The Virtual Reference Desk (VRD), a service of the Information Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University, will present its Second Annual Digital Reference Conference, "Facets of Digital Reference," Oct. 16 and 17 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers in Seattle.
More than 400 information professionals from the public and private sectors, including universities, government agencies, libraries and commercial and nonprofit Internet providers from the United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan, are expected to attend the event.
"We're very excited about this year’s VRD conference, and we are thrilled to be at the forefront in setting the national library science agenda," says R. David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse and assistant professor in SU's School of Information Studies. "The conference is an example of how libraries are looking toward the future, and doing it in cooperation with business and government."
The two-day conference will include a keynote address by Michael B. Eisenberg, director of and professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Washington, Seattle; and Charles R. McClure, Francis Eppes Professor in the School of Information Studies at Florida State University and director of the Information Use Management and Policy Institute. Eisenberg and McClure will present "Digital Reference Librarians: Who Needs 'Em?" at 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 16.
The event will also feature some 40 presentations and panel discussions by more than 60 nationally known experts in the information and digital reference field. Topics to be covered include "Web Contact Center Software: Tools for Doing Reference in an Online Environment," "Building a Virtual Reference Network," "Collaborative Development of Next-Generation Virtual Reference Software," "How Many Trees in a Forest: Creating Digital Reference Services in Agriculture," and "Digital Resources at the Central Intelligence Agency."
The VRD will also present the following awards during a ceremony beginning at 5 p.m. Oct. 16:
• The Exemplary Digital Reference Services 2000 Award to Ask the Internet Public Library, a service of the University of Michigan School of Information, sponsored by Bell and Howell Information and Learning; Ask a Hurricane Hunter, a service of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, U.S. Air Force Reserve; and Ask Us! Online, a service of Multnomah County Library, Portland, Ore.;
• The 2000 VRD Director’s Award to Steve Coffman, product development manager for Library Systems and Services, Inc.; and
• The VRD 2000 Conference Student Paper Award to Silvia Barcellos, a doctoral student in SU’s School of Information Studies.
The Information Institute of Syracuse is affiliated with SU’s School of Information Studies. In addition to the VRD project, the institute houses the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology at SU, AskERIC and the Gateway to Educational Materials Project (GEM).
The VRD is a project of the U.S. Department of Education. The conference is part of the National Education Network (NEN) Forum Series. Sponsors for the event include the U.S. Department of Education, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Library of Education’s ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, ALA RUSA, the Library of Congress, the Information Institute of Syracuse, SU’s School of Information Studies and the University of Washington School of Library and Information Science.