Reference Renaissance 2010

Reference Renaissance 2010: Inventing the Future was held August 8-10 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center.

By attending RefRen 2010, I hoped to hear great speakers on an international level, and get ideas on the future of library reference work. After the first day, I was ready to implement some of what I’d learned. Keynote speaker Andrew Walsh from the UK started the conference with a prediction that the smartphone will be what the future will build around and that desktops, laptops, and handheld computers will be used less and less in favor of the smartphone. He also talked about QR Codes and how these are becoming more used as technology advances. Walsh encouraged librarians to change their signs at the door: toss the sign that basically says ‘no cell phone use’ and replace it with a sign that says ‘cell phone use allowed; please turn sound to silent’.

I learned a lot about web based reference statistics, LibGuides, library services and generational research. Did you know that those born between 1988-1994 (the youngest of the millenials) are also being referred to as the 'screenagers'? Marie L. Radford surmises that the future of reference work will include a lot of merging services, work shifting, outreach, and working from places that are not your traditional library setting. It won't be so much "go to your library", but "go to your librarian" and your librarian could be 'virtually' anywhere.

There were 318 attendees from 39 states, as well as many from Canada. Attending a national conference is so important for obtaining ideas and making contacts that one cannot do at a state conference. Reference Renaissance was a wonderful opportunity to do just that, and was worth paying my own way and taking the time to go. I am hopeful that the conference will continue to exist as BCR (the major sponsor) is closing operations. The organizers are looking for a new host, and I hope they find one, as I will plan to attend the next RefRen conference and will highly recommend it to other librarians in South Dakota.