2nd International M-LIBRARIES CONFERENCE

CALL FOR REGISTRATIONS

We are pleased to invite you to register for the 2nd International M-Libraries Conference 2009.

This conference aims to explore and share work carried out in libraries around the world to deliver services and resources to users 'on the move’ via a growing range of mobile and hand-held devices. The conference will bring together researchers, technical developers and library and educational practitioners to exchange experience and expertise in this dynamic service area.

The m-Libraries Conference features more than 30 international speakers and social events for an affordable early bird rate of $375 (Canadian dollars) if registered by May 15, 2009.

Our featured speakers include:

• SIR JOHN DANIEL – President and CEO, Commonwealth of Learning
• LORCAN DEMPSEY – Vice-President and Chief Strategist, OCLC
• KEN BANKS – Founder of Kiwanja.net
• CARIE PAGE – EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Program Coordinator

June 22 is an optional pre-conference workshop day, followed on June 23-24 by a full program of keynotes, sessions, activities and social events.

To view the conference program and to register visit:http://m-libraries2009.ubc.ca/
Space is limited so register early!

The conference is being held on the beautiful University of British Columbia campus, situated on the edge of oceans and forests in Vancouver, BC. Vancouver is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations and is the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Take advantage of this natural locale by participating in our ‘be mobile’ series of outdoor and cultural tours and activities.

A number of accommodation choices are available on the UBC campus starting at the very affordable rate of $49 per night.
For more information please visit the website or contact Maeliosa Griffin at mlibraries.2009@ubc.ca

On behalf of the International Organizing Committee, we look forward to seeing you in Vancouver for M-Libraries 2009.
Nicky Whitsed, Open University
Leonora Crema, University of British Columbia Library
Conference Co-Chairs

Who's messing with Wikipedia?

This diagram summarises the editing activity on the wikipedia page about Global Warming. I produced it by running the entry through an intriguing new web service described by Technology Review.

"Despite warnings from many high-school teachers and college professors, Wikipedia is one of the most-visited websites in the world (not to mention the biggest encyclopedia ever created). But even as Wikipedia's popularity has grown, so has the debate over its trustworthiness. One of the most serious concerns remains the fact that its articles are written and edited by a hidden army of people with unknown interests and biases.

Ed Chi, a senior research scientist for augmented social cognition at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and his colleagues have now created a tool, called WikiDashboard, that aims to reveal much of the normally hidden back-and-forth behind Wikipedia's most controversial pages in order to help readers judge for themselves how suspect its contents might be.

Wikipedia already has procedures in place designed to alert readers to potential problems with an entry. For example, one of Wikipedia's volunteer editors can review an article and tag it as 'controversial' or warn that it 'needs sources.' But in practice, Chi says, relatively few articles actually receive these tags. WikiDashboard instead offers a snapshot of the edits and re-edits, as well as the arguments and counterarguments that went into building each of Wikipedia's many million pages."