ALA conference: uncertainty looms: SARS fears threaten attendance, financial implications remain unclear. (news).

Although attendance is expected to be down at the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference in Toronto, the financial repercussions resulting from the fear of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and a slow economy are still unclear.

So far, 9,290 people have pre-registered for the conference--up from the 7,811 who registered for Atlanta--just six weeks shy of the start of the meeting. Some vendors, such as EBSCO and Ingram, say they have no plans to downsize exhibit space or staff, but others, pointing out that the number of registrants doesn't accurately reflect those who will actually attend, say they're cutting back, and in some cases, not going …