[Apologies if you have already seen this] The School of Information Management in Victoria University of Wellington's Faculty of Commerce and Administration invites all interested GLAM sector professionals to attend its symposium "Journeys Towards a New Paradigm: Exploring Collaboration and Access to Digital Artefacts in the GLAM Sector". The symposium is scheduled for Monday 18 April and will be held at the University's Pipitea Campus. Registration is free, but places are limited. The objective of "Journeys Towards a New Paradigm" is to start a discussion which explores the concepts and practices at the heart of the GLAM sector disciplines, and reflects on the implications of emerging digital technologies for what we do and how we think. We believe this exploration, discussion, and reflection is one of the foundations for building systems which provide meaningful access to collections in converged digital environments. The symposium is for all who take an interest in the opportunities and threats associated with sharing the digital spaces where GLAM sector organisations provide access to their collections: managers, curators, cataloguers, recordkeepers, systems developers, and students. The Programme begins with presentations from former practitioners who are now engaged in academic research and who have reflected deeply on their own professional and intellectual journeys within and across the sector's "silos". This is followed by speakers who will explain the thinking behind some recently developed conceptual models in the library, archive, and museum worlds (an opportunity to learn something of "how the other half thinks") and share some challenging thoughts about the potential of emerging technologies, such as linked open data, to radically change the way we work and think. In the afternoon we plan to ground the discussion in a light-hearted collaborative effort to describe (i.e. share our perceptions of) a contemporary and fun "resource", after which, of course, we will get the experts to tell us what their domain models would make of it. Will we find that even though we all look at the same thing, we see and describe something different? The symposium provides a one-off opportunity to come together expressly for the purpose of looking closely at the conceptual aspects of GLAM sector digital practices and discussing them from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. We hope that it will live up to its title and indeed be the beginning of a journey which will continue at the National Digital Forum and other relevant meetings. Date: 18 April 2011 Time: 9 am – 4.00pm Venue: Victoria University of Wellington, Pipitea Campus, GBLT 1 (In annex behind Old Government Buildings) Registration: Free, but places are limited. Reserve your place by emailing sim@vuw.ac.nzmailto:sim@vuw.ac.nz. Programme and further information: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/sim/about/news-events.aspx