======= Date Modified 05 Oct 2012 14:30:45 =======
I'm preparing to start working on my research again after taking a break, and I'm finding that a lot of the resources I had bookmarked are now obsolete (and others I don't have access to yet as I'm not registered).

Does anyone have lists of current conferences and/or journals bookmarked? I'm doing keyword searching based on the keywords that were relevant when I was last active, but at this point it'd be useful to be able to browse a little wider to get a feel for what's changed around me.

Once I'm actually registered I will be able to call on the institution's subject librarian for help, but I'm trying to get my head into the right space so I hit the ground running.

It might be worth joining Twitter and following people in your field. Academics will often tweet about papers and conferences of interest, and it's a good way to pick up things of relevance that you might not spot via your usual channels. A lot of professional organisations/societies will also have accounts via which they publicise lectures and conferences.

It might be worthwhile signing up for conference alerts - while you may not actually go to the actual conference, it can 'alert' you to what's happening in your field - http://www.conferencealerts.com/

Another way to keep an eye on what's happening in your area is to sign up for alerts for journals that you may be interested in. Either search for a particular journal and sign up for an alert for every new issue and ToC OR go into the databases and sign up for the alerts that way.

Finally don't forget your subject librarian! Whatever your subject there should be a designated librarian with responsibility for your particular subject. That person should be able to point you in the direction of what's current in your area. There should also be a subject resources section in your uni's library website. There should be a list and links of update resources for your area.

Thanks -- I will definitely follow some more researchers once I've identified who's relevant right now.

This looks really useful, thanks! I've already found a relevant conference taking place in a couple of week's time just across from where I work.

The subject librarian is definitely good advice (and someone I'll certainly go to for advice when I can), but until I'm back as a fully registered student I'm not really entitled to make use of resources.