Reference Renaissance registration now open

Reference Renaissance will be held in Denver, Colorado August 4-5, 2008.

Head on over to http://www.bcr.org/referencerenaissance to register and for updates on programs and speakers. Early Bird Registration is $150 by May 31st. Regular registration is $175.

We're expecting 300-400 attendees from all over the US and from all types of libraries!

Contact Brenda Bailey-Hainer at bbailey@bcr.org or 303.751.6277 ext. 117 if you have any questions.

About the Conference:
A Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends
August 4-5, 2008, Denver, CO
Sponsored by BCR (Bibliographical Center for Research) and RUSA (Reference and User Services Association), an ALA Division

Rumors of the “death of reference” have been greatly exaggerated! Reference and information services now encompass not just traditional forms such as in-person point-of-service, telephone, and e-mail, but also Instant Messaging, Text Messaging (SMS), blogs, wikis, library pages on MySpace and Facebook, and virtual reference desks in Second Life.

A Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends conference will explore all aspects of reference service in a broad range of contexts, including libraries and information centers, in academic, public, school, corporate, and other special library environments. This two-day conference will incorporate the multitude of established, emerging, and merging types of reference service including both traditional and virtual reference. It presents an opportunity for all reference practitioners and scholars to explore the rapid growth and changing nature of reference, as an escalating array of information technologies blend with traditional reference service to create vibrant hybrids.

Our theme of a “Reference Renaissance” was taken from an editorial by Diane Zabel, in a recent issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly (winter 2007). Zabel wrote of a “resurgence of interest in reference” and that “reference is experiencing a regeneration, a reference renaissance.”