Last month I was able to volunteer at the annual Texas Library Association Conference that was held here in Austin this year. I learned about the conference from a fellow blogger ~ Stephanie at Stephanie, A History and I am so glad that I did! It was so much fun. Plus who doesn’t like volunteering especially when it involves books. You may not know but I have an addiction to books… the hubby refers to it as hoarding books but I like having my own little library. I also keep book gifts on hand for all of our friends kids birthdays and holidays. I think it is important to encourage reading at every age! I really had a wonderful time volunteering in the Author signing section at TLA ’11. I was able to meet some really great authors and it was fun to see the excitement on the Librarians faces as they got to meet some of theses authors… it was like watching little kids in a candy store. I love it when people get excited over books! There were LOTS of great authors but one author in particular left a great impression on me… Elizabeth Scott. She was by far the sweetest person. I loved the way she talked to everyone that was getting their book signed as if they were her best friend. She took the time to talk and ask questions letting you know that she really cares! She was not just shuffling people through a line. It was very refreshing to see that, unfortunately you don’t see that kind of a sweet, genuine person very much. I have to admit I have not read any of her books… YET but I definitely will and I am sure that I am going to love them! I was really impressed with the conference it was huge and there were a ton of people. I loved the fact that they had a teen day where kids could come and interact the authors and get some ARC’s (advanced reading copy). I was thinking the entire time… WOW if I had done this when I was a kid!! How cool would that have been! There was only one downer while I was there… budget cuts!! While away at the conference some of the librarians lost their jobs… how awful!! I really wish this budget crisis would go away, but I don’t want to get into politics (ugh)! I am just really happy that I came across Stephanie’s blog and found out about TLA ’11! I had a really great time volunteering and learning about some new books coming out! I have a very long list of TBR’s (to be read) now! Next year TLA will be held in Houston, TX if you want to volunteer check out the website and sign up! Here is a pic of all the books I came home with…(well worth volunteering for!!)