Lauren Collister

Hi! I'm Lauren, a "ethnography wizard" who "gets things done by Tuesday" (actual quotes about me). I have a passion for learning about and understanding social & professional systems, and sometimes disrupting them.

I am an Open Access advocate; I believe that scholarly research should be free, open, and reusable.

My passion for electronic freedom and open access stems from my experiences while earning my Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics. My focus was on discourse analysis and ethnography, where I learned a lot about conversation and even more about what's hidden in the words that we say. I, perhaps, learned the most about the role of academia in society, an unintended consequence.

I value research and learning in online environments, and I am a champion of the benefits of digital games.

I work in the publications arm of the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, facilitating Open Access publishing using an Open Source platform. I also do outreach for scholars, teaching them how to make their research more discoverable, usable, and relevant.