Dear RUSA Members:
The annual conference is beckoning with some spectacular programming and preconferences from RUSA that are described in this issue of RUSA Update. All the programming looks terrific, but I do want to make special mention of our Literary Tastes Breakfast, co-sponsored by RUSA and CODES. This is an honored RUSA tradition and beloved event for book lovers and reference librarians, in particular. This year, the authors,Guy Gavriel Kay, Judith Shulevitz, and Nathaniel Philbrick, are the speakers. Their books debuted to great reviews and are well-deserving as top selections of the committees for The Reading List, the Sophie Brody Award, and Notable Books, respectively. I know you’ll enjoy these engaging authors as they speak about their works and the craft of writing, so I hope to see you at this wonderful event. The event takes place Sunday, June 26, 8-10a.m., at the Royal Sonesta, 300 Bourbon St., Grand Ballroom. Tickets may be purchased here. Also, please check out our new site for Literary Tastes. Here you’ll find all the news about the Breakfast and other RUSA book award events, links to resources for book lovers like Goodreads (a quick way to find our literary awards lists and add them to your to-be-read list), and much more as we continue to develop this site and add new information.
I hope you all received the message sent recently to all current RUSA members about the 2011 RUSA member satisfaction survey. The survey closed the week of May 16 and preliminary reports are currently being prepared from the data collected. I am very happy to report that overall satisfaction came in at 7.18 out of 10 for RUSA – please see the graphic below. We will be releasing more information as it becomes available and analyzing the feedback from members for ways to improve our services and benefits to all RUSA members. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who responded; it’s clear that, although the state of the economy is causing unprecedented stress to libraries and librarians, we have a very loyal and caring membership with marvelous ideas about moving RUSA forward as the premier association for reference staff. Thank you for your input and keep the great ideas coming!
Have a wonderful time in New Orleans; if you can’t make it this year, I hope to see you in Anaheim in 2012!
Susan Hornung
Executive Director, RUSA
RUSA Member Satisfaction
Overall Average
April/May 2011
