This is your WAAL CALL: Welcome to the 2006 WAAL conference!
Whether you navigate using named compass points or degrees measured from magnetic North, Stevens Point will be the rendezvous for Wisconsin academic librarians and support staff in late March, 2006. Although the Northern Lights have been seen in Stevens Point, I welcome you to central Wisconsin where the Stevens Point municipal vehicles read, “Gateway to the Pineries,” and where timber extraction and railroads shaped the area’s past.
The explosion of information, coupled with the application of digital technology shapes our present and will help us chart our future course. The conference will offer, like a compass, many points of interest, regardless of whether your interests lie in technical services or public services. The Professional Development Pre-conference focusing on the “Millennial Generation” launches our voyage of exploration. In a few short days, our speakers will guide us through streams of information about assessment, rubrics, technology, diversity, federated searching, marketing, surveys, cooperative collection management, student staff, libraries as places, information literacy for graduate students, metadata, tutorials, effective collaboration, and library course pages. You will hear from American Library Association President Michael Gorman; you will hear about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the meaning of life. Sessions of poetry, nature writing, and trivia will take you on portages to quieter waters of relaxation, contemplation and humor.
Academic librarians will play most of the parts at the conference: organizers, presenters, listeners, and questioners. We are pleased to welcome you to your 2006 WAAL Conference in Stevens Point. I owe many thanks to Lisa Strand and especially to the 2006 WAAL Conference Planning Committee and its Co-Chairs, Patti Becker and Jean Zanoni for pulling together this interesting, informative, and amusing program.
Welcome to your conference, “Academic Libraries: Pointing Toward New Directions.” I’m glad you decided to attend and look forward to talking with you during the conference.
Alberto Herrera Jr.
Chair, Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians
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