Paul Doiron

I visited my first American Library Association conference in Boston to sign Advanced Reader Copies (in other words I went to the ALA to autograph ARCs).

The only glitch I encountered was that I was scheduled to sign in the Macmillan booth while Al Gore was giving a speech in the ballroom upstairs. (Thanks a lot, Mr. Vice President.) Nevertheless I managed to sign 50 ARCs in 50 hyperactive minutes.

I didn't get to see much of the event beyond touring the exhibition hall. But I spoke to several librarians about how their profession continues to change as the computer eclipses the printed book and more and more of our conversations about reading take place online. There's no question we're living through bibliotechnical times. You do wonder what the future of libraries will be as e-books proliferate.

The librarians I met were, without exception, interested and interesting people. If there's hope for libraries to remain important community centers and repositories of learning, I trust these bright minds to find the way. We authors are counting on them.