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IAALD 50th Anniversary Marked with an Exciting Conference
While it seems a long way off, May 2005 will be here before we know it. Plans for the XIth World Congress of IAALD and the 2005 USAIN Biennial Conference are progressing. We have the format set, the committees organized and most of the major speakers in place. We are all excited about this conference.
The
Program
The program centers around three themes. Each day will begin with a
major event that incorporates the theme of the day with other
programming. In addition, there will be the professional interaction
part of the program that allows individuals or groups of people to
contribute to the program. The tracks are: Technology; the Human
Interface; and the Digital Divide.
The conference programming begins Monday with a
packed day.
Dick Beahrs has confirmed as out keynote speaker. He is currently
the President of Court TV but
has a long history of involvement in international agricultural
issues. Following Mr. Beahrs is the Technology Track and
Kimberly
Douglas of the California
Institute of Technology Library will be speaking on “Creating
Digital Information Repositories—A 2005 Update”. Three concurrent
sessions provided for the conference participants will begin
immediately after lunch. The afternoon will end with a vendor products
review followed by Innovations/Demonstrations and poster sessions.
Tuesday begins another busy day with an update from
various national libraries. Following the update session, the Human
Interface Track Keynote will set the tone for the day. This keynote
is actually a panel with librarians and extension professionals
discussing their various roles in the information environment.
Confirmed for this panel are
Paula Kaufman, Dean of
Libraries from the
University of Illinois,
Carla Stoffle, Dean of
Libraries from the University of
Arizona,
Lyla Houglum, Dean of
Extension
from Oregon State University,
and Larry Turner,
Associate Dean for Extension
from the University of Kentucky.
Following a networking luncheon there will be an informational session
discussing the various information products including
AgNIC,
FAO initiatives, and extension
products such as E-Answers. The
afternoon ends with concurrent participation sessions centered on the
human interface and partnering issues.
Wednesday’s programming begins with an International
Theme panel discussing the digital divide and what is being done to
address it. Confirmed for this panel is
Dr. Anton Mangstl of the FAO.
Concurrent sessions will follow the panel in the morning with a
facilitated session discussing partnering opportunities and
initiatives in the afternoon. The conference programming ends on
Thursday afternoon with a conference wrap up.
Pre and Post Conference Activities
Pre and post conference activities will include
pre-conference programming and post conference tours. The
pre-conference programming is still being developed with a discussion
of several interactive workshops designed to be of interest to a
diverse group.The final day of planned programming will be optional
tours scheduled for Thursday, May 19. Plans are being made for a
variety of tours including an all day tour to a forest reclamation
site in Eastern Kentucky and a central Kentucky Thoroughbred horse
farm operation. Local tours will be available during the week for
family members of attendees. Many of the tours will be free and within
walking distance of the hotel.
Networking opportunities
The conference will offer ample networking
opportunities through meals, breaks and social events.Planned social
events include an opening reception, a social hour with hors
d’oeuvres, and an IAALD anniversary party. We will have an all
conference dinner with
Wendell Berry, noted
author as our speaker. We are also planning a networking luncheon
where there will be not major speaker but tables centered around
various themes for discussion.
The Venue
Lexington,
Kentucky is located in the heart of the bluegrass region of the
United States. Lexington is centrally located and within
one day’s
drive of 75% of the population in the United States. Lexington’s
Bluegrass
Airport is served by a number of major airlines with many commuter
flights from major U.S. hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and
New York. The convention hotel is the
Radisson Plaza Hotel
that is located in historic downtown Lexington an area that offers
shopping, local restaurants, and historic buildings. The hotel is
located within walking distance of the
University of Kentucky campus and cheaper accommodations will be
provided in the University of Kentucky dormitories.
Our conference information table will include
information on numerous
activities
available to family members accompanying conference attendees.
Downtown Lexington offers many
interesting sites and one of the local tour companies will be
available to book tours to other sites if desired.
So mark your calendar, pack up your family and come to Lexington in May of 2005. A conference website is under construction and I will be starting a conference listserv. If you are interested in being on the listserve please send me an email and I will see that you get on it. My e-mail is listed below. We are planning an exciting, interactive conference and hope to see many of you in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Toni Greider
Conference Chair
Toni.Greider@uky.edu
1 March 2004
