In 1995, it took 35 students 70 days to develop what would become the world's largest and most recognized free, online collection and reference service in the world: the Internet Public Library. This month, 91,982 reference questions and 40,000 vetted, searchable electronic resource items later, the Internet Public Library celebrates its 15th anniversary. 

In conjunction with this event, The iSchool at Drexel will be hosting the Institute on the Future of Reference and its Impact on Library and Information Science Education March 15 -16, 2010. The institute is part of the IMLS grant Transforming the IPL into a Virtual Learning Laboratory. Faculty, students and staff from Drexel University, Florida State University, The University of Washington, The University of Illinois, The University of North Carolina, Syracuse University, and the Free Library of Philadelphia are among those participating in the institute.  

Additionally, two special open presentations have been planned in honor of this moment in the ipl2's history. You can join the celebration as we reflect on the future of reference and its impact on the future of library and information science education. These presentations will be streamed live on video, with information also reported live on the ipl2 blog, Second Life, and Twitter. For access information, visit http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/ipl2

ipl2 - Celebrating 15 years!

Monday, March 15, 2010
4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. EST
Speakers:
Mick Khoo: ipl2 Merger Surprises
Joyce Valenza: Web 2.0 Reference on the Ground K-12
Special Guest Speaker and IPL Founder Joe Janes: IPL to ipl2: The Past, Present and Future

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 
12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. EST
Speakers:
Lorri Mon: Digital Media and ipl2
Steven Bell: Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow's Reference
Special Guest Speaker David Lankes: What does the Future Hold for Reference Services?