We’re Putting ALL URISA Proceedings Online!!!
The first major project of URISA’s new Development Program is to put all proceedings online.
As members of URISA and perhaps many other visitors to this website are aware, the proceedings from 1963 to 1996 are only available on paper. Consequently it is often very difficult for researchers, students, and practitioners to gain access to our early publications. But that is about to change!
In addition to fund-raising to cover the costs of scanning, meta-tagging, and other online production activities, a companion project has been launched to provide background information for each of the proceedings. First, for the proceedings which are on paper, and then the others.
The objective of this activity is to provide guidance to URISA members and website visitors who were not in attendance at a conference, and who may benefit from words of wisdom by those who were responsible for the conference programs.
Dr. Barry Wellar, who is a URISA past president, and is co-chair of the 50/50 Fund Past Presidents Blue Ribbon Panel, is leading the online proceedings project.
“Our intention is to assemble a body of knowledge in a way which I believe is unique to any professional, technical, or academic organization. In brief, we will be creating a document which has been titled, What Were They Thinking? Insider Perspectives on URISA Conference Proceedings, 1963-Present. This is no easy task, but the high rewards for both insiders and viewers make it worth doing, and doing it as well as resources permit.”
The ‘insiders’ are URISA conference program chairs, conference program committee members, and other conference participants who were responsible for themes, plenary presentations, special sessions, invited papers, and contributed papers.
“We have started the search for insiders for every conference between 1963 and 1996, and this is turning into quite the task”, said Dr. Wellar. “It would be a whole lot easier, and much faster, if potential contributors contact me by email so that we can get on with writing the perspectives.”
Potential contributors are asked to contact Dr. Wellar as soon as possible at wellarb@uottawa.ca for more details about the perspectives project.
