Welcome to the International Association for Social Science Information Services & Technology (IASSIST) 2008 Conference web site! IASSIST invites you to attend its 34th annual conference, which will be hosted by the Stanford University Libraries & Academic Information Resources (SULAIR). This year's conference, Technology of Data: Collection, Communication, Access and Preservation, examines the role of technology and tools in various aspects of the data life cycle.

The theme of this conference addresses how technology can affect aspects of data stewardship throughout the data lifecycle. The methods and media by which data are collected, shared, analyzed and saved are ever-changing, from punch cards and legal pads to online-surveys and tag clouds. There has been an explosion of data sources and topics; vast changes in compilation and dissemination methods; increasing awareness about access and associated licensing and privacy issues; and growing concern about the safeguarding and protection of valuable data resources for future use. The 2008 conference is an opportunity to discuss the past, present, and future role of technology in all of these arenas.

The main conference begins Tuesday evening, May 27, with a reception to welcome attendees, and ends Friday, May 30. The IASSIST Administrative Committee will meet on Monday, May 26, and pre-conference workshops are scheduled during the day of Tuesday, May 27. The DDI Alliance Expert Committee will be meeting on Saturday, May 31. A post-conference excursion will also be offered on Saturday and Sunday for those interested in seeing more of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stay posted to the conference web site for more details as they develop.