BRASS Notes

Carol L. Schuetz, Editor

Message from the BRASS Chair

Hello BRASS Members!

Even though official BRASS meetings are conducted online for Midwinter, some of us can’t seem to stay away from the conference and it was a pleasure to see many of you in Philadelphia. I caught up with some friends while eating delicious (and sometimes peculiar) food, took care of some business during chance meetings in the convention center halls, and was enlightened and entertained by the conversation at the BRASS Discussion Group, as always.

At the RUSA Book & Media Awards Ceremony in Philadelphia, BRASS recognized the Outstanding Business Reference Sources for 2013, selected by the Sources Committee, and the Best of the Best Business Websites for 2013, selected by the Education Committee. The annual BRASS individual awards and research grants are being finalized now. Keep an eye out for the official announcement of winners from RUSA.

BRASS elections are coming up—look for the official ALA emails. We have a fine slate of candidates:

  • Vice-Chair: Paul Brothers and Julia Martin
  • Member-at-Large: Jason Dewland and Patricia Kenly
  • Secretary: Natasha Arguello and Adele Barsh

As you can see from the committee reports that follow, vendor support for BRASS remains strong. We appreciate our vendors for their sponsorship and for their eagerness for our input on their products, services, and practices. Work also continues on the IMLS grant for financial literacy education in libraries, with solid BRASS representation. Expect to see guidelines issued later this year.

Upcoming programming from BRASS includes:

  • Two more virtual discussion groups before Annual Conference (TBA)
  • The four-part MBA in a Day webinar series (http://www.ala.org/rusa/development/onlinece):
    • Marketing: Andy Spackman, Thursday, March 20, 12:00-1:30 PM (Central Time)
    • Management: Elisabeth Leonard, Friday, April 4, 11:00-12:30 PM (Central Time)
    • Accounting: Todd Hines, Thursday, May 1, 2:00-3:30 PM (Central Time)
    • Finance: Shikha Sharma, Thursday, May 15, 2:00-3:30 (Central Time)
  • At Annual in Las Vegas:
    • Preconference: How Business Librarians Support Entrepreneurs
    • Academic Libraries Forum: Business Information Literacy Instruction: Scalability, Assessment, and Philosophy
    • Publishers Forum: Hitting the Jackpot: Sources for Local and Regional Business Information
    • Traditional BRASS Discussion Group
    • The BRASS Annual Program: Mad Men: The Business of Advertising
    • And don’t forget our Friday night members’ reception and Monday night dinner!

Andy Spackman
BRASS Chair, 2013-2014
andy_spackman@byu.edu