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The theme "Culture Keepers III: Making Global Connections" provided both programmatic cohesion and a professional agenda for the Third National Conference of African American Librarians (NCAAL), which took place July 31-August 3 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In fact, alliances between librarians-in personal, social, cultural, educational, religious, and corporate environmentsand service to worldwide black diaspora communities-from familial and neighborhood to national and global-created a unifying thread in the quilt of professional concerns.
In keeping with the maturity of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the 27-year-old ALA affiliate that sponsored the conference, papers and programs encompassed a wide range of theoretical and practical issues: changing demographics; recognition of underserved communities; cultural relevance; "information apartheid"; training, hiring, and retention of underrepresented professionals; socially conscious activism; practical implementation of outreach programs; and professional-progress measurement.
The conference attracted 1,102 participants. By contrast, "Culture Keepers II," held in 1994 in Milwaukee, drew 1,003 registrants (AL, Sept. 1994, p. 712-713), and 951 participants attended the inaugural conference, held in Columbus, Ohio, in 1992 (AL, Nov. 1992, p. 832-835).
These increasing figures illustrate the continuing need and desire for independent meetings of special-interest professionals and vendors who serve niche markets. Further evidence was provided by the presence of first-time NCAAL attendee Patricia M. Wong of the Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library, who was seeking insight to organize the first national conference of AsianAmerican librarians.
William H. Gray III, president and chief executive officer of the College Fund/United Negro College Fund, kicked off the conference with a moving keynote speech at the Opening Session, which included a stirring defense of affirmative action.
Bell does double duty
The hit of the conference was the standing-room-only luncheon with Derrick Bell, author most recently of Gospel...