The highlights of the February VLA Council Meeting held at Twin Hickory Library in Henrico County were:
• VLA ended the year with a surplus in their treasury.
• Advertising for current Virginia Librarian was sold out.
• Membership is strong – 153 new members as of year end
• VLA Paraprofessional Forum will be held May 19-21 at the Holiday Inn Koger center in Richmond; programs and registration will soon be available from the VLA web site.
• VLA Annual Conference will take place a month earlier than in the past; it is September 25-27 at the Williamsburg Hotel and Conference Center.
o Two new types of programs will be offered this year adapted from ALA:
1. "An unconference is a participant-guided experience that harnesses the unstructured conversations people usually have between conference sessions into the conference itself. Unlike most conferences where talking heads and group leaders decide what is important, unconferences are organized by the crowd. Unconferences are about sharing the knowledge and passion we have for our profession and taking what we learn into the world to make a difference. Everyone has something to share. Everyone has something to learn. We can all change the world."
2. "Battledecks is not for the faint of heart. It is a nerve-wracking event where those competing must create a coherent presentation from a deck of slides that they have never seen before. This is truly the perfect way to end your conference experience as these courageous individuals compete for the glory of being crowned the next champ."
