Inside ZSR
I’m getting set to catch the airport shuttle and start the long trip back to Winston-Salem! My first ALA Midwinter has been a positive experience and it’s been wonderful to have a chance to visit Seattle. I definitely have it on my list for a return visit when I can take more time to explore... more ›
I was invited to two receptions last evening and luckily both were in close proximity at the Seattle Center. The Center is on a big campus that was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and was a pleasant mile walk from my hotel. ALA Editons hosts a reception each ALA Conference for authors and their... more ›
Sunday morning started bright and early with the Alibris User Group breakfast at 8:00 am. I serve on the Alibris Collection Development Award panel and the winners were announced at the breakfast. When I read the finalists’ applications this year, I promised myself I would never complain about our acquisitions budget again because these were... more ›
After lunch I went to the exhibit hall with three main goals: to talk with Syndetic Solutions, to stop and say “hey” to Bill Kane and to find some free chocolates to satisfy my sweet tooth! I am pleased to report I met all three goals. Syndetic was the toughest. I could not see them... more ›
As I said, there are thousands of librarians here, spread out all over the city in multiple hotels. Meetings are stretched out all over also, so it’s not surprising that I haven’t laid eyes on Lauren, Mary or Sarah (I did run into Lynn on the street yesterday as we hurried to go to different... more ›
The second session I attended this morning was a demonstration of Primo by ExLibris. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is a new resource discovery and delivery product that is coming to the market. Its competition includes AquaBrowser and Grokker. Its purpose is to provide an interface that incorporates the varied information users... more ›
I got off to an earlier business start today with an 8 am meeting to listen to the LITA’s Top Technology Trends Committee meeting. At each ALA conference, several technology experts gather to predict the most important technology trends in the current library environment. Four of the current experts (Clifford Lynch, Marshall Breeding, Karen Schneider... more ›
After the breakfast I attended my WSS instruction committee meeting. It looks good. I was successful in arguing that we don’t need a blog or wiki for internal communication. We’re going to focus our energy this semester on rewriting the Information Literacy Standards with a WSS focus for WSS librarians and faculty. My role in... more ›
Today I attended my first breakfast with Alexander Street Press, and it was amazing. First: I love ASP. I think they offer a lot of interesting and innovative products in interesting and emerging fields, so I feel they are future minded. This became more evident as they discussed the evolution of a new architecture for... more ›
In my experience, Saturday is almost always the busiest day of any ALA Conference. The cab driver on the way in from the airport asked why librarians had their conferences over the weekend because most other professional groups start on Monday. Good question. In any case, I found myself with three things I wanted/needed to... more ›