What is IAMSLIC?
The International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) is an international organization of individuals and institutions involved with aquatic science information. Begun in 1975 in Woods Hole, IAMSLIC numbers over 300 members from more than 70 countries. By virtue of its clearly defined focus, IAMSLIC offers a unique opportunity to meet librarians and others interested in aquatic science information from throughout the world in a professional context encouraging ongoing, close cooperation.

IAMSLIC’s purpose is to promote such cooperation and sharing of resources among libraries and information centers which specialize in any aspect of aquatic science –freshwater, brackish and marine. IAMSLIC is a formal non-profit organization providing an annual conference, continuing education workshops, newsletter, membership directory, electronic mail conferencing, and special projects. Individuals representing all types and sizes of libraries and information centers participate, including marine and freshwater research and policy institutions, government agencies, colleges, universities, non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Does IAMSLIC have an annual conference?
IAMSLIC meets once a year. Conferences have been held in various locations worldwide to highlight different institutions and feature different aquatic environments. Programs are planned by the membership to offer timely topics of mutual concern and interest.

For a list of past and future meetings, see the Conferences page.

The conference proceedings are available in the digital repository WHOAS or by purchasing them in print format. For details, see the Conference Proceedings page.

In addition to the IAMSLIC conference, the Regional Groups also meet during the year.

What are the Regional Groups?
Many IAMSLIC members participate in regional groups. Regional groups provide networking opportunities among colleagues, hold regional meetings, and pursue projects of regional interest. The regional groups are:

• Africa
• Cyamus (west coast of North America and Hawai’i)
• European Association of Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres (EURASLIC)
• Latin Amercian (Mexico, Central American and South America)
• Pacific Islands (Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand)
• SAIL (southeastern U.S. Gulf Coast, the Atlantic coast of North America, including central and eastern Canada, Bermuda, Bahamas, Caribbean, eastern Mexico and Panama)

For contact information and web sites, see the Regional Groups page.

Does IAMSLIC have an email discussion list?

IAMSLIC hosts an email discussion list (IAMSLIC@ucdavis.edu) for members and affiliates of IAMSLIC, the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers.

For information on subscribing and posting to the list, see the Discussion List page.

How does IAMSLIC communicate news & events?
In addition to the email discussion list, IAMSLIC has a blog to communicate the latest news and events. Previously, we published a newsletter; past issues (no. 54 1995 – no. 107 2008) are available in the digital repository WHOAS and are linked from the Newsletters section of the web site.

Does IAMSLIC have a membership directory?
An online directory of current IAMSLIC members including postal address, telephone number, and electronic mail address is available to current members via the Members Area of the IAMSLIC website.

Contact:

Kristen LaBonte, Reference Services
University of California Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010 USA
Email: klabonte@library.ucsb.edu
Phone: Kristen LaBonte 01-805-893-2689

Do IAMSLIC libraries participate in resource sharing?
One of the major benefits of belonging to IAMSLIC is to share resources between member libraries.

The Union List of Marine and Aquatic Serials is available for searching via the website of the IAMSLIC Z39.50 Distributed Library. This version currently incorporates the holdings of about 50 IAMSLIC libraries and is updated on a regular basis.

Union List of Serials, MUSSEL
Funded by Sea Grant, this microfiche serials union list of marine science libraries was produced in 1985 on 21 microfiche. MUSSEL has an accompanying booklet of holdings symbols for 54 libraries in the United States and Canada. MUSSEL can be purchased for US $7.00 from Sea Grant Publications Office, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 USA.