The PLA site has a great list of restaurant recommendations, which includes plenty of places to keep people well-fed during the conference, but I am so enthusiastic about the restaurant scene in Philly that I can’t help but supplement the list with some of my local favorites (listed in distance from the Convention Center).

One note about the PLA list: a couple of the restaurants have since closed, including Ted’s Montana Grill and Le Bec Fin. Horizons also is closed and the owners have opened Vedge, which I haven’t been to, but it is a vegan restaurant getting rave reviews.

In Reading Terminal Market (.1 mi):

• DiNic’s
• Beck’s Cajun Cafe
• Dutch Eating Place
• Rib Stand
• By George! Pizza, Pasta & Cheesesteaks
• 12th Street Cantina
• Old City Coffee

Within a mile:

• Rangoon Burmese Restaurant (.2 mi)
• Ray’s Coffee and Tea House (.3 mi)
• Caribou Cafe (.4 mi)
• The Farmers’ Cabinet (.4 mi)
• Vintage Wine Bar (.5 mi)
• Tria (.6 mi)
• Fish (.6 mi)
• Tenth Street Pourhouse (.6 mi)
• Varga Bar (.6 mi)
• Elixr Coffee (.7 mi)
• Good Dog Bar and Restaurant (.8 mi)
• Farmicia (.8 mi)
• Monk’s Cafe (.9 mi)
• The Dandelion Pub (.9 mi)
• Ristorante Panorama (1.0 mi)
• Eulogy Belgian Tavern (1.0 mi)
• Khyber Pass Pub (1.0 mi)

Within 1 to 2 miles:

• C19 (1.1 mi)
• Jet Wine Bar (1.1 mi)
• Rex 1516 (1.1 mi)
• Meritage Restaurant & Wine Bar (1.4)
• Xochitl (1.4 mi)
• Standard Tap (1.6 mi)
• The Sidecar Bar & Grille (1.9 mi)

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask either in the comments or via email.

As usual, I’m pretty happy with the list. There are always one or two films that don’t make the cut that I wish had, but that’s the nature of such lists.

So, in alphabetical order, the list:

• Battle for Brooklyn
• Better This World
• Bonecrusher
• Catfish
• A Film Unfinished
• The Flaw
• Freedom Riders
• Hot Coffee
• Jaffa: The Orange’s Clockwork
• The Labyrinth: The Testimony of Marian Kolodziej
• Mugabe and the White African
• Neshoba: The Price of Freedom
• Price of Sex
• A Small Act
• War, Love, God and Madness

This has been a busy year for the committee. In 2009, we had 46 nominations. We had 42 for 2010 and 55 for the 2011 list. This year, we have 62 nominations, which is great. The more nominations, the stronger the final list in theory.

So far, I have watching 39 of the films and would already have a tough time picking 10-15 of the best. It’s a strong group of films and I can see an argument for most of them being included in a final list. I have created a list to track my progress and scores.

My top ten to date are:

• Battle for Brooklyn
• Better This World
• The Flaw
• Hot Coffee
• Inside Job
• Jaffa: The Orange’s Clockwork
• Nostalgia for Light
• Play Again
• These Amazing Shadows
• Waste Land

Time will tell if any of these make the final list!

Here’s the final list with links to my reviews when available.

• The Art of the Steal
• Blacking Up: Hip-hop’s Remix of Race and Identity
• Budrus
• Food, Inc.
• Garbage Dreams
• Herb & Dorothy
• Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture
• Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women
• The Other Side of Immigration
• Marwencol
• Sin by Silence
• Two Spirits
• Under Our Skin
• A Village Called Versailles
• We Live in Public
• Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives

My complete list of scores is available here.

At the end of the day, our committee was interviewed about the winning titles:

I will be combining the conference with a little bit of vacation so I should return with a stimulated brain and recharged batteries.

Below is my initial schedule.

Managing the Info Pipeline: Evaluating & Implementing New Tools
Saturday, October 23rd
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM

The social web has created new ways to branch out and connect with other people. This can be empowering, but the rapid change can also leave us feeling overwhelmed and lost in a field of information.

How do some people find the time to swim in this rapid current with strong waves?

In this interactive workshop, two social media enthusiast provide solid suggestions and techniques for moving forward with small changes and building on what you already have and are doing.

Whether you’re an old pro on the social web and are feeling entangled by all the new tools developing daily or are having trouble keeping up with information from the tools you already use, the speakers have tips and strategies to keep up and explore new tools to help you grow as a library professional and to improve library services in your environment.

Registration information can be found here.

I also have volunteered to serve for another 2 years on the Notable Videos for Adults Committee and the films we will be reviewing are starting to come in. I really enjoyed being on the committee the past two years even though it’s a big time commitment. For the past two years, I have blogged about most of the movies I viewed (2009 and 2010). I debated whether or not I wanted to blog about the films again this year. My hesitation stems from the fact that I have never been able to keep up with posts for all the movies I watch. But looking back at the posts, I realize that they have been helpful to me at least when the time comes to deliberate about the films and help select a list. And just because I haven’t been able to keep up with the posts in the past doesn’t mean I won’t be able to this year, right?

And, finally, I have been elected as the incoming Vice Chair/Chair Elect for the Video Round Table with my tenure as Vice Chair beginning on July 1. I look forward to serving in this capacity as I have found my involvement with the Round Table these past few years very rewarding and really enjoy working with the other members.

Video Makes the Library Star: Library-Created Visual Media

Sunday, June 27

10:30 am – 12 noon

Mayflower Renaissance – Colonial Room

1127 Connecticut Avenue Northwest

Washington, DC

The program will feature creators of library-related visual media. Librarians who have used their videos for promotion or instruction will share their experiences and discuss things to consider before launching a video production project.

The speakers include:

• Dee Vazquez, Community Engagement and Outreach Officer for the Pikes Peak Library District

• Matt Harp, Digital Library Production Manager, and Mimmo Bonanni, Digital Projects Librarian from Arizona State University Libraries.

• Michael Porter, librarian, presenter, author, practical technology fan, and PEZ collector.

I am quite thrilled with the speakers we have been able to schedule. The work they’ve done on creating their videos is quite impressive and I am looking forward to hearing about their experiences with creating these videos.

I feel very fortune to have had the opportunity to chair the VRT Program Committee and thank the other members:

Steve Brantley, Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Tracy Montri, AV Department Manager at Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
Juliana Nykolaiszyn, Visiting Assistant Professor at Oklahoma Oral History Research Program
Danette Pachtner, Film & Video Librarian at Lilly Library, Duke University