Midwinter ALA: Where You Want To Be

4 min read

Posted Jan. 3, 2016

By Tina Creguer

ALA Midwinter takes place in Boston this year.  And, if the past is any indication, that means cold weather, high attendance, and energetic participation.  As you prepare for your trip, we have some thoughts about getting where you need to be and how to enjoy being there.

While you’re there – explore partnerships

Take the time to learn about new partnerships and developments that can support your library’s goals.  As a Google for Education partner, Gale now brings both innovative features and authoritative content into your patron’s workflow. Stop by our booth (#1405) to learn how users can sign in to share, download, and save your Gale content to their Google Drive and Docs applications using their Google credentials (including Gmail) without having to remember a separate password.  It’s the promise of connectivity fully realized.

If you’d like to learn more about innovative ways to analyze usage and understand the impact of discovery on retrieval stats, join the Gale Technical Solutions Team for a roundtable on usage.  You’ll learn how outside systems affect usage and explore the future of usage—both collection and reporting.  It takes place:

Roundtable on Usage
Saturday, January 9
3:00-4:00 pm
Marina Ballroom III
Westin Boston Waterfront

To reserve a seat at this special event, contact Scott Steward.

Where to go – great sights and sounds

All work and no play?  Nah.  That’s no way to do it.  Check out these places to visit while in Boston:

Faneuil Hall Marketplace  In the heart of downtown Boston, and along the Freedom Trial, is Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The origianl Faneuil Hall dates back to 1742 and the festival marketplace now encompasses the North Market, Quincy Market and South Market buildings.

Cheers  Fans of the television show won’t be able to resist popping into the bar shown in the opening credits of this ’90s sitcom. Formerly Bull & Finch pub, it has since been renamed to the more tourist-friendly Cheers. Just be prepared to hear more than one rendition of the Cheers them song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.”

The ICA Opened in December 2006, the Institute of Contemporary Art in South Boston is arguably more interesting for its architecture than its art. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the museum is all glass and sharp angles, a stark departure from the city’s presiding aesthetic

Boston Public Library Situated on one side of the impressively imposing Copley Square (which also houses Trinity Church) the library was designed by the New York firm McKim, Mead, and White and opened in 1895 (a Philip Johnson-designed addition was added in 1972). Noteworthy features include several vast murals by prominent artists, including a series by John Singer Sargent, and an Italian Renaissance-inspired interior courtyard with bubbling fountains and arched pathways.

And here are some special events in town during your stay:

Cabaret circus

January 7 – 16, 2016

3.3 miles NW

Boston Circus Guild performs juggling, high-energy hooping, burlesque, and aerial performances with a gangster theme to jazz and electro swing music at Speakeasy Circus at Oberon.

Celtic music festival

January 8 – 10, 2016

4 miles NW

Boston’s Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) features musicians, singers, and dancers from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic traditions in Cambridge.

Drama of race & religion

January 8 – Feb. 7, 2016

2.2 miles SW

Disgraced is a Pulitzer Prize winning play “about the stories we tell our friends, the secrets we tell our lovers, and the lies we tell ourselves” at Boston University Theatre.  Tickets $38.

Winter celebration

January 9, 2016

8.5 miles west

Twelfth Night Celebration has carol singing, sword dancing, Father Christmas, a family dance, bean    cake, hot cider, and a traditional mummer’s play performed on 12th night in England for centuries, in Watertown. Sells out.

Motorcycle show

January 9 – 10, 2016

See motorcycles, merchandise, exhibitors, and entertainers at the Northeast Motorcycle Expo at Seaport World Trade Center.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

January 9 – 30, 2016

5.6 miles south

Have a rollicking good time when Imaginary Beasts presents its 2016Winter Panto play full of dance, slapstick humor, and music at the Black Box Theatre.  Tickets $10.

Getting from here to there – in style

At Gale, our goal is always to help our customers and partners get to where they need to be.  And in Boston, that means we’re sticking with our tradition of sponsoring the ALA shuttle buses.  Hop on!  We’ll be pleased to help you move ahead.

For more information about Gale’s events and offerings at Midwinter ALA, contact your Gale education consultant. We hope to see you at the Gale Booth #1405.

Safe travels!Nike

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