There are almost 800 individual library branches in New York State, which is one of the most populous states in the union, so New York State is obviously ambitious in regards to libraries and the library community. Each year over 1,300 members of the New York Library Association gather together for their annual trade show, which peaks in Saratoga Springs, where the 2012 conference will be held.

Each conference sees conversation and research inside the exhibit hall for how to best allocated the (reported) near $1.9 billion they spend on materials and resources. While this number is staggering, it has a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of the decisions on how it’s covered are made at the annual trade show.