About Reference Renaissance
Reference Renaissance rose from the ashes of the Virtual Reference Desk conference, which evolved in response to the surge in chat reference services as libraries realized they needed to provide help online, where their customers are. Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends, was held in August 2008 and was an unparalleled success. Nearly 500 attendees from five countries and 41 U.S. states participated in two days of thought-provoking, inspiring and practical presentations and workshops focused on established, emerging and merging areas of reference service.
Now is an exciting and dynamic time for reference librarians. As we all face these challenging economic times, users are flocking to libraries for free materials and programs as well as for help finding jobs, starting new businesses and upgrading skills. Budget cuts mean public librarians must find new and innovative ways to serve their customers. Support staff are being trained to help customers with basic reference questions and technology, while librarians are bringing their services into the community – to professional groups, commuter rail stations and businesses. Academic reference librarians are embedding themselves in classes and answering questions via text messaging and Twitter.
To support this rapidly changing environment, every 2 years BCR puts together a committee of the top minds in reference service to examine the practices and innovations in the field.A Reference Renaissance 2010: Inventing the Future conference will be held in Denver August 8-10, 2010. The co-chairs for the conference will be Marie Radford, PhD, Associate Professor at Rutgers School of Communication & Information and VR guru and Rivkah Sass, Director of Sacramento Public Library and Library Journal’s 2006 Librarian of the Year.
If you would like to be notified when registration opens and/or the Call for Proposals is sent, please contact Justine Shaffner at refren@bcr.org.
