ACRL National Conference 2005

                          Minneapolis Convention Center
                                   1301 Second Avenue South
                                          Minneapolis, Minn.

PRESS KIT

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) will hold its biennial National Conference, "Currents and Convergence: Navigating the Rivers of Change" at the Minneapolis Convention Center, April 7 - 10

More than 2,500 librarians, leaders in higher education, and best-selling authors will discuss issues such as new technology; open access to research; digitization of library collections; Google and its effect on librarianship; recruitment; and the USA PATRIOT Act and its impact on academic library user

Keynote sessions include presentations from educators William J. Mitchell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Sylvia Hurtado, UCLA; as well as a discussion with best-selling mystery authors Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, J.A. Jance and Valerie Wilson Wesley, moderated by National Public Radio (NPR) host Liane Hansen. More than 160 exhibitors will feature state-of-the-art products and services for academic and research librarian

This year marks the first in which ACRL is offering a virtual component to its National Conference. The online conference community will include live, interactive Web casts, discussion boards, listservs, chat rooms and more.

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA). ACRL's 12,000 members are comprised of individuals from a wide range of academic institutions, publishers and vendors who sell in the academic marketplace. The core purpose of the Association of College & Research Libraries is to lead academic and research librarians and libraries in advancing learning and scholarship.