Where are libraries headed? Do they face a bright future or are they doomed to oblivion? Dr. Peter Murray-Rust, a Cambridge professor of chemistry, open source proponent and library observer, worries that libraries, particularly academic libraries, will soon become irrelevant. He worries that scientific researchers will bypass both library collections and librarians in favour of web searches. What value do librarians bring to research if they do not engage with the collaborative technologies, open data standards and diversity of needs that characterise a new generation of library users? Can librarians of the future emerge from the libraries of today? Will publishing look the same? Murray-Rust’s provocative views will get you thinking in radical new ways about being an internet librarian.

Continue this very important discussion on the future of the library. Are we making ourselves obsolescent? Brian Kelly will guide this session as we explore the ideas propounded by Murray-Rust and evaluate their influence on various types of libraries. In public libraries, the biggest threat may be funding rather than technology.

With an open source content management system (CMS) such as Joomla, it is possible to host your own library website on a small server connected to the corporate network. Turning Library 1.0 into a dynamic and easy-to-use digital library within a corporate setting was the project Coers and Helholm designed. Chad considers the future of integrated library systems, wondering if it’s time to dramatically ramp up national or even global approaches to library management systems and integrated library systems. From the perspective of higher education around the world, discover what opportunities exist for a shared service response.

This is a user-generated, unconference, bar-camp session, where conference delegates choose the topics they wish to discuss. In other words, no talking heads--it's your turn to contribute your knowledge and ask your questions. We will collect session ideas throughout the day, with moderators and speakers identifying themselves. We will begin by gathering in Sessions will be held in all conference rooms.

The TU Delft librarians are using personas to help specify the services and systems customers expect now and in the future. As a result, Discover, built with Meresco open source component library and the Lucene search engine, will replace Delft’s Web PAC. It utilises Google-like queries and drill-down facets. The Feminist Library used Koha to set up its library management system and build an open source catalogue. Open source technologies also play a role in libraries in Pakistan and India, although paradoxically, they haven’t been considered as important as they have in more economically developed parts of the world.

Mobile devices offer opportunities for libraries to deliver core services, such as the library catalogue, federated search and web content, to users. The NTNU Library is continuing its work on project UBiT, which Greenall will describe. Danowski will move the discussion to electronic book formats and ask questions about designing products for a mobile platform.

Social search has attracted a lot of attention recently, along with a fair bit of scepticism. Can you really glean useful information using the social search tools? Karen Blakeman, who pays close attention to the search world, explains. Customising your search experience helps conquer information overload. Implementations
of Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) at two universities show the utility not only of creating a CSE but of embedding in webpages, blogs, research guides, and cou

What do people want from search? How does that relate to what they search? The increasing number of electronically available materials poses a growing challenge for libraries: it is not shelf space and physical logistics that is the main challenge, but URL management, licence agreements, linking problems and first and foremost how to make the users aware of this invisible virtual cornucopia of e-books, journal articles, text and images. Research into user behaviour reveals important lessons for designing library search services.

Web 2.0 presents myriad opportunities for public libraries to evolve, given the ever-changing needs and expectations of an increasingly diverse set of 21st century users. In Edinburgh, virtual library services, branded as Tales of One City, link a range of 2.0 tools to create a joined up social media hub. It reaches out beyond the ‘walled garden’ to communicate, collaborate and share services and resources in a virtual environment. Bibl Feed is the latest library related ‘Ning thing’ in Scandinavia, with nearly 450 members and run by an informal collaborative board. It uses 2.0 tools to serve the Swedish library community with relevant RSS news feeds and foments cross border social networking among librarians from various fields.

The Postgraduate/ExecEd Business School at Bournemouth University necessitated planning new services geared to users wanting to connect with eresources wherever they were and providing collaborative information literacy support to those  navigating virtual libraries, often for the first time. At Vlissingen Public Library, the quality of customer service improved as a result of new software, based on a knowledge network of librarians, that provides a collaborative platform.

The National Library of Singapore embarked on a taxonomybuilding project in 2006 and has recently completed a concept base of terms comprising over 20 controlled vocabularies. Learn about the principles adopted in building this knowledge organisation system, vocabulary mapping and editorial guidelines, including translations for three languages. A different taxonomy project is that of Berg Publishers, which established an academic online reference for the dress and fashion studies community. From faux fur to foot binding, the evolution of the Berg taxonomy presented intellectual challenges in trying to  mpose a classification schema on such an interdisciplinary subject area.

Is social the top technology trend for libraries? Writing blogs, Tweeting on Twitter, status updating on Facebook, sharing information on wikis, following friends on FriendFeed? Are social networking tools helpful to marketing library services, making libraries visible, and highlighting our value? Or is it stretching versatility too far? A panel of expert information professionals will share their views on the top tech trends within the library setting.