ACRL Preview 2009: At the Edge
ACRL grapples with the big issues facing academic libraries
By Andrew Richard Albanese -- Library Journal, 02/01/2009
With a faltering economy putting the pinch on library budgets, the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) streak of breaking attendance records with each national conference may come to an end in 2009, especially considering the record 4300 attendees who showed up in Baltimore for the outstanding 2007 meeting. Nevertheless, the 14th ACRL national conference, March 12–15, in Seattle, offers yet another strong program in another great city
This year's theme is Pushing the Edge—and with a slate of exceptional speakers, some 200 vendors on the show floor, and more than 250 peer-reviewed programs on the trends and issues facing academic librarians, as well as students, faculty, and staff, ACRL 2009 will indeed challenge attendees to reach beyond their boundaries. Keynoters includes Naomi Klein, the award-winning journalist, activist, and author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, and Ira Glass, host and producer of NPR's This American Life.
This year's gathering will again tackle themes from scholarly communication innovations to social networking and cataloging, the latest information technology, as well as issues crucial to the 21st-century research library and librarians, including library education and professional development. And, once again, the show floor will feature the Cyber Zed Shed, with its slate of 20-minute poster sessions on emerging technology topics, an addition in Baltimore that drew large crowds to its location on the edge of the exhibits area.
See the full conference program or the conference wiki. Can't do it all? Check Out LJ's picks below (check the conference program for final room locations).
THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Thinking Critically About Copyright: Who Needs It (and Why?)
With the e-reserve lawsuit and a Google settlement in 2008, this timely program will address current copyright challenges from scholarly communication and open access to interlibrary loan, e-reserve, preservation, digital libraries, teaching, and the growth of user-generated content.
ACRL Preconference Unconference
Head over to the Capitol Hill Branch of Seattle PL to join Radical Reference's one-day unconference on social justice and alternative and unorthodox collections and programs in academic libraries. The event will be free with a voluntary donation for food. Sign up to attend.
First-Time Attendee Orientation
Opening Keynote, Naomi Klein
The award-winning journalist and author has made a name taking on corporate globalization.
Opening Exhibits Reception
FRIDAY, MARCH 13
Let's Get REAL! The 2009 REAL Study of Trends in Higher Education and Libraries
In 2009, ACRL will sponsor annual studies of trends in academic and research librarianship to be published as part of a new series called ACRL REAL Reports. This panel will be the first public discussion of the program.
Studying Your Students: Adapting Research from the University of Rochester Study
This panel will delve into Rochester's Undergraduate Research Project, described in “Know Your Students” (LJ 11/1/07, p. 26–29), and will address how your library might adapt methods to research your students.
Primary Sources: Out of Special Collections and into the Curriculum
Strategies to promote the use of primary sources and to articulate student outcomes for instruction sessions and simple assessment methods.
Reeling in the Faculty: Baiting the Information Literacy Hook
This panel promises to teach you how to lure your faculty to info literacy.
Reinventing the Academic Library Facility
Library planner Alexander Cohen talks about evaluating service and space needs, including facility repurposing, redesign, and renovation.
Resolved: The Master's Degree in Library Science Is Not Relevant to the Future of the Academic Library
This alone is worth the trip to Seattle: Columbia University's James Neal, Bibliographical Center for Research's Liz Bishoff, and NELINET's Arnold Hirshon debate the relevance of the MLS degree.
Keynote, Sherman Alexie
A prolific novelist, poet, and screenwriter, Alexie has been hailed as one of the best young writers of his generation.
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
Weaving a New Net: Hauling Multiple Services into a New Learning Commons
With collaboration increasingly vital, speakers from the Seattle University library, writing, speaking, and learning services will discuss plans for a “student-focused” Learning Commons.
Beyond the Buzz: Planning Library Facebook Initiatives Grounded in User Needs
In 2007, librarians at George Washington University's Gelman Library decided to ask: How do students really use Facebook? Is there a place for the library in this social environment?
Teaching Old Statistics New Tricks
Not a statistician? No matter, this session requires only a willingness to be creative—and Excel—and promises to help you make your statistics work for you.
Building Collections Cooperatively: Analysis of Collection Use in the OhioLINK Library Consortium
OhioLINK and OCLC are jointly conducting a study that analyzes the holdings and circulation of 87 OhioLINK libraries, offering a wealth of data on large-scale consortial usage and lending patterns.
Where Have All the Librarians Gone? The Academic Library Workforce of Today and Tomorrow
With retirements looming, what will tomorrow's academic library staff look like? LIS graduates from 1964 to 2005 discuss ways to help recruit new academic librarians.
The Academic Library as Publishing Agent: Showcasing Student, Faculty, and Campus Scholarship and Publications
How can academic libraries strategically position themselves to be a campus publisher? (Hint: Do you have an institutional repository?)
Mapping Your Path to the Mountaintop: Planning Where You Want To Be in Your Career
Are you wondering where you should be at this point in your career? Do you have a plan to get where you want to go? Learn how to forge your individual path.
Scholarly Communication 101: Starting with the Basics
A structured, interactive overview of the scholarly communication system, focusing on new methods of scholarly publishing and communication, copyright and intellectual property, economics, and open access and openness.
New Challenges: Multi-Media Use and the Academy
This panel examines the host of copyright and licensing challenges involving educational use of video, audio, and other multimedia content, as well as the ever-changing technologies and shifting legal landscape complicating matters.
All Conference Reception
Join colleagues for dessert at the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
SUNDAY, MARCH 15
Buzz Off!? Tossing Traditional Collection Development Practices for Patron Initiated Purchasing: A Stinging Debate
What if libraries flipped the switch and went solely electronic or let patrons order books or chapters? Engage in a lively debate.
Opening Collections: The BLC/BHL and Open Content Alliance
Hear how—and why—the Boston Library Consortium became the first large-scale consortium to self-fund a digitization project with the Open Content Alliance to keep its collections free and open.
Closing Keynote, Ira Glass
Glass will offer a behind-the-scenes view of his nationally broadcast public radio show and his HBO series.
| Author Information |
| Andrew Richard Albanese is Editor, LJ Academic Newswire |
