For immediate release:
September 2, 2008

For more information, contact:
Julia Blixrud
Association of Research Libraries
jblix@arl.org

Reinventing Science Librarianship Poster Proposals Due September 8

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) are accepting poster proposals until September 8, 2008, for their Fall Forum on "Reinventing Science Librarianship: Models for the Future," to be held next month in Arlington, Virginia. The planned poster sessions will follow the opening segment of the program during an early evening reception on October 16, and will also be available during an extended break on the morning of October 17.

The proposal scope is broad and includes areas such as data services, planning efforts to address the challenges of e-science, projects to support specific scientific communities, staff education programs, or new organizational models for science librarianship.

While it would be a “plus” to have knowledgeable individuals on hand to respond to questions about the posters, we would expect that the posters could provide sufficient information to “stand alone” (with relevant contact information for further details) and there is no requirement to staff the sessions.

If you are interested in submitting a poster for this session, please send a brief description of your project/model/initiative to Julia Blixrud, jblix@arl.org, by September 8. Organizers will review and be in contact to arrange for logistics.

The ARL/CNI Fall Forum will bring together leadership from the research libraries community as well as campus IT. The forum’s focus is on the changing arena of science and engineering research and the library’s role in engaging and supporting the community’s needs. The agenda will cover issues such as data management/curation, supporting virtual organizations, and education in support of these new library roles.

This promises to be an exciting program—a timely topic where emergent models and exemplary projects will be of benefit to us all. Forum details and a preliminary agenda can be found at http://www.arl.org/events/fallforum/forum08/oct08schedule.shtml.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.

The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is a coalition of some 200 institutions dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity. The Coalition, which is sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE, is headquartered in Washington DC. CNI is on the Web at http://www.cni.org/.