NASIG 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky

The North American Serials Interest Group, or NASIG, is by far my favorite professional organization. Its one thousand members (plus or minus) make it far less unwieldy than, say, the American Library Association with its 65,000+ members. Of course, not nearly that many members attend the annual ALA conference. But at an attendance of 22-24,000 librarians, ALA is still a whole lot more complex than NASIG.

But it’s not just the size of NASIG or of its conferences that I appreciate. The concerns of the organization are so relevant to my job, and are reflected in the excellent programs of the conference.

Not only that, but the conferences are a whole lot of fun! The longer I’m involved in NASIG, the more people I meet and the more friends I make. That, in itself, makes attendance at the conference feel a little like a reunion. Couple that with the worthwhile programs, and going to NASIG feels more like a vacation than work!

Often, tours of the conference city are offered. This is a nice benefit. So often, I go to an interesting city for a conference and see little beyond the convention center, my hotel room, and maybe a few good restaurants. Some of these photos were taken on my tour of Louisville.

Barge traffic on the Ohio River.

Beautiful restored old buildings in downtown Louisville, near the Michael Graves-designed Humana Building.

Tree guards in front of old buildings designate two things. First is that it is one of the many "cast iron buildings" in downtown. Second, the tree guard (all designed by local artists) indicates the nature of the original business establishment. In this example, the original merchant in this building was a cobbler.

Main Street in Louisville.

The facades of these old buildings have been saved and will be used as the new entrance to the existing Muhammand Ali Museum (one block behind).

Cool wrought iron door handles at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft.

According to the guide, one of the best examples of cast iron architecture in the U.S.

The Louisville Slugger Museum. Next door is a plate glass company. Notice the faux baseball going through a faux window?

Our tour guide in front of a statue of Louis the XVI, for whom the city was named.

Louisville City Hall, completed in 1873.

Sunset over Corn Island and the Ohio River.

NASIGers enjoying a river cruise.

The city of Louisville from the Indiana side of the Ohio River.

Alice Rhoades performs for a full house during the Open Mic event.

Eleanor, Teresa and Susan sing along.

Blythe plays flute and Katy tries to lead the sing along.

Four Chinese-American librarians beautifully sing a traditional Chinese song. I hope they do more next year!