Aquatic information specialists to meet in October

From 8-12 October 2006, members of IAMSLIC will hold their annual conference in Portland, Oregon. Bringing people together from "every continent and every ocean", discussion topics include:

The role of librarians as catalysts in narrowing the digital divide - with speakers talking of experiences in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Ongoing regional digital repository projects are also profiled - including the 'ODINCARSA' Latin-American and Caribbean Digital Repository that collects, inputs and disseminates scientific production of member institutions into a digital, web based, and open access repository; and the African 'OdinPubAfrica' e-Repository with content from 14 participating countries.

Beyond these e-repositories, open access projects strongly feature on the programme, including an update on progress in open archives and institutional repositories and a report on a 'Marine Metadata Interoperability' project (that is simultaneously a reference catalog, community builder, tool developer, and technology adviser, using old and new knowledge solutions to describe and create best practices).

Note: the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) is an association of individuals and organizations interested in library and information science, especially as these are applied to all aspects of aquatic and marine sciences and their allied disciplines. The Association is currently beginning to implement a strategy to strengthen its 'regional' groups and activities.

Tags: agricultural information marine science aquaculture water fisheries