The Public Library Association (PLA) Conference, Seattle, February 24?28, relieved much of the sting felt by vendors who had exhibited at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in San Diego (InfoTech, LJ 2/15/04 , p. 27ff.). In stark contrast to ALA, which suffered from some of the slowest floor traffic in recent memory, exhibitors at PLA reported steady crowds at their booths. LJ solicited feedback on the show floor from several leading vendors. "Vastly better is the appropriate description," declared VTLS president Carl Grant. "We walked away with twice the leads we received from ALA." Sirsi's Tom Gates concurred. "PLA was indeed a better event for us than ALA Midwinter--both in terms of quantity and quality of traffic," Gates said. "There were...lots of serious decision-makers and 'influencers' who visited our booth." The Library Corporation's (TLC) Gary Kirk also described PLA as "great!" Kirk reported that TLC's booth remained busy throughout the show and observed that attendees seemed genuinely interested in learning about new products and services from the vendors. "PLA has become the best of approximately 60 conferences that TLC exhibits at!" he said. With PLA and ALA Midwinter both on the West Coast, prompting travel from the librarian-heavy East Coast and only a few weeks apart, why did PLA score while ALA snored? Vendors have their theories. "I think the reasons are that when the librarians were faced with two West Coast shows, they picked the one more focused on their needs?PLA," Grant said.