New Orleans Attendance Tops 20,000

Many a 2011 ALA Annual Conference program drew overflow crowds, such as this panel about e-books.

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As tabulated Monday, June 27, attendance figures for ALA in New Orleans totaled 20,186, which exceeded projections. Advance registration totaled 11,273 and on-site came to 3,696. Exhibit personnel totaled 5,217.

Registration for an Annual Conference in New Orleans is never expected to be as large as Washington, D.C., or Chicago, which attract attendees from nearby metropolitan areas within driving distance. Last year’s conference in D.C. totaled 26,201, while Chicago attracted 28,941 in 2009.

Total revenue from the New Orleans conference will be known once all the bills are paid by the end of the ALA fiscal year at the end of August, and organizers warn that high attendance is not always an indicator of the highest revenue for the Association because the cost of doing business varies from city to city.

Attendance at the 2006 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, when the city was still reeling from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, was 16,964.