Observations on the declining relevance of the traditional Integrated Library System and suggestions for how it might evolve to survive in a changing world.  Walter Nelson works for RAND Corporation, where he has been involved in providing information support to national defense research (locating, obtaining, organizing and presenting information).  He made a decision early on, when computers were first entering the workplace, to focus on mastering and implementing Information Technology.  He has been the web master for the RAND library and systems administrator for the ILS (SIRSI and then EOS) and other systems and has been instrumental in the introduction of technologies like blogging and RSS to the corporation.

A revolution is at hand, one that is potentially as world-altering as the development of the Web.  And, as most truly transformative revolutions, it is driven by a simple concept: linked data.  Linked data has the potential to change every aspect of the universe of information creation and exchange, but especially in the realm of Technical Services.  Why is it that what we do is so important?  What changes need to take place to prepare us for this new world?  Phil Schreur is Head of the Stanford University Metadata Department, where he aids in the conceptual development of Stanford University Library's information space, especially in the relationship of metadata resources, the online catalog, and other disparate access systems.  Phil also coordinates and advocates strategic directions with the Library's Collections and Services Program, Digital Library Systems and Services, and other areas of Technical Services.  Phil has also worked as a Knowledge System Developer at Highwire Press, and as the principle music cataloger at UC Berkeley.

The future of bibliographic control will be less about "control" and more about connecting--connecting libraries to the online information universe. The foundations for this connection are being laid by significant library organizations like Library of Congress, the British Library, the national libraries of France, Germany and Japan, and the cultural heritage arm of the European Union. What does this mean for us and for our users?  Karen will give a short introduction to linked data concepts followed by a peek into actual uses of linked data by libraries and archives.  How far are we, and how far do we still need to go?  Karen Coyle is a librarian with over thirty years of experience with library technology. She now consults in a variety of areas relating to digital libraries.  Karen has published dozens of articles and reports, most available on her web site www.kcoyle.net.  She has served on standards committees including the MARC standards group (MARBI), NISO committee AX for the OpenURL standard, and was an ALA representative to the e-book standards development that led to the ePub standard.  She follows, writes, and speaks on a wide range policy areas, including intellectual property, privacy, and public access to information. As a consultant she works primarily on metadata development and technology planning.  She is currently investigating the possibilities offered by the semantic web and linked data technology.