Audio and presentation files from the 50th Annual RBMS/ACRL Preconference, "Seas of Change: Navigating the Cultural and Institutional Contexts of Special Collections"

"We are pleased to announce the publication of electronic files from the 2009 Preconference of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. This year RBMS--with generous assistance from OCLC Research--initiated an experiment in providing digital audio files of programs at the Preconference in Charlottesville, VA. Audio files of presentations include: the entire short papers program, New and Emerging Voices; one of the seminars; most of the plenary speakers; and a couple of speakers who gave special welcoming and historical remarks. Also available are presentation files of some of the seminars, and PDF files of the print Preconference program and the special 50th anniversary print publication on the history of the Preconference."

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) are co-hosting a Forum, "An Age of Discovery: Distinctive Collections in the Digital Age." It will be held October 15-16, 2009, in Washington, DC.

The Forum builds on the work of the ARL Special Collections Working Group [PDF]. The goal is to focus attention on opportunities available in the digital environment for leveraging the strengths of special collections, making them more widely accessible. The co-hosts seek to bring together librarians, archivists, and others with responsibilities for stewarding special and distinctive resources, and to identify strategies for advancing this goal

2010 RBMS Preconference in Philadelphia

"PACSCL welcomes the Rare Books and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, to Philadelphia! In June 2010, PACSCL will host the RBMS annual preconference from the 22nd to 25th. Collaboration is the conference theme, and PACSCL's 25 years of cooperation will be one of the models examined. Events will take place at the Doubletree Hotel, in the heart of Center City, as well as at the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the American Philosophical Society in Old City. Attendees will have many opportunities to get to know the city and PACSCL's member institutions. Further information on the conference will be made available as it develops, and can be found at the RBMS website."