Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship | Fall 1999 |
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DOI:10.5062/F44T6GB5 |
The conference included 3 pre-conference workshops, on HTML, Web Design, and Ariel, eight invited keynote speakers, 19 contributed papers, and 11 poster presentations. The posters were all summarized in short oral presentations as well. Keynote speakers covered both library issues and marine biology topics: millennial libraries, legalities of electronic information, information technology, electronic journal collections, metadata, coastal ecosystems, history of cod fishing, and the use of marine organisms in biomedical research. Among other topics covered, a study of the timeliness of electronic journals vs. print showed electronic is faster. Information on establishing bibliographical instruction programs and rethinking outreach was presented, and various other education initiatives were described. Trends in aquatic science research as indicated by entries in the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts showed that the percentage of papers devoted to taxonomy has declined greatly in the last 25 years, but papers on genetics, environmental quality, and ecosystem ecology have increased. One presentation outlined GIS applications to maritime boundary questions. An update was presented on the controversial Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project with its possible effects on marine mammals.
As is usually the case in this international organization, many members represent one-person libraries in isolated locations. As a result several presentations and much discussion centered on interlibrary loan and other aspects of resource sharing. The annual conferences, as well as a lot of traffic on IAMSLIC's listserv, are building and strengthening an increasingly useful international network of librarians who help each other with resources and advice, often more efficiently, and certainly more personally, than through other library channels.
The busy week also offered plenty of opportunities for enjoying seafood of various kinds, always an important part of IAMSLIC Conferences, including the conference banquet, a clambake, which is apparently understood by the locals to include lobster and corn, but not necessarily clams. We also enjoyed trips to the Cape Cod National Seashore, Provincetown, and Harvard University where we had tours of the Museum of Comparative Zoology and its library, as well as the Botany Library and associated herbaria, the Natural History Museum, and the famous Ware Collection of Glass Flowers.
The Proceedings of the 25th Annual IAMSLIC Conference are being edited by J.W. Markham and A.L. Duda and will be published within a few months. All attendees will receive copies and extra copies will be available for purchase. The 26th Annual Conference will be held in Victoria, British Columbia in October 2000.
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