PHILADELPHIA — More than 14,000 librarians, exhibitors and others attended the American Library Association’s annual conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center here June 26-30. This included over 700 authors and 165 participants from abroad. Some 190 educational programs were organized at the conference.
Pathfinder Press had an attractive booth staffed by volunteers that drew the attention of anyone interested in books on the crucial political questions of the day for working people. At one point a woman, who works as a sound engineer for the convention center, came over to see what was drawing the animated crowds. She looked over the large display of books and asked what Pathfinder was all about. As she got the picture, she said she understood why the booth attracted so many people.
Some 90 librarians and others signed up to get more information on Pathfinder titles or to have a Pathfinder sales representative contact them to set up a time to discuss an order. A total of 118 books, including 60 different titles, were sold. Some of the best sellers were 10 copies of Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? Class, Privilege, and Learning Under Capitalism by Socialist Workers Party National Secretary Jack Barnes; eight copies of both The Fight Against Jew-Hatred and Pogroms in the Imperialist Epoch: Stakes for the International Working Class and Women’s Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle; and six copies of Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It by Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
A postal worker who came by was interested in Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power by Barnes. After discussing it, he got a copy, one of four sold during the conference, and subscribed to the Militant. Eight subscriptions were sold during the conference as well as 26 single issues.
Another convention center worker who came by the table was Nick Frasca, a member of Steamfitters Local 420. “It would be valuable for guys going through their apprenticeships to learn about real labor history, like what you have here in these books,” he said. “They didn’t teach us about this history in school.”
He bought seven books, including The Fight Against Jew-Hatred and Pogroms in the Imperialist Epoch; The Low Point of Labor Resistance Is Behind Us: The Socialist Workers Party Looks Forward; and The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs.
Unlike the past few years, there was no program organized on Moscow’s war against Ukraine or on Israel’s fight for its right to exist as a refuge from pogroms and Jew-hatred. There were a number of programs on the threat of book banning. But, as has been the case in recent years, these programs focused almost entirely on attacks by conservative groups, omitting any mention of the more far-reaching bans being imposed by liberals as part of their “cancel culture.”
This year’s conference, however, was marked by many discussions on current government attacks on immigrant workers and students. One program, titled “Strengthening Partnerships with Immigrant Communities,” attracted over 200 participants. Discussions on this issue were prominent at the Pathfinder booth. A number of participants were interested in Pathfinder’s Spanish-language titles, looking to expand their libraries to better serve growing immigrant communities in their areas.
While the conference took place, important labor battles were occurring here. Some 9,000 AFSCME District Council 33 members were on strike. And a group of hotel workers, members of the UNITE HERE Local 274, came to the conference, inviting participants to join an informational picket line June 29. A lively contingent of librarians went to show their solidarity.
Next year’s conference is set for Chicago June 25-29.