Free online event for ACRL members

Contact: Margot Conahan
(312) 280-2522
mconahan@ala.org
For Immediate Release,
March 10, 2008

Free online event for ACRL members

CHICAGO - The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) will offer the first-ever ACRL Springboard Event, a free 90-minute interactive Webcast for ACRL members, from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. CDT on April 2. Henry Jenkins, Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities and co-director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, is the featured speaker.

“The ACRL Board of Directors is pleased to offer this free program as a way to thank members for their participation,” said ACRL President Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin Community College. “Members often tell us that professional development is one of the most important services that ACRL provides and that they want additional online learning opportunities. The Board is responding to that feedback with the Springboard Event.”

The inaugural Springboard Event will feature a lively discussion examining the skills and fluencies students will need for the 21st century and what the library can do to prepare for the future of higher education. Jenkins is one of the principal investigators for The Education Arcade, a consortium of educators and business leaders working to promote the educational use of computer and video games, and of the Knight Center for Future Civic Media, a joint effort with the MIT Media Lab to use new media to enhance how people live in local communities.

Jenkins has published extensively on various aspects of media and popular culture, including “Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide,” “Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture” and “From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games.” He writes regularly about media and cultural change at his blog, http://henryjenkins.org.

There is no registration fee for this members-only event, but individuals must register online at to confirm their participation. Questions should be addressed to Margot Conahan at mconahan@ala.org.

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.