BRASS Committee Reports

BRASS Business Reference in Academic Libraries Committee
The Business Reference in Academic Libraries committee is busy planning its forum at 2014 ALA Annual. Several submissions have been received for potential speakers and a subcommittee is busy evaluating a lot of interesting and innovative proposals. If you think you would like to submit an idea and be part of the three to four speakers, please do so!

The committee is also gathering responses to Celia Ross’s call for all BRASS committees to respond to a series of self-evaluation questions on how each committee fulfills the BRASS mission statement. The Business Reference in Academic Libraries committee contributes significantly to academic business education outreach and leadership and we’re looking forward to sharing our insights with Celia.

This committee is planning to hold a virtual meeting during ALA midwinter.

Charles Allan, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Business Reference in Public Libraries Committee
The committee has added a report to the Public Libraries briefcase. The report is Google Drive or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Online Forms by Sal DiVincenzo. This report can be found by going to the BRASS website and clicking on the MORE link by the Public Libraries Briefcase. The committee also discussed topics for ALA Annual in San Francisco in 2015. The committee has liaised with the RSS/Job and Career Services committee on resources for specialized entrance and certification exams.

Ed Rossman, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Program Planning Committee
Mark your calendars for …..BRASS 2014 ALA Annual Program

Monday, June 30, 2014, 8:0010:00 AM

Mad Men: The Business of Advertising
Many companies spend millions on advertising their brands and products, yet the data can be hard to find. Specialized sources, available at many large libraries, focus on these statistics. The information they contain can be used by business students, researchers, or the general public. In addition, media planning, a component of a company’s marketing plan, will be covered. Entrepreneurs need information on placing ads (and on how much it costs); reference librarians assisting these users will also find the content of the program very useful.

The session kicks off with breakfast, 8:00am-8:30am, sponsored by S&P Capital IQ.

Speakers:
Wendy Diamond, Business and Economics Librarian, California State University, Chico. Ms. Diamond has been a featured speaker at two prior BRASS annual programs (2001 and 2008) on marketing. She is the co-author of: Marketing Information: A Strategic Guide for Business and Finance Libraries (2004).

The other speaker will focus on an advertising campaign, or advertising expenditures by a large “ad spender.”

Patricia Kenly, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Business Reference Sources Committee
The Business Reference Sources Committee is off to a good start, with several business reference titles nominated so far, but we could always use some more. Please let Jordan Nielsen or Mark Siciliano know if you run across any new good business reference titles, as they are coordinating the Business Reference nominations process for the committee. We are also starting to work on putting together the Publisher’s Forum for ALA next summer. If there are topics or vendors you’d like to see us present, please contact the Janis Tyhurst or Penny Scott, the Publisher’s Forum coordinators for this year. We are also wrapping up our section review and will turn in our self-study responses to the Section review Committee by the end of Sept.

Susan Hurst, 2012-2014 Chair

BRASS Discussion Group Committee
The BRASS Discussion group hosted an online discussion in August and had a truncated discussion in October due to technical difficulties.

The August discussion was an open forum, the free flowing conversation focused on collection development and smaller institutions as well as trends in business reference. The meeting concluded with an update of the BRASS reaction to the Harvard Business Review’s new access policies. Emily Treptow, Michigan State University, and Jason Dewland, University of Arizona, served as moderators, thirty individuals participated.

The second online discussion was organized by Stephanie Tulley, UC Santa Barbara, and Jason Dewland and was to feature a business librarian from the Boston Public Library. Due to technical difficulties in Boston, that portion of the discussion had to be cancelled. A brief overview of working with entrepreneurs at academic institutions and a review of the data management tool DataZoa concluded the meeting. Approximately twenty-five people were present.

Jason Dewland will reach out to the creators of DataZoa to have them sponsor an online webinar about their product (unaffiliated with BRASS). Watch for more on this event via the BRASS-L listserv.

Jason Dewland, 2012-2014 Chair

BRASS Education Committee
Lots of exciting events are happening in the BRASS Education Committee:

  • Our first BRASS-sponsored free webinar “Industry Research Using the Economic Census and Other Government Sources” presented by Jennifer Boettcher from Georgetown University is scheduled for December 11, Wednesday, 2:00-3:30 PM EST, with the follow-up in one week, on December 18, Wednesday, 2:00-3:00 PM EST. You can register here.
  • The preparation for the 2014 RUSA BRASS preconference is also under way. The preconference working group, including Natasha Arguello, Tom Ottaviano, Hiromi Kubo, and Christina Sheley, will coordinate the event. We are venturing out into a new topic which will be of interest to many librarians, “How Business Librarians Support Entrepreneurs.” This full-day preconference will focus on market research for entrepreneurs for both Main Street and technology start-ups. The preconference will address common questions on how to help entrepreneurs locate information about their market, industry, competitors and customers and which free or premium resources to use. Speakers will discuss existing best practices of supporting small business along with examples of collaboration with entrepreneurship faculty. Attendees will also learn about licensing business resources relevant to entrepreneurs and avoiding material breaches.
  • The committee members are working on creating updated BRASS Business Guides which will combine Best of the Best Business Websites and Selected Core Resources guides for each topic. We expect to have drafts ready by Midwinter.
  • Another traditional October activity for our committee is nominating and voting for three Best of the Best Business Websites which will be announced at the RUSA Book and Media Award Ceremony at the ALA Midwinter. Our theme this year is Entrepreneurship. Voting should be completed in the first week of November. To see the previous winners, please see the RUSA Awards site.

Natasha Arguello, 2012-2014 Chair
University of Texas at San Antonio
http://connect.ala.org/node/65121
http://brass.libguides.com/

BRASS Membership Committee
Did you see BRASS’ own Chris LeBeau lead the week long IAmRUSA interview session with members? This forum led by RUSA gives ALA members the opportunity to ask RUSA members about their professional careers, their passions, and anything else involving librarianship. Chris had a video interview and answered questions about business librarianship. If you did not see her posts the last week in October, go to ALA Connectto read more about Ms. LeBeau!

A mini-reminder since BRASS just does not have enough friends. Become a “friend” of BRASS Facebook page. See pictures and events. You can LIKE US at Facebook.

If you did not get to attend the 25th Anniversary Celebration, you can see all the smiling BRASS members and dignitaries who attended here.

Kelly Janousek, 2012-2014 Chair

BRASS Vendor Relations Committee
The Committee has been communicating with the award vendors and RUSA to get the awards lined up for the New Year. The Committee has also been actively working on the Harvard Business Review issue, and we have received approval for the S&P Breakfast for our Annual Program.

Chris LeBeau, 2013-2015 Chair

BRASS Publications and Communications Committee
The Publications and Communications Committee has been in a bit of transition this year.

  • John Gottfried stepped down as committee chair this year. His work is greatly appreciated by the committee members and BRASS.
  • Several new members have joined the committee.
  • Chad Boeninger is the new Chair of the Publications and Communications Committee and is doing his best to get a lay of the land.
  • Genifer Snipes is the new Social Media Coordinator
  • Katie Emery is the new BRASS-L manager
  • The committee has worked with and completed the section review process with Julia Martin.
  • As a committee we have discussed challenges and issues with the website, including Natasha’s recommendations on how to improve content and navigation of the site.
  • We will look into doing a content audit to figure out what is on the Brass website and how much it is used
  • Genifer Sipes has reached out to BRASS chairs and committees to understand which committees have social media profiles.

Chad Boeninger, 2013-2015 Chair

BRASS Section Review Ad Hoc Committee
As the chair of the BRASS Section Review Ad Hoc Committee, I would like to remind everyone (especially committee chairs), of the due date on the BRASS Section Review. The final report is due to RUSA on Feb. 15, 2014. The committee’s desire is to get a finished review to the BRASS Executive Committee by Midwinter meeting. If you have not been contacted already with your committee’s participation request please contact Paul Brothers, committee chair, ASAP. Brothers can be reached at pbrother@bruno.cba.ua.edu or by phone at 205-348-1097.

Paul Brother, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award Committee
The committee for the Morningstar Public Librarianship Award is now seeking nominations. The award is $1,250 in travel funds for the 2014 ALA Annual Conference to a public librarian who has performed outstanding business reference service and who requires financial assistance to attend the conference. Find more details on the BRASS website. BRASS members who are public librarians are encouraged to nominate themselves!

Karen Chapman, 2013-2015 Chair

BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Excellence in Business Librarianship Award Committee
This award honors an individual who has made significant contributions in the field business librarianship. The recipient will receive a $3,000 cash award and a citation. Applicants for this award will be evaluated based on their contribution to the field of business librarianship. To submit a nomination, please download and complete the nomination form, and follow the submission instructions therein. The deadline for submissions is December 15. For more information, as well as link to the nomination form, please see the RUSA site. A copy of the nomination form (PDF) can be downloaded here.

Mark Andersen, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award Committee
Sponsored byGale Cengage Learning, this $1,000 monetary prize is given to a student enrolled in anALA accredited master’s degree program to fund travel to and attendance at the ALA Annual Conference and a one-year membership in the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of RUSA. Applicants may download the form here: nomination form (PDF format). Deadline for all nominations is January 31, 2014.

Matthew Brower, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Business Expert Press Award Committee
This award presents a citation and $1,250 to an individual new to the field of academic business librarianship in order to support attendance to the ALA Annual Conference. To nominate a deserving candidate, download and complete the nomination form, and follow the submission instructions therein. The deadline for nominations is December 15.

Kaiping Zhang, 2013-2014 Chair

BRASS Emerald Research Award Committee
The Emerald Research Grant Award, sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited offers one award of $2,500 and a citation to an individual or team seeking support to conduct research in business librarianship. Interested candidates should submit a detailed proposal outlining their proposed research project; methodology, scope and timetable; how this project fits into the existing literature; and projected outcomes, including a statement outlining how this research will benefit the library profession. The deadline for submissions is December 15.

Elizabeth Stephan, 2013-2014 Chair