Tuesday I was in downtown Chicago to take part in the American Society for Engineering Education conference. I was pleased to see they have a conference blog: http://www.asee.org/chicago2006/
I was there to present in the Engineering Libraries division. Convened by Darcy Duke, from MIT, I was part of Staying Relevant to Our Users: How New Technologies are Redefining the Role of the (Engineering) Librarian. The session description: New technologies and new tools are changing the face of what information professionals do and perhaps even redefining what it means to be a librarian. This issue is particularly relevant to engineering and science librarians since our users tend to be early adopters of new technologies and often expect us to support these technologies and/or incorporate them into our services. In this session, the speakers will provide specific examples of new roles for engineering librarians such as providing GIS support and developing innovative Web services, as well as discuss the broader context of how technology is (or isn’t) changing our profession.
I was the “broader context” guy and I must tell you: these engineering librarians are plugged in! The hands went UP for all the social tools: blogs, wikis, IM, RSS, etc. Rock On! My talk was FUN! The discussion centered around social networks, security, and the ROI. Presenting with me were two neat librarians, Anne Graham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Amy Van Epps, from Purdue University. Thanks to all for a wonderful time!