The Cyamus regional group encompasses the West Coast of North America and Hawaii, including Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Baja California, and Hawaii. Our members represent libraries in academic, governmental and private institutions, providing information services for many areas including: marine and freshwater sciences, oceanography, geology, fisheries, meteorology, education, policy, and more. We share a wide range of skills and expertise from all areas of librarianship.

Cyamus – we’re not your average parasite. Our name is derived from Cyamus scammoni, a louse which rides on the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) whose migrational territory matches the group’s geographic region.

Annual Meetings

Annual meetings are part unconference, part science bootcamp, part traditional conference, and offer a “boatload” of networking opportunities.  Cyamus meetings provide opportunities to visit relevant institutions and give members a forum to exchange ideas. The meetings are held every spring. Past meeting programs and notes are available in the Annual Meetings archive.

To encourage participation by new library professionals, Cyamus offers financial support to first-time attendees, library school students, or recent graduates to attend the Cyamus Annual Meeting.

Other Activities

Many Cyamus libraries contribute to the Union List of Marine and Aquatic Serials which includes library holdings of selected participating libraries.

Join Cyamus/IAMSLIC

We welcome you to join us. You can apply for the IAMSLIC membership from here; indicate Cyamus as your regional group affiliation with no additional fee.

For more information about Cyamus activities contact:

Amanda Whitmire

thalassa@stanford.edu