News

The librarians are coming to party

If you see a group of wild revelers in Boston this weekend, it’s probably just the librarians.

The American Library Association will host its Midwinter Meeting at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from Friday to Tuesday. The official event will have about 10,000 librarians, publishers, and authors checking out talks, books, and products in the exhibition space, but off-hours it’s all about the parties. Publishers will throw soirees around town for VIP visitors. Venues include Top of the Hub, where Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing will gather late Friday night, and Fenway Park’s EMC Club, where Somerville-based Candlewick Press will host its weekend soiree.

“We’re great at celebrating. There are some great parties,” ALA president Sari Feldman told us, adding with a laugh, of her crew of librarians, “That image of the shy, withdrawn, quiet individual is changing. We’re kind of noisy.”

Feldman said that as ALA president, she’ll be more focused on the official conference and its VIP speakers, who include Chelsea Clinton, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, and local author Andre Dubus III. Feldman said of “Townie” author Dubus, “I’ll get to meet him, so I’m super excited about that.”