Invitation

MSU Libraries is pleased to announce the Fall 2006 Academic Libraries Futures Symposium: Mediation Shifts? Mediation Rifts? Held in the beautiful and intimate setting of Deer Park Chalet at Bridger Bowl Ski Area, expect a day of insightful and thought-provoking discussion about the changing nature of academic libraries in the age of networked computers and on-demand information. Lorcan Dempsey, Vice President and Chief Strategist of OCLC, will be our keynote speaker. Please join us on September 29, 2006 for the opportunity to share your thoughts with academic library colleagues from across the state of Montana.

Traditionally, libraries have served as gatekeepers of information. Mediation by librarians was an essential component of that model. Increasingly, this mediation has been supplanted by new technologies and the “do it yourself” mentality of today’s users. Is this merely a shift in mediation or a rift that needs to be bridged? With the question of mediation as a backdrop, we will consider changing employee roles, new reference service models, next-generation library catalogs and the shifting expectatons about how research is conducted in a fully networked environment.

Among the other questions to be considered: How do academic librarians visualize both our own work and the services we offer? Are libraries and librarians still the traditional mediators and gatekeepers of information or are they seamless conduits through which information flows easily? How are college students reacting to new technologies and where do academic libraries fit into their perception of the academic institution? Is the catalog still a useful resource discovery tool in the age of full-text searching or is federated search the answer to our (users’) prayers?

Please RSVP via email to Shari Curtis (sharon.curtis1@montana.edu, 406.994.3119) and be sure to indicate your lunch preference by August 25. Lunch choices are: London Broil Beef, Grilled Chicken Breast orGrilled vegetable fettuccini with green salad. All participants are guests of MSU Libraries. Symposium fees as well as breakfast and lunch on the day of the symposium will be covered by MSU Libraries. (The symposium is by invitation only. Please refrain from forwarding.)