ProQuest and ER&L Support Librarians at SXSWi
Recognizing the insights and knowledge shared at SXSW Interactive (SXSWi), ProQuest, and ER&L are creating the ER&L + ProQuest #ideadrop house at this year's festival, March 8-12. Located in the heart of Austin, (TX) the house will be a premier destination for librarians to gather for salon-style group discussions about the future of libraries and librarianship. SXSWi is renowned for its compelling presentations in the areas of new digital works and media technology, web interface design, and other creative solutions, attracting some of the brightest minds in emerging technologies.
"The #ideadrop house at SXSWi offers library and information professionals the opportunity to think differently about libraries in the broader world of digital creativity and emerging technology," said Bonnie Tijerina, head of electronic resources and serials, Harvard University. "I am pleased and excited that this vision for thought leadership and creativity in libraries is now full of life, entrepreneurial spirit and youthful enthusiasm."
An early leader in supporting librarians attending SXSWi, ProQuest hosted a meet-up at the 2012 festival. Its expanded role at this year's festival is designed to create an opportunity for more focused "think tank" discussions. The Digital Library Federation (DLF) is also sponsoring live streaming at the house, enabling the conversations to be shared with a broader audience.
"Our experience at the 2012 festival showed us that librarians need a place where they can share ideas about what they're learning at SXSWi to advance libraries," said Pam Cory, vice president global field and enterprise marketing. "Our vision for the #ideadrop house is to create that venue for inspiring discussions so we can push the innovation agenda forward."
The #ideadrop house is open to all SXSWi participants. To learn more about the events happening there, visit the SCHED.
About Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L)
Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L) is the effort of librarians to improve the way we collect, manage, maintain, assess, and make accessible electronic resources in an ever-changing digital environment. Founded in 2005 by Bonnie Tijerina, head of electronic resources and serials at Harvard University, ER&L is an annual physical and virtual conference focused on practical, tactical, and strategic work by e-resources management and digital services professionals to further the field. More information about ER&L can be found at www.electroniclibrarian.com.
About ProQuest (www.proquest.com)
ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company has forged a 70-year reputation as a gateway to the world's knowledge — from dissertations to governmental and cultural archives to news, in all its forms. Its role is essential to libraries and other organizations whose missions depend on the delivery of complete, trustworthy information.
ProQuest's massive information pool is made accessible in research environments that accelerate productivity, empowering users to discover, create, and share knowledge.
An energetic, fast-growing organization, ProQuest includes the ProQuest®, Bowker®, Dialog®, ebrary®, and Serials Solutions® businesses and notable research tools such as the RefWorks®, and Pivot™ services, as well as its' Summon® web-scale discovery service. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices around the world.