PLC 23 Day 2

Day two of the Colloquy began with a guided tour of Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8˚ Ost, a new innovative permanent exhibition devoted to climate and climate change. Dr. Susanne Nawrath, Klimahaus Exhibition Manager, gave the group a brief introduction the Centre. This was followed by a guided tour of the main exhibits, which include "Journey", "Elements", "Perspectives" and "Opportunities." The exhibits simulate the climate through a series of interactive displays. As we move throught the exhibits, we experience the climatic differences around the earth and learn about the many factors affecting climate and climate change. Visiting the Klimahaus was truly a unique experience.

Following the tour, we shifted gears from changes in the weather to changes affecting libraries. Lindsay Johnston (University of Alberta) presented a paper entitled "The Melting and Disappearance of Circumpolar Born Digital Grey Literature." She examined important issues related to identifying, capturing and disseminating "born digital" grey literature. Elaine Maloney (Canadian Circumpolar Institute) also spoke of collaborative e-projects between the University and the Circumpolar Institute. Participants broke into groups to discuss issues related to collaboration and the preservation of this type of literature, with a view of a possible e-archiving strategy for Circumpolar literature.

In the afternoon we shifted gears when Jan-Anders Diesen, Film historian (Lillehammer University College, Norway) presented a fascinating look at the very first silent films made of polar expeditions in both the North and South Poles. The presentation examined the earliest silent films made on expeditions led by Fiala, Wellman, Wilkins, Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton, Byrd and others. Professor Diesen brought this rare footage to life and we were delighted to hear the many anecdotes he shared with us about the films and their background.

Our host Marcel Brannemann (AWI, Bremerhaven) then presented two short film clips of relatively recent arctic expeditions. This was followed by the final clip, a humorous entry called the "Quest for the Golden Roll". This five-minute clip was the winning entry of the 48 hr Antarctic film festival submitted by BAS researchers at the Rothera Research Station, Antarctica.

The last two papers of the day shifted gears back to important issues facing polar librarians today, as more and more libraries have to compete with the perception that libraries are no longer as important to research as they once were. Alternate sources of information, such as the Internet (Google, etc.) can make it harder to make the case for the role of the library.

Jo Milton of the British Antartic Survey presented us with the results of a recent user survey she undertook in her organization. The goal of the survey was to understand the patterns of information use by her primary user group, namely polar scientists working at the BAS. As polar research becomes increasingly more collaborative and mulitdisciplinary it is important to understand how scientists in different disciplines use and view the library, as well as in how they percieve the information options available to them. Jo also looked at many of the issues facing her library in the context of reorganization and dwindling resources.

Shelly Sommer (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder) presented a wide-ranging paper on how large-scale trends such as Web 2.0 are affecting libraries and librarians. Shelly surveyed varous Web 2.0 tools suchs as Wikis, RSS feeds, file sharing sites, blogs, sites such as Facebook and Twitter and provided examples of how these tools are changing the way people look at and share information.

Also examined were issues of data decoupling. Research data is treated separately from publications and there are often no clear policies regarding data and data management. Shelly ended her presentation with a look at the changing role of librarians and libraries.

Pierre Beaudreau (Departmental Library, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada)