer on September 7, 2010 06:11:26PM

As an exhibitor I am selfishly in favor of a combined show. There would be significant savings and I believe attendence would be stronger because people won't be inclined to skip one show in favor of the other. I'm thrilled to hear people are concerned with getting enough time on the floor because the show floor would be considerably bigger. There is no way to get around the space limitations though so you may be stuck with a few major cities like NY, Chicago, Vegas, etc.. I just hope they don't load ALA events in one part of the show and BEA at the other end. It should be a nice combined show.

Posted by John Martucci on September 10, 2010 09:03:14AM

The ALA conference is already WAY too big. I see no advantage to ALA members if they combined the conferences, and I see so many disadvantages that I would probably not attend. Many of us longtime ALA members already feel that the organization no longer meets our needs, and this would be just one more example of ALA serving itself rather than us.

Posted by Steve on September 10, 2010 04:26:48PM