In July 2016, Illinois State University hosted the 24th annual North American Prairie Conference (NAPC). Over the course of four days, nearly 400 attendees explored topics from prairie restorations and reconstructions, to seeds of prairie plants, to burning prairies, heard guest lectures, and went on field trips to local destinations.

Roger Anderson, distinguished professor emeritus and adjunct professor for the School of Biological Sciences at Illinois State University, served as the chair of the conference. “All who attended the 24th North American Conference were welcomed to ISU by our President Larry Dietz,” recalled Anderson. “Attendees included members of the general public who love prairies, along with scientists and resource managers from universities and governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, companies involved in restoration, and commercial prairie nurseries growing plants and producing seeds. Everyone who attended this conference left with new information and a broadened understanding of prairies and greater enthusiasm for this biotic community.”

Now, ISU Research and eData (ReD) is the online home to all of the papers that were presented at the 2016 North American Prairie Conference. Readers can download the entire program booklet containing all abstracts and manuscripts in one file, or they can download each manuscript individually.

“Through ISU ReD, we can provide stable access to this important research and make it easily found by people who want to learn more about prairie restorations.” – Anne Shelley

ISU ReD collects and provides current and long-term access to the research and scholarship of the faculty, staff, and students of Illinois State University. This growing institutional repository reflects the diversity of the research, scholarship, and creative activities of the ISU community.

Anne Shelley, scholarly communications librarian at Milner Library, worked with Anderson to create this new collection. “We are pleased that Dr. (Roger) Anderson and his colleagues chose ISU ReD as the venue to publish the NAPC 2016 proceedings online,” Shelley said. “Through ISU ReD, we can provide stable access to this important research and make it easily found by people who want to learn more about prairie restorations.”

For more information about ISU ReD and how to deposit work, visit the ISU ReD: Research and eData webpage or email ISUReD@IllinoisState.edu.