NERCOMP Shifting Models of Information Discovery and Access SIG
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
February 1, 2010

SESSION DESCRIPTION

Libraries continue to migrate from out-of-the-box interfaces that search 
single collections to new products that promise, in various ways, to do 
a better job connecting people with the information they desire. OPACs 
are applying layers of lipstick, going open source, or fading away 
altogether, supplanted by new types of discovery tools. Federated search 
is mounting a comeback. Next-gen discovery tools promise to deliver the 
fabled single search box. Massive digitization projects are opening up 
the contents of books for discovery and--sometimes--retrieval. At the 
same time, proprietary, centralized projects like Google Books and 
OCLC's WorldCat Local are developing alongside less centralized, more 
open initiatives like the Open Content Alliance, eXtensible Catalog 
project, VuFind, and LibraryFind.

In the morning of this day-long workshop, invited speakers will provide 
an overview of the changing discovery landscape and the major issues and 
players involved. The afternoon will consist of a lightning round 
featuring 5-10 minute demonstrations and/or discussions of individual 
products. Time will be built into the afternoon session for attendees 
who are not designated speakers to present briefly on products being 
considered or implemented at their own institutions. The day will end 
with an open discussion and a consideration of next steps.


CALL FOR PROPOSALS (Deadline: October 20, 2009)

We seek two types of proposals:

(1) Morning track (2-3 slots): presentations of 45-75 minutes by 
speakers who can address the changing discovery landscape and the major 
issues and players involved.

(2) Afternoon lightning round session (10-20 slots): short (5-10 minute) 
overviews and demos of specific tools and products. If your institution 
is using or considering any of the following products (or another next 
gen discovery or access tool that is not listed here), please consider 
blitzing us with a concise demo and review of your experience. While the 
focus is on higher education, we welcome speakers from all types of 
libraries who can offer perspectives that would be relevant for academic 
librarians.

Please visit http://akbar.marlboro.edu/~ealling/NERCOMP/20100201.html for complete details on submitting a proposal and description of the program.


Please feel free to share this announcement with potential speakers.

Cheers,

Beatrice Pulliam, Library Commons Librarian for Technology and Access, 
Phillips Memorial Library, Providence College
Emily Alling, Library Director, Rice-Aron Library, Marlboro College
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Beatrice R. Pulliam
Library Commons Librarian for Technology and Access 
Phillips Memorial Library 
Providence College
1 Cunningham Square
Providence, RI  02918
(t) 401.865.1622
(f) 401.865.2823
IM: rhodylibrarian (AIM/iChat/Yahoo/GoogleTalk)
Twitter: beatricepulliam