10th Bielefeld Conference: International meeting for librarians

A library as just a collection of books is a thing of the past. Information is increasingly being stored and presented digitally – either as a multimedia product, an online catalogue, or in a data cloud. The need for new information structures is more urgent than ever before. The 10th International Bielefeld Conference 2012 will be presenting visions of such future structures. Hosted by Bielefeld University library, librarians from Europe and beyond will be gathering from the 24th to the 26th of April at the Stadthalle in Bielefeld to discuss ‘Shaping Future INFO-Structures. Feeding Data, Designing Information Services and Constructing ICT-Infrastructure for a Digital Natives World’. Conference languages are English and German.

Whereas a library without books is still inconceivable, the same can be said nowadays of a library with no PCs and IT infrastructure. The 10th Bielefeld Conference hosted by Bielefeld University library will be addressing the future of information structures. Photo: Bielefeld University

The world of printed and digital academic information is undergoing an increasing blurring of the barriers between pure text and multimedia, between digital catalogues and databases, between local holdings and information in a cloud, between restricted and public access to information, between academics and librarians, and between authors and publishing houses. Despite these disappearing barriers, there is still an urgent need to renew the structures of documents, data services, and organizations. Approximately 250 participants from more than 20 countries in Europe and beyond will be exploring options for these new structures at the Bielefeld conference. Speakers will be coming from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Great Britain, the USA, and Indonesia.

This will be the tenth in a series of conferences that Bielefeld University library has been organizing at the Stadthalle in Bielefeld since 1992. Previous conference agenda reflect the advances in electronic information provision over the last 20 years. Whereas the first conferences addressed practical issues such as information provision over CD-ROMs in the Intra- and Internet, later conferences explored the consequences of electronic publishing, and the most recent discussed the future of Digital libraries. The focus has always been on innovative user-oriented information services extending well beyond the traditional responsibilities of an academic library.

The conferences have become a major forum for internationally renowned and visionary speakers, and they enjoy an excellent reputation among managers of libraries and information services interested in discussing strategies for reforming academic libraries.

For further information and the online registration form, go to:
http://conference.ub.uni-bielefeld.de

Contact:
Dr. Michael Höppner, Bielefeld University Library
Library Director
Telephone: +49-521 106-4050
Email: conference.ub@uni-bielefeld.de