Professional Development

Conference reports and more from ZSR Librarians

Leslie at MLA 2025

This year’s meeting of the Music Library Association was held online, and, following the latest trend, offered several sessions on generative AI. Metadata discussions posed the question “Can AI be an author?” In both copyright law and cataloging standards, the answer appears to be “no”: the legal term “author” applies only to humans; RDA, the... more

Kevin at ER&L 2025

Last month, I attended my first ER&L (Electronic Resources and Libraries), a conference for e-resources, digital services, and related library folks. In past years, I would have attended Designing for Digital (D4D), a conference for UX and libraries, held in Austin, TX (and online) in March. Unfortunately, D4D has been retired. Picking up the slack,... more

Morgan & Summer @ SOUCABL

If there is a thick level of yellow pollen on the hood of my car then it must be time for SOUCABL! Typically held every spring, the Southern University College and Academic Business Librarians’ Conference (SOUCABL) is a can’t miss event if you happen to be… you guessed it… a Business Librarian* (check) at an... more

Colleen completes the Critical Appraisal Institute for Librarians (CAIFL)

The Critical Appraisal Institute for Librarians (CAIFL) is hosted by the New York Medical College Phillip Capozzi, M.D. Library and has been offered to medical and health science librarians every year since 2019. The institute aims to develop librarians’ critical appraisal skills which include a comprehensive understanding of clinical research design, biomedical statistics, and critical... more

ZSR Went to Charleston

ZSR went to the 2024 Charleston Conference in a big way back in November with six attendees! Rather than submit six different blog reports, we’re giving a high-level overview here. Interested in learning more? Ask any of us and we’ll be happy to chat in detail! Carol Most interesting presentation/meeting: At the risk of being... more

Will at LAUNC-CH 2025

On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s LAUNC-CH Conference. I’ve attended LAUNC-CH many times over the years, and while I was a bit disappointed that this year’s event was almost entirely virtual—with only the keynote being hybrid—the conference did not disappoint! This year... more

Thomas @ Code4Lib 2025

I’m on my way back from Code4Lib, which has really become the go-to library technology conference (in this country). C4L 2025 was held at Princeton University. Some notes: We build scaffolding: locally built and maintained support structures around the Big Systems we buy, to make them work the way we want. We may start out... more

Roz at APSA Teaching and Learning Conference

Thanks to our Opportunity and Innovation grants, I was able to attend a Political Science conference that had long been on my radar. The American Political Science Association has an annual Teaching and Learning conference, and this year it was in Alexandria, VA Feb 7-9th. Several of my colleagues in the Politics, Policy, and International... more

Designing Libraries for the 21st Century: NC State University Libraries

The Designing Libraries XI conference took place at the NC State University’s James B. Hunt Library, from October 27 to October 29. The scope of this conference centered around the achievements, challenges, and trends associated with the allocation, design, and distribution of library spaces. Each session was presented by professionals from multiple disciplines, including architects,... more

Happy Mentoring Month – Promotion Mentoring with a Twist!

January is National Mentoring Month, and the ZSR Librarians’ Assembly Mentoring Committee is encouraging ZSR Librarians to share their mentoring stories! Look for more mentoring-focused posts this month and more programming from the mentoring committee in the coming months! As the benefactor of two mentors in my three years at ZSR, I’m compelled to share... more