NERCOMP in partnership with the Boston Library Consortium and National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) are pleased to present: "New Discovery Tools Symposium."

DATE: February 1, 2010
TIME: 9:00 - 3:00 (Coffee and Registration start at 8:00)
PRICE: NERCOMP Members: $95, Non-Members: $220
LOCATION: The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.

DESCRIPTION: Libraries continue to migrate from out-of-the-box interfaces that search single collections to new products that promise, in various ways, to do a better job connecting people with the information they desire. OPACs are applying layers of lipstick, going open source, or fading away altogether. supplanted by new types of discovery tools. Federated search is mounting a comeback. Next-gen discovery tools promise to deliver the fabled single search box. Massive digitization projects are opening up the contents of books for discovery and--sometimes--retrieval. At the same time, proprietary, centralized projects like Google Books and OCLC's WorldCat Local are developing alongside less centralized, more open initiatives like the Open Content Alliance, eXtensible Catalog project, VuFind, and LibraryFind.

In the morning, invited speakers will provide an overview of the changing discovery landscape and the major issues and players involved. The afternoon will consist of a lightning round featuring 5-10 minute demonstrations and/or discussions of individual products. Time will be built into the afternoon session for attendees to present briefly on products being considered or implemented at their own institutions. The day will end with an open discussion and a consideration of next steps.

For a full schedule and registration information, please go to: http://www.nercomp.org/events/event_single.aspx?id=5930