I went to one of those back in 2002ish when the conference venue for a different conference I was attending simultaneously hosted an ALA meeting. IME, and I’ve heard this elsewhere too, partying librarians are a fairly rowdy bunch.
What I remember most about that party, though, was the stories from the front lines in the conflict between protecting civil liberties and the recently enacted PATRIOT Act greatly expanding federal agencies’ snooping powers for antiterrorism purposes. Meek little lady (mostly) librarians were having to tell these menacing agents in their intimidator sunglasses or whatever that no, sorry, we cannot share with you our library patrons’ borrowing histories, that’s private. They were so matter-of-fact about it too, pretty badass.
[ETA: yup, summer 2002. Migod, I’ve been oversharing random experiences on these boards for well over a quarter-century. Indeed, the internet never forgets.]