By Lauren Corbett

Inside ZSR

Lauren C. at ALA Annual 2013, Chicago

I spent a lot of time talking to vendors about e-books and library systems; saw a cool DVD dispenser by PIKinc.; went to a discussion group on offsite storage; and heard The Myth and the Reality of the Evolving Patron: The RUSA President’s Program with Lee Rainie (Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet &... more

Charleston Conference 2012

Seeing Lauren Pressley’s picture and book cover on the screen as an example of unglue.it gave me a moment of great pride during a plenary session at this Charleston Conference. We heard that there were 1500-1600 attendees, the most ever! E-book topics were definitely a theme and “big data” was mentioned in several sessions. A... more

Lauren C. at ALA Annual 2012, Anaheim

Lauren C’s top three from ALA: 1) everyone is still figuring out how to deal with the issues surrounding e-books 2) but editors want to hear about how patrons are using e-books instead of libraries solving the problems with them 3) and librarians (public and academic) are still talking about budget woes, but instead of... more

Charleston Conference 2011

Just a bulleted list of highlights while I’m minimizing strain on a broken wrist, but call or ask me for more info if desired: Lots of questions (regarding inconsistencies, navigation, and discoverability to name a few) centered on data sets and other types of supplemental material to publications — publishers as well as libraries and... more

Lauren C. at ALA Annual 2011, New Orleans

Like Lauren P., most of my hours in New Orleans were spent on responsibilities as an elected representative: Chair of Acquisitions Section (AS) in ALCTS. I attended 2 programs organized by committees of AS on Saturday morning, had a quick Aramark lunch in the convention center, ran by the Serials Solutions booth to check with... more

2011 NCICU Purchasing Committee

Derrik and I attended this year’s Purchasing Committee meeting at High Point University last week. This was the first time the group has done a 1 day format and they jam-packed it! The whole focus was e-books. We heard a hilarious presentation from Tim Rogers of NC Live poking fun at the ad-hoc purchasing approach... more

Lauren C. at ALA Midwinter San Diego 2011

Hot topics: demand-driven acquisitions -is selection dead?; deselection tool being developed; future of Midwinter conference; “reshaping” ALCTS. The last two topics occupied the majority of my time since this is my year as Chair of ALCTS Acquisitions Section, which makes me a member of the ALCTS Board and requires participation in several long, but interesting,... more

Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians — Class of 2010

“Qualities of great leadership are: focus, passion, wisdom, courage, and integrity.” Lee Bolman The above quote might make you think this institute was just a series of sage tidbits, but it really was a highly personal and potentially transformational experience. The class was over 100 academic librarians in leadership positions mostly from the U.S., with... more

Lauren C. At ALA Annual 2010: iPad, e-books, video experiments

The iPad with 3G is an amazing productivity tool at a conference! Quick intros from Barry and JP were extremely helpful in getting me started — thanks, guys! The 3G was absolutely key, because wifi in the convention center was spotty and the added mobility created opportunities. For example, I showed info to a new... more

2010 NCICU Purchasing Committee

2010 NC Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU), Purchasing Committee Meeting, May 13 by Lauren Corbett Carol and I attended only 1 of the 2 days of the Purchasing Committee meeting at Meredith College in Raleigh. Georgia Williams of Chowan University was Chair for 2010. Georgia thoughtfully broke with the tradition of being the host and... more