ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries CS‚RL N ew s ■ F e b ru a ry 7999 / 103 The Motor City Getting around and having fun by W illia m P. Kane W hen you com e to D e­ tro it fo r th e ACRL 9Ih N a tio n a l C o n f e r e n c e A p ril 8 - 1 1 , y o u ’ll b e h ap p y to find yourself in the m iddle o f a dynamic and changing city—a place with some history both behind and ahead o f it. In just a couple years (on July 24, 2001, to be exact), Detroit will celebrate its tricentennial, but in just the past few years, Detroit’s experienced an un­ p r e c e d e n t e d r e b u ild in g boom , an d visitors to this proud city this spring will be uniquely positioned to wit­ ness firsthand some of these investments. Not only will you be able to leam from the conference programs and ex­ hibits, b u t the host city will b e a com fortable an d fun place to look aro u n d and Hart Plaza— near th e Cobo Convention Centerkick back for a few days. Getting to your hotel First things first—you have to get here. If you’re flying in, y o u ’ll land at D etroit’s M etropolitan Airport. Hard-traveling D etroiters w ould be the last p eo p le to sugar-coat Metro A irport’s ambiance— it’s big, it’s crow ded, and its décor is, well, functional. In 1997, Metro w as ranked as th e w o rld ’s 5th busiest airport in terms of operations (landings and takeoffs), and 14th in the world in numbers o f passengers. The good new s is that a n ew midfield term inal is u n d er construction—to the tu n e o f $786 million— which will feature such items as overhead trams to transport passengers betw een gate connec­ tions and enhanced dining and shopping areas. T he b ad new s is that th e n ew term inal’s ex­ p ected com pletion isn’t until 2001. How ever, there have been some recent and significant up­ grades to the concessions an d the curbside pickup areas, which discern­ ing travelers may regard as a g ood sign o f the better things to come. Though it’s too bad the con­ ference precedes the opening o f th e n ew airport, at least there w o n ’t b e any kinks to w ork out—the place hums, and you should arrive on tim e an d w ithout a hitch. Just be p repared for a bit of a hike to the baggage claim (especially if you land at or near Gate C-25). Metro Air­ port is about 25 miles w est o f do w n to w n D e­ troit, so once you grab your bag, the best bet is to either hail o r share a cab to your hotel (aro u n d $30), o r take the com m uter shuttle’s door-to-door service ($19 one-way); you can buy the shuttle ticket from th e b o o th at the bag­ gage claim. If y o u ’re staying at any o f the conference hotels, you can’t miss; they’re all first-rate prop- A b o u t th e a u th o r William P. Kane cochairs ACRL's National Conference Local Arrangements Subcommittee and is regional sales manager fo r Blackwell's Book Services, e-mail: william.kane@blackwell.com CONFERENCE CIRCUIT mailto:william.kane@blackwell.com 104 / C&RL News ■ February 1999 e rtie s w ith r e a s o n a b le b ig -c ity ra tes. As y o u ’ll d is co v e r o n y o u r rid e to th e h o te l fro m th e air­ port, o r o n y o u r drive fro m else w h e re , th e fre e ­ w a y sy ste m in so u th e a s t M ich igan is a little in ­ te n s e : th e r e ’s th e F o rd F r e e w a y ( I- 9 4 ) , th e Je ffr ie s F re ew a y ( I- 9 6 ) , th e F is h e r F r e e w a y (I— 7 5 ) , th e C h ry sler F r e e w a y (a ls o , o d d ly , I- 7 5 ) , th e S o u th field F re ew a y ( M -3 9 ), an d th e L odge F r e e w a y ( M - 1 0 ) — e a c h w ith lo ts o f la n e s th at c a n m o v e lots o f traffic, an d e a ch , as yo u m ight e x p e c t fro m th e city th a t p u t th e w o rld o n w h e e ls , le a d in g righ t to d o w n to w n M o to w n . Y o u ’ll n o d o u b t b e le s s th a n a m ile fro m th e fre e w a y e x it, re g a rd le ss o f w h ic h fre e w a y o r h o tel. I f y o u ’re sta y in g in D e a rb o rn , y o u ’ll e n jo y a c o n v e n ie n t d o o r -to -d o o r sh u ttle to a n d fro m th e C o b o H all C o n v e n tio n C e n te r. I f y o u r h o te l is in d o w n to w n D e ­ troit, y o u ’ll b e w ith in e a sy w a lk in g d is ta n c e to C o b o ; o th e r w is e , y o u c a n re ly o n th e P e o p le M o v e r (D e tr o it’s a n s w e r to m a s s tra n sit) to s co o t aro u n d th e dow n tow n lo o p fo r ju st 5 0 cen ts. M e a n w h ile , d o w n to w n D etro it is u n d e rg o in g a dra­ m a t i c f a c e l i f t : t h e o l d H u d so n ’s d ep a rtm e n t sto re w a s re c e n tly im p lo d e d to Edison's Menlo Park lab at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. m a k e ro o m fo r n e w retail an d residential buildings; the R en aissan ce Center, a co m p le x o f office an d h o ­ te l to w e rs , is n o w h o m e to G e n e r a l M o to rs’ w o rld h e a d q u a rte r s; th e g r a n d sta n d s fo r th e D e tro it T ig e r s ’ n e w d o w n to w n b a llp a r k a re rising; an d con struction is un derw ay fo r a m eg a­ e n te rta in m e n t c o m p le x h o m e to th re e V e g a s- style casin o s. S o , o n c e y o u ’re u n p a c k e d a t th e h o te l a n d yo u h av e y o u r co n fe re n c e n a m e b a d g e squared a w a y , y o u c a n r e la x o v e r a n ic e d in n e r o r g o o u t o n th e to w n to g e t th e w e e k e n d sta rted right. T o u r s , r e s t a u r a n t s , a n d r e c e p t i o n s A dm itted ly, th o u g h , y o u ’re a lre a d y g o in g to b e p len ty b u sy. T h e c o n fe r e n c e is p a c k e d w ith e n te rta in m e n t as w e ll as p ro g ram m in g . T h e r e are p r e c o n fe r e n c e s an d lo ca l library an d sight­ s e e in g tours p la n n e d fo r Thursday, April 8, an d th e c o n fe r e n c e p r o p e r b e g in s o n Friday, April 9. I f y o u h a v e n o p la n s o n F rid a y fo r d in n e r, sig n u p fo r a “d in n e r w ith c o lle a g u e s ,” h o s te d b y a lo c a l lib rarian at a lo c a l restau ran t; c h e c k th e h o sp ita lity b o o th in th e c o n v e n tio n c e n te r fo r sign-up sh eets an d m en us. A lso o n F rid ay e v e n in g , y o u ’re o f c o u r s e in v ited to th e A ll-C o n fe r e n ce R e c e p tio n , to b e h e ld a t th e n e w M u se u m o f A frican A m e rica n H isto ry (M AA H ). T h e MAAH is a b e a u tifu l facility, an d y o u ’ll hav e a c h a n c e to s e e th e c o m ­ p ellin g exh ib its, to b e e n tertain ed b y s o m e ter­ rific lo ca l p e rfo rm e rs, a n d to m e e t y o u r fe llo w co n fe re n ce attendees informally ov er drinks and dessert. O n Satu rd ay, April 10, y o u ’ll h a v e a n o th e r c h a n c e to g o o u t fo r “d in n e r w ith c o lle a g u e s ” b e fo re h ead in g o ff to th e co n feren ce-sp o n so red re c e p tio n a t th e H en ry Fo rd M u seu m in n e ig h ­ b o r in g D e a r b o r n , M ich ig a n . T h e m u s e u m ’s sco p e and scale are spectacu­ lar, a n d y o u ’ll b e in trig u ed b y , a m o n g o t h e r th in g s , h o w th e y m a n a g e d to g e t th a t e n o r m o u s lo c o m o tiv e t h r o u g h t h e f r o n t d o o r . B o th recep tions are included in th e c o n f e r e n c e re g istra ­ tion , as is th e tran sp o rtatio n to a n d fro m s a m e . (P le a s e n o te : n e x t m o n th ’s iss u e o f C& RL N ew s w ill fe a tu re an a rtic le d e v o te d to D e tro it restauran ts.) L a t e n ig h t a c t i v i t i e s T h e re ’s still tim e after th e co n fe re n c e recep tio n s b r e a k u p to g e t o u t a n d a b o u t. D e tr o it’s a b ig m u sic to w n , a n d th e r e a re a n y n u m b e r o f h o ts p o ts d o w n to w n w h e r e y o u c a n h e a r c o o l a c id ja z z o r lo u d r o c k a n d ro ll. T h e W h itn e y [4421 W o o d w a rd , ( 3 1 3 ) 8 3 2 -5 7 0 0 ], a lan d m ark D e tro it restau ran t, h a s a c o z y p ia n o b a r o n th e third flo o r that’s o p e n late. J a D a [546 E. Larned, ( 3 1 3 ) 9 6 5 -1 7 0 0 ], a s le e k n e w grill d o w n to w n , o ffe rs u p w a rd ly m o b ile fo o d a n d m u sic — a u n iq u e com b in atio n o f delicious jazz an d dow n- h o m e sou l fo o d . N ear th e D e tro it O p e r a H o u s e , y o u c a n h a n g w ith th e α p r e s aria c ro w d at In te rm e z z o [1435 R an do lp h , (3 1 3 ) 961-0 7 0 7 ]— a ro o m w ith a lo ft-lik e fe e l a n d g r e a t n o r th e r n Ita lia n fa re and o n e o f the best-looking bars yo u ’ll ever see— w h e r e th e m o o d sw in g s ra n g e fro m m e llo w to ju m p in g ; it’s fu n , a n d y o u ’ll lik e it. F o r s o m e alternative sou nd s, c a b o n o v er to H am tram ck’s C&RL News ■ Feb ruary 1999 / 1 05 n ig h tc lu b s c e n e a n d p a y th e c o v e r c h a r g e to d a n c e late to te c h n o at clu b s lik e M o to r L o u n g e [3 5 1 5 C an iff, ( 3 1 3 ) 3 6 9 -0 0 9 0 ] a n d Lili’s [2 9 3 0 Ja c o b , ( 3 1 3 ) 875-65551. A n d d o n ’t f o r g e t t o w a l k d o w n G r e e k to w n ’s M o n ro e Street an d cru ise th e strip o f e th n ic restaurants a n d w aterin g h o le s, w h e r e y o u ’re ju st as lik e ly to h e a r th e s o u n d s o f b o th b e lly d a n c in g a n d lin e d an cin g . C a n a d a n e x t d o o r D o n ’t fo r g e t th a t W in d s o r, O n ta r io , is ju st a c r o s s th e D e tr o it R iv er fro m d o w n to w n , a n d y o u c a n c o n v e n ie n tly c r o s s th e b o r d e r v ia th e D e tro it-W in d so r T u n n e l. ( E d . n o te : T w o fo rm s o f id e n tific a tio n a re re q u ir e d to g o th ro u g h c u sto m s, s u c h as a d riv er’s lic e n s e , v o te r reg is­ tra tio n , p a s sp o r t, b irth c e r tific a te , o r v is a .) T h o u g h W in d s o r ’s a lo v e ly city k n o w n fo r its fin e resta u ra n ts a n d d ra­ m a tic v ie w s o f th e D e tr o it s k y lin e , t h e b ig n e w s in W in d s o r a n d D e tr o it is th e r e c e n t o p e n in g o f C a s in o W indsor— a full service gam ­ in g an d h o te l facility. W ith o v er 1 0 0,000 square fe e t o f g a m b lin g ta b le s a n d s lo t m a c h in e s , a n d a lm o s t 4 0 0 h o te l r o o m s a n d th r e e restauran ts, C asin o W in d so r is h o p p in g 24/7. P lu s, th e Casino W indsorcurrent ex c h a n g e rate m ean s y o u c a n lo s e $ 3 0 CAN fo r o n ly $ 2 0 U S. Call ( 8 0 0 ) 9 9 1 - 7 7 7 7 fo r d etails. M a jo r le a g u e s p o r t s I f y o u ’r e c o m i n g i n t o t o w n e a r l y f o r a p r e c o n fe r e n c e , y o u m a y b e a b le to c h e c k o u t th e D e tr o it R e d W in g s ’ h o m e g a m e a t th e J o e Louis A ren a o n W e d n e s d a y n igh t, April 7. T h e W in g s a r e b a c k - t o - b a c k S ta n le y C u p c h a m p i­ o n s, a n d D etro it’s a fan atic, O riginal Six h o c k e y city , s o tic k e ts to m o s t g a m e s a r e u s u a lly s o ld out, b u t yo u m ay hav e luck o n a m id w e ek g am e if y o u p la n a h ead . L ik ew ise, th e D etro it T ig e rs o p e n th eir 1 9 9 9 s e a s o n o n th e road, b u t if y o u ’re e xten d in g you r stay in th e c ity th ro u g h M o n d a y , April 12, y o u m a y b e a b le to s n a g a s e a t fo r O p e n in g D a y — th e la st a t h is to r ic T ig e r S tad iu m — as p la y b e ­ g in s a t th e u n d e r -c o n s tr u c tio n T ig e r B a llp a r k in 2 0 0 0 . In e ith e r c a s e , ca ll ( 2 4 8 ) 6 4 5 - 6 6 6 6 fo r tic k e t in fo r m a tio n . B o o k s U n less y o u g o o n o n e o f th e lo c a l library tours, y o u d o n ’t s e e m a n y b o o k s th e s e days at library c o n fe r e n c e s . Like m o s t o f th e co u n try , th e D e ­ tro it a r e a h a s its s h a r e o f g o o d b o o k s to r e s — fro m c h a in s u p e rs to re s to e c le c tic little s h o p s. D e tr o it is h o m e to a u n iq u e c o m b in a tio n o f th o s e tw o ty p e s th a t m ig h t b e w o rth a sto p : J o h n K. K in g U se d a n d R a re B o o k s . H o u s e d in a fo r m e r h a n g e r fa c to r y , K in g B o o k s h a s o v e r 7 5 0 ,0 0 0 titles in s to c k o n fo u r flo o r s. A n a m a z in g p la c e , it’s a s t o n e ’s th ro w fro m th e c o n v en tio n cen ter; m a y b e y o u c a n talk y o u rs e lf in to sp e n d in g a lo n g lu n c h h o u r there. F o r in fo rm a tio n , call ( 3 1 3 ) 9 6 1 -0 6 2 2 . C o m e d y A g r e a t tim e in D e tro it c a n b e h a d a t T h e S e c ­ o n d City, w ith its b ra n d o f s k e tc h c o m e d y th at o ffers a rare, refresh in g, an d h ila rio u s v ie w s o f c u rren t so cial, po litical, a n d cultural life , in c lu d in g s o m e o fte n en o u g h self-deprecating to p ­ ic s s p e c ific to th e D e tro it a r e a . I n t h e h e a r t o f D e tro it’s th e a te r district a n d ju st a q u ic k rid e u p W o o d ­ w a rd A v e n u e , y o u c a n a ls o c a tc h a n ic e b ite a t a variety o f n e a r b y e a t e r i e s . S h o w tim e s a re at 8 :0 0 p .m . o n W e d n e s d a y , T h u rsd a y , an d Sunday, an d at 8 :0 0 p.m. a n d 1 0 :3 0 p .m . o n F rid a y a n d Satu rd ay. Call ( 3 1 3 ) 9 6 5 -2 2 2 2 to re se rv e y o u r tick ets. S o w h e t h e r y o u ’r e c o m i n g to t h e A CRL N a tio n a l C o n f e r e n c e fr o m t h e o t h e r s id e o f t h e w o r ld , c o u n tr y , o r s ta te , y o u ’ll fin d th a t t h e r e ’s n o la c k o f th in g s to d o a n d p l a c e s to s e e in D e tr o it. Y o u r o n ly r e g r e t w ill lik e ly b e th a t y o u d id n ’t g e t to s p e n d e n o u g h tim e e x p l o r i n g o n y o u r o w n , s in c e it’s t h e k in d o f p la c e th a t fo lk s te n d to lik e m o r e th e m o r e t h e y g e t to k n o w it. In an y ca se , y o u ’re sure to h av e a g o o d time, a n d y o u ’ll le a v e c o n v in c e d th at all c o n fe r e n c e s s h o u ld b e h e ld in p la c e s lik e h is to r ic D e tro it, w h ic h o ffe rs e a s y a c c e s s to fin e d in in g, lu x u ry acco m m o d atio n s, m ajor le a g u e sportin g even ts, fantastic m u seu m s an d libraries, w orld-class th e­ ater, an d late night b o o g ie w o o g ie — all at afford­ a b le p ric es. H e re ’s h o p in g y o u liv e it u p w h ile y o u ’re h e re . ■ 1 0 8 / C & R L N e w s ■ F e b r u a r y 1 9 9 9