Going to ALA ca be expensive and I know that there are many of you starving MLIS students out here who came to ALA on your own dime. There are many ways that you can save money at the conference by sharing hotels, taxis, and volunteering for passes into the conference, but did you know that you can also, get books and prizes and eat and drink for free?

The vendors at the conferences want you to come and check out their products and they usually try to entice you with free food, drinks, and other good stuff. The big problem is knowing where these events take place, so I am proposing a hashtag for all of us to share where we find the free stuff! So, whenever you find something free you can tweet about it and let some of these starving MLISers in on the goods using the hashtag #ALAfree.

If you are a vendor and want to let people in on the secret, don’t be shy about using the hashtag to entice these future customers to come and see your products and services with free good stuff.

#ALAfree