Members of the CODES RA committee have contributed the end-of-the-year column for Library Journal’s Reader’s Shelf. Each year a group of RA librarians is asked to write the column, reflecting on some of their favorite titles of the year. This year’s column features titles from six members of the RA committee: Stephanie Chase, Multnomah County Library, Oregon; Jacob Cleary, Chicago Public Library, Illinois; Lucy M. Lockley, St. Charles City-County Library District, Missouri; Deborah Luchenbill,The State Historical Society of Missouri; Troy Lynn Reed, Southeast Regional Library, Maricopa County Library District, Arizona; Deborah T. Walsh, Geneva Public Library District, Illinois. The column will run in the December 15th issue of Library Journal.
CODES member Rebecca Vnuk heads to Booklist
Booklist has hired Rebecca Vnuk, a past member and chair of the CODES RA Committee, as the new Editor for Reference and Collection Management. Rebecca will be responsible for all print and electronic reference reviews, as well as for developing feature articles on readers’ advisory and collection development. Rebecca welcomes column ideas from CODES members. She can be reached at rvnuk@ala.org.
HISTORY Announcements
Laura O’Neill Hibbler, Editor
Announcements
The History Section will have its customary dinner at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Dallas on Sunday, January 22. A long-standing tradition, members of the History Section and friends are invited to a Dutch-treat dinner at a restaurant near the convention center. The venue has yet to be chosen but will be announced on the History-L listserv in early January. If you are not a member of the listserv please be aware that any member of the History Section can join. To subscribe go to http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/history-l.
The Historical Materials committee is always looking for new and interesting bibliographies (print and online) and exception websites, especially those that collect, archive, and provide enhanced access to primary sources. Every year we evaluate sources but suspect we may miss some of the outstanding sources you find useful. We’d really like to hear from other librarians what resources we should consider for our next “Best” list. Send nominations to the chair, Nick Wyant (nnwyant@gmail.com).
Messages from MARS: The Newsletter of the RUSA-MARS Emerging Technologies in Reference Section
Melissa J. Clapp, Editor
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Message From the Chair
Greetings!
The months seem to be flying by, and we are fast approaching the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Winter of 2012 marks the first time that MARS will use a modified system of meeting during Midwinter. Committees, other than the Executive Committee, will be given the option of meeting in person during Midwinter or meeting virtually prior to Midwinter and submitting a report of committee activities to the Executive Committee by Friday, January 6. The Executive Committee will meet in person during Midwinter and will refer to committee reports to conduct business during each meeting. This is a pilot program, and it will be very interesting to gather feedback following Midwinter to gauge the general response from members of MARS.
The RUSA Membership Social will be held on Saturday, January 21. This event allows RUSA members and prospective members to meet and mingle while learning more about RUSA. I encourage you to attend if you are able to do so. The social is a highlight for RUSA during the Midwinter Meeting.
There will also be three very interesting discussion forums during Midwinter. Please show your support if you are attending the Conference. The Hot Topics in Electronic Reference Discussion Group will host a discussion forum on Saturday, January 21 from 1:30-3:30 pm entitled “Reaching out to Patrons in Virtual Ways: Old School Successes and New Initiatives.”
The Local Systems and Services Committee will host a discussion on Sunday, January 22 from 4:00-5:30 pm. entitled “The Learning Commons and the Academic Library: Using Emerging Technologies and New Partnerships to Build Student Success.”
The Virtual Reference Discussion Group will host a discussion forum on Saturday, January 22 from 4:00-5:30 pm entitled “UX + VR FTW.” Read more about each of the discussion forums in the descriptions below. Please join us if you can!
Warm Regards,
Dianna McKellar
MARS 2011-2012
MARS Professional Development Committee
With the merger of the Education, Training and Support with Professional Development (PD), MARS now has a new “Super Committee.” Take a look at our membership herd at our new ALA Connect site.
The PD Committee sponsored the first webinar for RUSA on August 2, 2011! Using GoToWebinar software recently licensed by RUSA, this webinar was an “Introduction to Screencasting Tutorials” based on content from a previous MARS program during Annual 2010. There were over forty attendees and plans to repeat this session are tentatively scheduled for December 16. We still have some growing to do in planning and executing webinars, but the potential is enormous and the support from RUSA is fantastic.
If you have any ideas for a MARS webinar, please contact Nancy Cunningham, Chair of Professional Development (nancy@usf.edu). The committee will be working on developing future webinars that shoujld be of value to ALA members. We are also interested in training other MARS commitees on the process and best practices for implementing webinars. Professional development is something that every MARS committee offers. We are eager to partner with any other committee and have lots of able members.
PD members also volunteered to participate in a joint RSS/MARS Subcommittee to plan preconference sessions. Both MARS and RSS intend to offer affordable professional development sessions as preconferences by finding locations and presenters that support our educational efforts without high fees. Got a great idea for a preconference? Please let Nancy know about it and she will pass it along.
Our committee held its first virtual meeting in October using GoToWebinar software! We found this to be an effective and fun way to conduct committee business. Members can record notes, visit websites, respond by voice or chat—the ultimate communication experience. No more scrambling at Midwinter to share ideas. We intend to continue having regular virtual meetings to help us stay on track with planning activities. Using the webinar software for virtual meetings also helps us improve our technical skills. Some of the challenges to virtual meetings have been scheduling, which required using Doodle to determine best meeting times and troubleshooting during the session. However the support from RUSA has been excellent and our committee will gain more experience as these virtual meetings become routine.
Van Houlson, Co-Chair
RUSA MARS Virtual Reference Discussion Planning Committee Update
Saturday, January 21st 2012 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: Dallas Convention Center, V304
The title of the Virtual Reference Discussion Group is “UX + VR FTW”
Courtney Greene, Head of Digital User Experience (DUX) at Indiana University Bloomington Libraries, will begin the forum by discussing what happens when user experience meets virtual reference. She will argue that libraries are in the user experience business—that our users’ needs are at the forefront of everything we do. Greene will describe a recent reorganization that has led DUX to take on a more active role in supporting and managing virtual reference (VR) tools at IUB Libraries: IM via LibraryH3lp, text reference via Google Voice, and a newly re-designed mobile site. She will share how she and her team have worked to balance the advantages of centralized management of VR services (for over a dozen service points across campus) with the importance of staying closely connected to librarians in the field, on the ground and at the desk. She will also discuss how the mobile redesign increased access to research apps and how users have responded to the changes. After Greene’s presentation we will discuss her ideas and other emerging technologies for virtual reference.
Committee News:
The Virtual Reference Discussion Planning Committee has held three online meetings since ALA Annual, 2011: July 27, 2011, August 8, 2011, September 28, 2011. With the committee’s expanded membership (from 3 members to 7 members), it is proving difficult to find meeting times and meeting platforms that work well for all members. The committee has been using MegaMeeting or Google + Hangouts for synchronous online meetings, and Google Docs for asynchronous sharing of ideas.
Jason Coleman, Chair
RSS Review
Amy Rustic, Editor
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Message from the Chair
Greetings RSS Members!
Midwinter 2012 is soon upon us! The ALA Midwinter Meeting will be held January 19-24, 2012. Most RSS committees will be holding virtual meetings between January 16-31, rather than in-person meetings at Midwinter. However, for those of you who will be attending in Dallas, we will be sponsoring many events to enrich your experience.
Most importantly, we’ll be hosting the Second Annual RSS Pancake Breakfast bright and early on Saturday, January 21, at Cindi’s New York Delicatessen at 306 S Houston St, right near the Convention Center and hotels (http://www.cindisnydeli.com). We expect breakfast to begin around 8:15 am, but we’ll be sending out an official announcement soon. We hope to see you there!
- Saturday, 10:30 am-12:00 pm: Discussion Forum: Feedback and discussion on the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers and the Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians
- Saturday, 1:30 -3:30 pm: Discussion Forum: Library Programs and Services to Baby Boomers
- Sunday, 10:30 am-12:00 pm: RSS Discussion Forum: TBA
- Sunday, 4:00-5:30 pm: Discussion Forum: Answering the YA Reference Question – Making Connections that Matter with Marie Radford
- Monday, 10:30 am-12:00 pm: Discussion Forum: TBA
I wish you the very best in 2012, and look forward to seeing many of you in Dallas!
Liane Taylor
Chair, Reference Services Section
ltaylor@txstate.edu
RSS Chair, 2011-2012
RSS Announcement
Nominate yourself—or someone else—for one of the many achievement awards and conference travel grants offered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), the division of ALA representing librarians and information service professionals in reference, collection development, readers advisory, genealogy and resource sharing.
The deadline for almost all of our nominations is December 15, 2011. We offer a multitude of professional achievement awards, as well as a few conference travel grants—the list of awards is so long, it’s too many to include here!
The amount for the STARS/Atlas Systems Mentoring Award has increased to $1,250! This travel grant provides funds for travel to ALA’s Annual Conference for a library practitioner who is new to the field of interlibrary loan/document delivery or electronic reserves, and who has daily, hands-on involvement in the areas of borrowing, lending, document delivery, electronic reserves, material delivery, or resource sharing.
More info is available on the RUSAblog or or visit the RUSA awards web page:
Catalog Use Committee
The Catalog Use Committee recently held a virtual meeting where we discussed our plans for Annual 2012. The group decided to host a Moderated Roundtable Discussion during our meeting time at the conference. We are narrowing down a selection of topics, with the intent that each table will interrogate one topic in-depth. The Moderated Roundtable will constitute about two-thirds of the meeting time, with the remaining time dedicated to sharing key points from the discussion with the whole group. We are very excited about this format, as we feel it is a way to engage the audience and other committees to spur cutting edge discussions. With that in mind, we will be reaching out to other committees in the coming months to provide subject specialists to moderate the roundtables. Please look for more information as we narrow our focus.
Peter Collins, Chair 2011-2012
Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee
The RUSA/RSS Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee is pleased to announce the acceptance of two discussion forum proposals for Midwinter in Dallas:
● “For whom the Catalog Serves: Reference Librarians using Information-Seeking Features of Catalogs and Discovery Systems,” proposed by Anne Larrivee of Binghamton University; Sunday, 10:30-12:00 pm; Dallas Convention Ctr, Rm D175
● “Managing the Different Types of Reference Services,” proposed by Bonnie Fong of Rutgers University; Monday, 10:30 am-12:00 pm; Dallas Convention Ctr, Rm C145
Congratulations to Anne and Bonnie!
These forums are sure to be lively and informative, so make a point to attend both!
Emilie Smart, Chair 2011-2012
Education and Professional Development for Reference Committee
This year the Education & Professional Development for Reference Committee re-energized though new membership and project possibilities, along with the archiving of past projects. We are currently migrating and expanding our list of websites, videos, and other online resources related to training for the reference practitioner from a closed list in ALAConnect to a public Delicious account. In addition, we are collaborating with the MARS Professional Development Committee to offer a no-cost workshop at ALA Midwinter in 2013. To further the access to free reference training resources, the group also is investigating collaborating on webinars. EPDRC determined that the New Employee Orientation Bibliography was a wonderful project, however due to staff time to adequately maintain the list and changing interest in the committee we are archiving the bibliography.
Kristen Mastel, Chair 2011-2012
Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee
ERUS is planning a discussion forum for Annual and will meet virtually during Midwinter.
Ellen Keith, Chair 2011-2012
Library Service to an Aging Population
In addition to our program at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim (How Libraries Are Serving the Evolving Needs of Baby Boomers and Older Adults), our committee has scheduled a Discussion Forum at the Midwinter Meeting in Dallas on “Library Programs and Services to Baby Boomers” on Saturday, January 21 at 1:30 pm. For those who are able to make it to Dallas, this discussion forum will be a great opportunity to share ideas on how libraries can best serve this population!
Jeff Kempe, Chair 2011-2012
Library Services to the Spanish Speaking
The RSS Services to the Spanish Speaking committee designed and conducted a survey of librarians from all types of libraries working with Spanish-speaking patrons. The survey received almost 100 responses. The committee was contacted by the REFORMA Newsletter editors to submit an article summarizing survey results. The article will be published in the Winter/Fall issue. The committee will hold a virtual meeting in January to continue planning for a discussion forum and at the 2012 ALA Annual to share and discuss survey results. For more information and full survey results please visit the committee’s ALA website.
Gabriel J. Duque, Chair 2011-2012
Management of Reference Committee
The Management of Reference Committee plans to hold an open discussion during its regular meeting time (Saturday, January 21, 10:30 am-12:00 pm) at ALA Midwinter. We will be addressing two issues:
- We will be asking for feedback regarding the draft revision of the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers.
- We would like to hear about the use of Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians, which is due to be revised.
The draft revision of the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers are currently posted on ALA Connect. Your feedback would be appreciated.
William Weare, Chair 2010-2012
Marketing and Public Relations for Reference
The RSS Marketing & Public Relations Committee has partnered with YALSA to co-sponsor a discussion forum, organized by Joe Thompson, chair of RSS Organization and Planning. The forum centers on the timely topic, “Answering the Young Adult Reference Question—Making Connections that Matter” and will be led by Dr. Marie Radford, of Rutgers University (recently co-authored “Seeking Synchronicity” which is freely available through OCLC. The discussion will explore the dynamics of negotiating reference questions with young adults face-to-face and via various technologies. It is scheduled for Sunday, January 23 at 4:00 to 5:30pm. All ALA attendees are invited! Additionally, our committee will meet virtually on Wednesday, January 18, 1:00-2:30pm (Eastern) for our Midwinter meeting, more information can be found on ALA Connect.
Cathay Crosby, Chair 2011-2012
Organization and Planning (O&P) Committee
RSS O&P met online with RSS Executive Committee on August 11 and Oct. 27. At the October meeting, RSS Execituve Committeess approved the creation of a Young Adult Reference Services Committee that will work in partnership with YALSA. To create an interest group or discussion group within the YALSA division, fifteen signatures of active YALSA members interested in actively participating will be needed. Work on formalizing this relationship will proceed over the fall/winter. Upcoming: O&P will work with Exec to resolve the status of the User Education and Information Literacy Committee and the Services to Adults Committee while it considers the creation of a committee focused on Frontline Reference Instruction. The need for other new committees will be evaluated. O&P members are currently serving on both the RUSA Structure Task Force and the RUSA Web Conferencing Task Force. O&P will not meet face-to-face in Dallas during ALA Midwinter 2012.
Joe Thompson, Chair 2011-2012
Recognition Committee
RSS Service Achievement Award – Nominate someone today!
The Reference and Services Section of RUSA is pleased to solicit nominations for the annual RSS Service Achievement Award. This award, which will be presented at the annual RSS Open House and the RUSA annual awards ceremony, honors an RSS member’s contributions to the section. The recipient will be chosen based on either sustained contributions towards attaining the goals of RSS or a single significant contribution that has resulted in a positive impact upon the work of the section.
To make a nomination please send a letter detailing specifically how the nominee has met either of these criteria to Lori Thornton, the award committee chair, by December 15: lori.thornton@sos.wa.gov.
Lori Thornton, Chair 2010-2012
Research and Statistics Committee
The Research and Statistics Committee invites submission of research projects for presentation at the 18th Reference Research Forum at the 2012 American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA. The Reference Research Forum continues to be one of the most popular and valuable programs during the ALA Annual Conference, where attendees can learn about notable research projects conducted in the broad area of reference services such as user behavior, electronic services, reference effectiveness and assessment, and organizational structure and personnel. The deadline for submissions is January 2. Please visit ALA Connect for more information.
Qiana Johnson, Chair 2010-2012
Virtual Reference Services (MARS/RSS)
The proposed program “Are Virtual Reference Services Worth the Effort?” sponsored by the RSS/MARS Virtual Reference Services Committee has been accepted for ALA Annual 2012. A panel of experts will discuss ways to look at return-on-investment and evaluation of virtual reference (VR) services and various methods used to assess their effectiveness. Real-life examples of ways this has already been done will be presented as well. Scheduled panelists represent a cross-section of different libraries and each will share their unique perspective. The committee will be holding a virtual meeting in late December or early January at which it plans to discuss the possibility of conducting an annual online survey to assess the distribution and logistics of virtual reference services in libraries, as well as the logistics behind enhancing the accuracy and visibility of existing virtual reference-related content within online resources like LISWiki and Wikipedia.
Don Boozer, Chair 2011-2012
Virtual Reference Tutorial Subcommittee
The Virtual Reference Tutorial subcommittee established three goals for2011-12. The first is to continue improving the VR Tutorial content for two additional modules this year, and to provide 4 or more modules for user testing. The second is to implement the Tutorial in ALA’s new content delivery tool, based on tool availability. The final goal is to identify ongoing improvements for next year.
The committee meets regularly to discuss content, review modules and update existing Tutorial modules. Drupal use is planned, and feasibility testing will be explored this spring. By ALA Annual, several selected modules should be available for user testing.
Valli Hoski and Jennifer Lau-Bond, Co-Chairs 2011-2012
STARS
Katharine Calhoun, Editor
calhoun@gatech.edu
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Message from the Chair
Greetings,
STARS committee members have been working diligently to plan entertaining and informative meetings for Midwinter in Dallas. We hope to see you all there and remember everyone is invited to attend STARS events.
This year STARS will also be busy starting their section review. Whether you’re new to STARS, or a past member, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me directly with any comments or questions.
Finally, if you would like to stay current on what STARS is working on, please remember to check back at our website.
Heather Weltin
STARS Chair
hweltin@library.wisc.edu
STARS Announcements
The Education and Training Committee is planning to offer the popular, free workshop, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about ILL,” in conjunction with ALA Midwinter in Dallas. The workshop will take place at the Dallas Public Library on Friday, January 20 from 8:30 am-12:30 pm. Our speakers will be Karen Janke (lending), Megan Gaffney (borrowing), Cindy Kristof (copyright), and Collette Mak (resources, systems, and standards).
More information and a link to register will be available soon on the Committee’s website. Whether you’re new to resource sharing or are a long-time practitioner, please plan to join us for this exciting workshop.
Many thanks to our generous sponsors: OCLC, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS), and the Dallas Public Library. See you in Dallas!
Megan Gaffney, Chair
gaffneym@udel.edu
Hot Topics Discussion Group
Please mark your calendars for the Hot Topics Discussion Group at the upcoming ALA Midwinter in Dallas on Saturday, January 21 from 4:00-5:30 pm.
This informal gathering is meant to stimulate conversation and knowledge-sharing about current concerns related to resource sharing. Please send suggested topics to: Naomi Chow (nchow@hawaii.edu).
Possible Hot Topics include:
● Policy and procedures
● Serving long-distance education/online patrons’ needs (How far do we go?)
● Charging patrons for ILL services (requests; overdue, damage, lost; non-pick up)
● Lending new (current year) books
● ILL and copyright (TEACH Act, Course Reserves)
● ILLiad v. 8.1xx problems and issues (Share your fixes!)
● Returnables paperwork (Sending back lender’s paperwork, or not?)
New Services
● How well is OCLC Knowledge Base service working?
● What are other ways to systematically process licensing restrictions?
● What is the experience with the Copyright Clearance Center’s “Get It Now” service?
● Updates on the IDS Getting It System Toolkit?
● ILL and apps for patron access to your ILL online service?
● Experiences with short-term e-book lease via OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing?
● OCLC Article Exchange experiences?
Issues for Changing Times
● How do we deal with online journals that disappear? (If no one’s archiving!)
● How does your library deal with Pay-Per-View? (Payment, access)
● How does your library deal with Early View (online first, pre-publication) articles?
● Anyone using unique training methods (e.g., YouTube) for student assistants or patron outreach?
● OCLC’s upcoming (free!) online training on resource sharing, First Search
If you’d like to give a brief demo of a cool new service or show how things are working at your library, please contact Naomi Chow (nchow@hawaii.edu).
Naomi Chow, Chair, 2012
Troy Christenson, Chair-Elect
Interlibrary Loan Discussion Group
The Interlibrary Loan Discussion group combines brief, formal presentations with informal, topical discussions and networking to create an informative and energizing ninety minutes. For this year’s Midwinter meeting, the group will feature two twenty-minute programs. The first is “100% Document Delivery: What to do when your collections are ALL off-site.” Bethany Sewell, Access Services Librarian, Penrose Library, University of Denver (UD), will discuss how the Penrose Library provides ILL and Document Delivery services while ALL of UD materials are stored ten miles away in their Hampden Center Annex. Tina Baich, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, will be our second speaker. Ms. Baich will reprise her timely and instructive Interlending and Document Supply Conference (12th ILDS) presentation “Opening Interlibrary Loan to Open Access: Locating and Managing Borrowing Requests for Open Access Materials.” If you have any comments or questions, or if you would like to suggest a group discussion topic or volunteer for future programs, please contact David Atkins at datkins@utk.edu or (865) 974-6866.
David P. Atkins, Chair
datkins@utk.edu
International Interlibrary Loan
Heather Weltin and Tina Baich presented preliminary results of the International Interlibrary Loan Committee’s 2011 survey on international ILL at the 12th Interlending & Document Supply Conference in September. Weltin and Baich gathered helpful insight into what international ILL practitioners would most like to learn from the survey. In the spring, the committee hopes to write an article for RUSQ with an emphasis on this feedback. The committee is now preparing an executive report providing a complete overview of the data collected and hopes to present the report to the STARS Executive Committee for approval at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.
Tina Baich, Chair
cbaich@iupui.edu
Rethinking Resource Sharing Policies
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Policies Committee developed a sixty-plus item checklist for libraries to use as a way to reflect on the resource sharing services they provide. The STAR Checklist was distributed beginning in February 2011. A number of libraries have completed it and have qualified as Rethinking Resource Sharing STARS, including seventeen libraries belonging to the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries. They are listed on the Rethinking Resource Sharing website and have received certificates noting their achievement. In addition, a number of libraries in Australia completed the checklist this spring/summer, many of which also qualified as Rethinking Resource Sharing STARS. For more information on Rethinking Resource Sharing, see their website.
At ALA Annual, the committee continued working on the next phase of the STAR Checklist. This involves transforming the checklist from a simple list of items to a dynamic resource. The idea is to link each checklist item to a relevant definition, example, or other resource. Linking practitioners to such information will enable greater understanding of any concept, best practice, technology, or other item mentioned in the checklist that a library may not be engaged in. To this end, the checklist will become a toolkit. A process for moving forward with this was discussed at ALA Annual, and the committee hopes to have completed the process by the end of summer.
Additionally, the committee decided to begin offering STAR recognition for different levels of activity with checklist items. Where before a library needed to be engaged in 80% or more of the items on the checklist, the committee is offering STAR recognition to libraries that are engaged in 60% or more, who will be awarded one star, 70% or more: two stars, 80% or more: three stars, and 90% or more: four stars.
The committee also discussed its role in helping libraries that do not qualify as STARS or are interested in learning more about how to engage in services, best practices, and other items noted on the checklist. Committee members are committed to working with libraries that participate in the checklist, and willing to offer advice and guidance in order to help libraries improve their resource sharing services.
Evan Simpson, Chair
evan.simpson@tufts.edu
Vendor Relations
The Vendor Relations Committee has been focusing on a few key areas since our meeting at ALA Annual in New Orleans. First, we decided to extend invitations to attend our meetings to providers of resource sharing products and services. We will have John Brunswick from Atlas Systems, Clare MacKeigan from Relais International, and Tony Melvyn from OCLC in attendance at the Midwinter meeting, and we will be attempting to bring in additional members of the vendor community. Another area that the group has focused on over the past year has been the creation of reports on interlibrary loan activity that go beyond the data we have on volume of requests. Toward that end this summer we requested that OCLC create a most frequently requested unfilled titles report. The hope is that this report would be useful for collection development purposes.
Becky Ringwelski
e-ring@umn.edu
Message from the BRASS Chair
BRASS Notes
Carol E. Smith, Editor
Message from the BRASS Chair
Dear BRASS Members,
BRASS continued our virtual Mid-Winter meeting this year in sunny San Diego. While most of our BRASS Committees have been working virtually, we did have one ALL BRASS Committee meeting for those of us who attended the San Diego Conference. We had a lively discussion about issues facing business librarians as well as a discussion of some business resources. Old and new members of BRASS were able to meet and share experiences.
BRASS will be in full force at the Annual ALA Meeting in New Orleans this Summer, June 23 – June 28. We have many great programs, forums and discussion groups planned for this conference. So keep reading to learn more. See you in NOLA!
Mark E. Andersen
BRASS Chair, 2010-2011
BRASS Business Reference in Academic Libraries Committee
The committee has been working on new issues of the online newsletter, Academic Brass. The Fall 2010 issue has been posted on the BRASS website and articles are being collected for the Spring 2011 issues. Anyone interested in submitting an article should send a proposal to the newsletter editors, Lydia LaFaro (lafaro@asu.edu) and Nathan Rupp (nrupp@umich.edu). Articles should address current issues, practices, or resources in academic business libraries. See the Newsletter Description and Guidelines for additional information.
In addition, we are reviewing the committee web site for areas to update and making plans for a research project on business databases licensed by the business school rather than the campus library.
Lydia LaFaro, 2009-2011 Chair
BRASS Education Committee
The RUSA-BRASS Education Committee is hosting a preconference during the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Friday, June 24, 2011 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Business Reference 101: Core Competencies for Business Librarianship is a full-day interactive workshop designed for new business librarians, generalists who have assumed responsibility in business librarianship, and librarians who handle business reference inquiries in all types of libraries including academic, public, and special libraries.
The ‘Best of the Best‘ Business Websites (Free Resources) and the Selected Core Resource for Business Reference are now available in LibGuide format and can be accessed at http://brass.libguides.com.
Our committee participated in the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony during ALA Midwinter in San Diego and presented this year’s winners of the Best of the Best Business Websites. Our committee decided to recognized websites that provide important and critical information on employment and housing. The winners are:
U.S. Census Bureau Local Employment Dynamics
The Data tools section provides access to new NAICS-based Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) Online by state, county and sub-county; industry, year and quarter; sex, age group and ownership; net job gains and losses from the fourth quarter of 2007 to present. It also includes mapping applications. Industry Focus determines top industries by state, county, MSA, and characteristics of employees in those industries.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal statistical agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision–making. Includes Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*NET.
National Home Builders Association
This site provides a wealth of information on building buying and owning a home as well as remodeling, green building, and land development. It also provides links to data and statistics on construction, home sales, housing opportunities, housing’s economic impact, etc.
Please visit our ALAConnect page for more information about the BRASS Education committee.
Leticia Camacho, 2010-2011 Chair
BRASS Nominating Committee
The committee is pleased to announce BRASS Candidates for the March 2011 elections:
For Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect (2011/2012 as Vice-Chair, 2012/2013 as Chair)
● Greg Fleming
● Ann Fiegen
For Member at Large (2011/2014 term)
● Louise Feldman
● Diane Campbell
Thanks to all of our outstanding candidates for being willing to serve!
Judith Faust, 2010-2011 Chair
BRASS Conference Program Planning Committee
Social media is changing how the world communicates. This year’s BRASS conference program will focus on how business can successfully target social networking applications and how librarians can better position their reference services and collections to assist business users with this exciting new medium. Please mark Monday morning, June 27 on your calendars for the BRASS Program in New Orleans where you will hear from leading technology commentator Stephen Abram and Laurie Bridges of Oregon State University describe the principles and applications of the business of social media. Other leaders in social media businesses will add their perspective.
Ann Fiegen, 2010-2011 Chair
BRASS Publications Committee
In order to meet its new charge of keeping the BRASS web presence up-to-date and accurate, the committee has organized into teams of two members, with each team responsible for overseeing a particular section of the BRASS pages:
● BRASS Awards– Louise Feldmann; Shana Gass
● BRASS “Our Section“ – Naomi Hafter; Kate Joranson
● BRASS Events – Charles Lyons; Jill Markgraf
● BRASS Professional Tools – Monica Hagan; Robert Perrett
● BRASSPublications – Kaiping Zhang; Carol Smith
● BRASS main page – Hyun-duck Chung (BRASS Webmaster)
Please know that you may be hearing from the above committee members, as they will be reaching out to other BRASS committees with questions and suggestions about web content. Consider them your BRASS “webpage liaisons.”
If you have any web page updates to submit, please submit them via email to both BRASS Webmaster Hyun-Duck Chung (hyun_duck_chung@ncsu.edu) and myself (csmith@libserv.ucmo.edu). You can also submit your updates and suggestions to the above liaisons as appropriate.
The Committee kicked off 2011 with a comprehensive review of all BRASS pages. They met virtually on Wednesday, January 19 via Adobe Connect to share and discuss their findings. We have many page updates and corrections to make, but we ask that BRASS members be patient. The current Collage content management system for the ALA web site is a legacy system that is inefficient, slow (!), and increasingly incompatible with current operating systems. ALA is moving as quickly as possible to transition the association to Drupal, a superior and more user-friendly content management system. We hope to see this transition completed before the end of the year.
As always, the committee encourages you to submit your publications to the BRASS Member Publication List. This list is maintained on ALA Connect as a way to showcase our members’ publication activities and serve as a valuable resource for all BRASS members.
Carol Smith, 2010-2011 chair
BRASS Gale Cengage Student Travel Award Committee
Several nominations have been received for the BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award. The Committee will be reviewing the nominations in February to determine a winner. The award will provide funding for travel to and attend of the ALA Annual Conference and a one-year membership in the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of RUSA.
Doreen Harwood, 2010-2011 Chair
BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship Committee
Our committee has received a number of nominations for this year’s award, and we have found that there are many ways to exemplify excellence in business librarianship! We are very excited about announcing this year’s winner to you all, but we are going to have to keep you in suspense a little bit longer. Stay tuned!
Penny Scott, 2010-2011 Chair
CODES
Vicki Bloom, Editor
CODES is doing lots of exciting work. There are several programs at Annual that promise to be interesting and informative:
● Reader’s Advisory Trends Forum: Saturday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm
● A-Z of Electronic Reference Product Development: Saturday from 4:00 – 5:30 pm
● How is it shared? Remote Storage and Cooperative Collection Building: Monday from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Committee Reports
Reader’s Advisory
The Reader’s Advisory is interested in running a survey in 2011 to gather more data about academic readers’ advisory service.
Collection Development Planning and Assessment
Collection Development Planning and Assessment will be discussing program for 2012 on e-book assessment panel featuring representatives from both large and small academic and public library systems.
Communications
CODES has a Facebook page: Friends and Content are welcome!
Messages from MARS
Newsletter of the RUSA-MARS Emerging Technologies in Reference Section
Melissa J. Clapp, Editor
From the Chair
The Emerging Technologies in Reference Section, aka MARS, had a series of productive meetings at the Midwinter conference in San Diego, and we are looking forward to a number of exciting new initiatives.
We held four well-attended discussion forums at the conference. The Hot Topics discussion group sponsored a forum on QR codes and augmented reality. The Local Systems & Services committee continued their series of discussion forums on discovery services, focusing this time on how discovery layers are changing library websites. The Management of Electronic Resources and Services and Public Libraries committees co-sponsored an open discussion on the assessment and evaluation of virtual reference, and the Virtual Reference Discussion Group hosted a discussion on the latest in virtual reference.
Several new projects are also in the works. The Products & Services Committee is working on a new initiative to provide timely reviews of the latest products and technologies available for reference and user services. These reviews would be published on a new MARS blog being developed by our Publications Committee. The Education, Training and Support committee is planning a webinar on screencasting based on their successful program at ALA Annual 2010, while our Professional Development committee is working on guidelines for future MARS webinar offerings.
Programming for the 2011 Annual Conference in New Orleans is underway. We are working with the Reference Services Section to plan a preconference on reference/IT collaborations. MARS will also offer an exciting program on the relevant topic of User Experience Design; see details of both of these events below. The MARS/RSS Virtual Reference Committee will sponsor a program on the human side of virtual reference, and we’ll sponsor our usual Hot Topics discussion group and Virtual Reference Discussion Group on Saturday. The MARS Happy Hour will move to Saturday night and, thanks to a generous sponsor, will include some tasty food at a famous local venue, as well as the usual cash bar. Watch for more details of these events as the conference approaches.
In another important initiative, we are currently reassessing our presence at Midwinter. Given that many committees now do their work virtually, and that many MARS members can no longer afford to travel to conference, we are considering whether in-person Midwinter meetings are necessary. In the near future, a survey about Midwinter will go out to MARS members. The survey will be of special interest to MARS committee members and to anyone who has considered or is considering volunteering for a MARS committee, but all are welcome to respond. Among other things, we would like to know the value our members place on in-person meetings, how many of our members are able to travel to conference, and how many have the technology available to participate in virtual meetings. The announcement of the survey will go out to MARS-L and everyone is invited to respond.
If you are interested in getting more involved with MARS—either in person or virtually—we would love to have your participation! MARS members are encouraged to volunteer for committees. Volunteering is easy; just go to the form on the RUSA web site. Opportunities to volunteer for MARS Committees appear at the end of the form. Dianna McKellar, the MARS Vice-Chair, will be appointing MARS committees for next year soon after the Midwinter meeting. If you have any questions about committees, fell free to contact me or Dianna (mckellar@udel.edu).
Anne Houston, MARS Chair
ahouston@virginia.edu
Committee Reports and Announcements
The Virtual Reference Discussion Group (VRDG) held an exciting session at the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, CA.
Discussion topic: “Embedded by Hashtag: Using Twitter to Provide Real-Time Reference and Instruction”
Presenter:
Ellen Filgo, E-learning Librarian at Baylor University Libraries opened the session with a presentation on her experiences as a virtually embedded librarian in the Fall 2009 and Fall 2010 offerings of Gardner Campbell’s Introduction to New Media Studies course. She described how she used Twitter to answer reference questions posed during each week’s live class session.
http://connect.ala.org/node/118525
Group Discussion:
Following Ellen’s presentation, the forty-seven attendees spread across seven tables to discuss Ellen’s approach, additional opportunities for using social media to deliver reference services, and other topics of interest to them relating to virtual reference. Table notes collected at the end of the session revealed several common themes in these discussions related to the presentation:
● Participants were excited about some of the advantages of Twitter-based reference. These include: (1) the ability of class participants to participate in a back-channel discussion (2) the opportunity to continue the discussion outside the class period; (3) the use of a hashtag to see and participate in related discussions; (4) Twitter’s 140 character limit encourages creativity, and resource sharing; (5) by using url-shorteners (e.g. tinyurl.com, bit.ly) librarians can promote library resources by linking to archival resources, ebooks, catalog records, and databases; (6) the opportunity it presented for librarians to do just-in-time reference and/or instruction.
● Several tables wondered whether using Twitter as a real-time back channel might distract students and prevent them from fully attending the in-person lecture or discussions. When this question was addressed to Ellen, she read an e-mail from Dr. Campbell, who has himself been asked the same thing many times. His e-mail revealed that he has seen the back-channel help students to become more, not less engaged.
● While attendees recognized the value of contributing to discussion through Twitter, many expressed concern about the amount of time this would require. When these concerns were addressed to Ellen, she said that it is an approach that should be considered one tool that might be helpful in specific classes, and it could not logistically become a cornerstone of virtual reference service. It was suggested that it might be helpful for distance learning and online classes. Edmodo was suggested as a type of twitter for classes, i.e. not public.
Amanda Clay Powers, MARS VRDG Chair
APowers@library.msstate.edu
MARS Local Systems & Services
On January 9, 2011, the MARS Local Systems & Services held a Discussion Forum at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego entitled Designing Around a Single Search: How Discovery Layers are Changing Library Websites. Three panelists spoke to an audience of over 120 attendees about how they have incorporated a new discovery system into their libraries’ existing websites, including information about statistics, branding/naming and design choices.
Josh Boyer (North Carolina State University) discussed the web site redesign NCSU completed in August 2010 and its incorporation of a locally-developed metasearch solution, QuickSearch, with Serials Solutions’ Summon. Next, Beth Bernhardt (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) discussed her library’s implementation of EBSCO Discovery Service. Finally, Johan Oberg (Macalester College) discussed Macalester’s decision to prominently place a single search box for WorldCat Local on its home page, and the ensuing gains in catalog use, circulation, and interlibrary loan they observed.
The three short presentations were followed by a general Q & A. Fuller notes on the presentations and copies of each presenter’s slides can be found at:http://connect.ala.org/node/128191.
The Committee is currently planning a discussion forum on Learning Commons services for Midwinter 2012 (Dallas) and a program called Discovery Systems: The Promise and the Reality for ALA Annual 2012 in Anaheim.
Amy Fry, MARS Local Systems & Services Committee Chair
afry@bgsu.edu
MARS/RSS Preconference Planning Committee
The MARS/RSS Preconference Planning Committee is busily planning an exciting full-day session for ALA 2011 entitled Strange Bedfellows: IT and Reference Collaborations to Enhance User Experiences. Speakers, drawn from both reference and information technology backgrounds, will present their methods for working together to make innovative projects a success.
Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions for delving further into strategies for implementing successful technology projects for meeting customer needs. They will also have the opportunity to brainstorm on strategies for projects they’re currently working on or envision for the near future. This is a solutions-driven session that explores methods for implementing effective collaborations and successfully leveraging the skill sets of multiple departments.
This joint effort of MARS and RSS should not be missed. Keep an eye out for it at early registration to ensure a seat (and a low cost!). We look forward to seeing you on Friday, June 24, in New Orleans!
Donna Scanlon, MARS Preconference Program Planning Committee Co-Chair dscanlon@loc.gov
MARS Chair’s Program at Annual
Please plan to join us on Sunday June 26 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm for an exciting MARS Chair’s program at ALA Annual in New Orleans!
It’s All About Them: Developing Information Services with User Experience Design
Applying User Experience (UX) Design to your library’s public services involves understanding your patrons’ needs and preferences. In this session, expert panelists John Blyberg (Darien Library), Cody Hansen (University of Minnesota), and Jenny Benevento (Sears Holding Corporation) will define UX design and explain why it’s important, discuss how it can help improve patrons’ overall experience of library resources and services, and describe how it can be implemented in library and information service settings. With practical tips and examples, you’ll be well-equipped to consider UX issues in your own library.
We’ll also be announcing the winner of this year’s My Favorite Martian Award.
Courtney Greene, MARS Conference Program Planning Committee Chair
crgreene@indiana.edu
Management of Electronic Reference Services (MERS) Committee
MERS co-hosted a discussion forum with the Public Libraries Committee (PL) at ALA Midwinter 2011 titled Assessment and Evaluation of Virtual Reference. Twenty-five of our colleagues joined us for an open discussion of how new social networking tools such as text and Twitter are being used in a Reference environment. Lines of discussion included how such services are being staffed, managed, counted, and used. Additional consideration was given to how libraries choose to implement emerging technologies and how to advocate for including them in our service portfolio.
In the Spring, MERS is continuing to collaborate with PL in a call for Virtual Poster Sessions. Poster sessions are being solicited for topics related to the evaluation and assessment of social media for Reference Services. Virtual Posters selected by the committee will be announced at ALA Annual 2011 and will be posted online for viewing.
Valerie Boulos, MERS Chair
vboulos@fiu.edu
To subscribe to MARS-L, seehttp://lists.ala.org/wws/info/mars–l
RSS Review
Cindy Levine, Editor
Message from the Chair
Hello all Reference Services Section members!
Although RSS officially participated virtually in the recent ALA Midwinter 2011, there was a great deal of real RSS activity and there are many people to thank. I especially want to recognize the efforts of two committees in particular. The Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee and the Service Achievement Award Committee are both brand new committees this year and each had the challenge of creating a process from scratch for how they would accomplish their work. Please take a moment to read the report below from Sarah Hammill regarding the three discussions that took place in San Diego, and the report from Lori Thornton regarding the process to select the first recipient of the RSS Service Achievement Award. In addition to the Discussion Forums, RSS also organized its (first?) Midwinter RSS Pancake Breakfast with twenty-two people participating in San Diego.
The RSS Executive Committee and RSS Board held an official “Midwinter Meeting” online on January 21. The draft minutes have been posted by RSS Secretary Marjorie Schreiber Lear and can be found at http://connect.ala.org/node/130609. On February 9 the Executive Committees of RSS and MARS also held their regular joint meeting, this time online.
Please make sure to vote in the ALA elections! In March you should receive an email with instructions for accessing the ballot. RSS members will be voting on proposed changes to our RSS Bylaws, which you can see in advance at http://connect.ala.org/node/128620. The proposed changes include the creation of a RSS Archivist, the removal of the standing Discussion Groups (now replaced by the Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee), the allowance to meet virtually along with a face-to-face meeting at ALA Annual, and documentation of processes that are now current practice. On the RSS ballot you will also be selecting between two candidates for RSS Vice Chair/Incoming Chair and a two candidates for RSS Member at Large.
Registration is now open for ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans and RSS will be offering a full line up of excellent programs, discussions, meetings, and two Friday preconferences. Highlights include:
● Saturday, June 25, 8:00 – 10:00 am: RSS Open House and All Committee Meeting
● Saturday, June 25, 1:30 – 3:30 pm: Marketing Reference on a Dime [The RUSA President’s Program]
● Sunday, June 26, 1:30 – 3:30 pm: Reference Research Forum
● Sunday, June 26, 4:00 – 5:30 pm: Using Today’s Numbers to Plan Tomorrow’s Services: Effective User Services Assessment [Program]
● Monday, June 27, 8:00 am: 10:00 am – Behind the Text: Pulling Back the Curtain on Virtual Reference (MARS/RSS) [Program]
Thank you to all of the RSS members who contribute to making RSS the premier volunteer organization focused on the interests of frontline librarians, information specialists, and library support staff who are engaged in all aspects of reference and information services!
Joe Thompson
RSS Chair 2010–2011
jthompson@washcolibrary.org
Discussions at Midwinter
The new Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee is pleased to report on three well-attended and highly successful discussion that took place at the 2011 Midwinter Conference in San Diego:
When We Create a Learning Commons, How Does it Change Reference Questions?
With more than eighty-five people in attendance, we are guessing that most people walked away with their question “When we create a Learning Commons, how does it change reference questions?” answered. The Discussion Forum led by Judy Solberg of Seattle University was held on Monday morning and the conversation was stimulating in that it allowed for different methods, measures, and suggestions for what works and what doesn’t work when creating a learning commons.
LibAnswers: Spreading the Wealth and Collaborative FAQ Building
With more than twenty people in attendance, we had a lively discussion on LibAnswers at ALA Midwinter in San Diego. LibAnswers is an online reference model that can be used to enhance traditional modes of reference.
Answering the Young Adult Reference Question
On Sunday, January 9 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, the Reference Services Section of RUSA and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) partnered to provide the Discussion Forum, Answering the Young Adult Reference Question. A review of the major discussion points, as well as other documents relating to this forum, may be found in the RSS Board area of ALA Connect. Documents prepared for the forum, as well as a review of the major discussion points that were addressed during the Report Out at the end, are available at: http://connect.ala.org/node/129814
This discussion fostered interest in creating a joint committee between YALSA and RSS to coordinate more discussions of this type and to address issues relating to reference and Information services to young adults. This idea is currently being explored.
Committee Reports
Catalog Use
Catalog Use Committee met virtually for its Midwinter meeting on February 4,. We are planning a discussion forum for ALA Annual in New Orleans:
Diving into the Deep End: What are the consequences for users when a library adopts a web-scale discovery service? This discussion forum will explore the challenges presented in teaching users how to search these new systems.
Steve Ostrem
steve-ostrem@uiowa.edu
Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee
The committee is now preparing for the call for proposals for discussion forums at ALA Annual. We will use the same peer-review method as we did for ALA Midwinter. After the call for proposal deadline passes, the committee will meet to discuss and select the two best proposals for discussions at the annual conference. The committee is also planning to discuss having at least one of the discussions online.
Sarah Hammill, Chair
hammills@fiu.edu
Evaluation of Reference and User Services
The Committee did not meet at Midwinter in person but is working virtually on three issues:
1. Preparing for program at Annual: Using Today’s Numbers to Plan Tomorrow’s Services: Effective User Services Assessment Sunday, June 26, 4:00 – 5:30 pm
2. Re-vamping the ALA Connect committee space
3. Updating Guide to Reference Evaluation Resources
Kornelia Vassileva Tancheva, Chair
kt18@cornell.edu
Library Services to the Spanish Speaking
RSS Services to the Spanish Speaking committee has finalized a survey to learn more about the ways in which RSS members provide services to Spanish speakers in their own communities, and to find out what RSS members feel are most valuable resources to meet their needs. The responses gathered will help inform committee work in future years. A link to the survey will be distributed via listservs and ALA Connect before Annual 2011. The committee is also in the process of revising our Guidelines for Services to Spanish Speakers.
Marjorie Schreiber Lear, Chair
marjoriel@multcolib.org
Management of Reference Committee
The Management of Reference Committee met at Midwinter on Saturday, January 8. There were six in attendance. We are working on revising the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. We agreed to further revision of the introduction and endnotes. This spring we will finish revising the document and post it for comment.
William Weare, Chair
wweare@iupui.edu
Marketing and Public Relations for Reference
This committee is pleased that its proposed program, Marketing Reference on a Dime, has been selected as the RUSA President’s Program for the Annual 2011 Conference.
Marketing Reference on a Dim” will consist of five to six brief presentations on successful initiatives for marketing reference services. Panelists will include representatives from public, academic, and special libraries, as well as a marketing professional from the private sector. At the end of the program, participants should come away with at least one idea for a free or inexpensive marketing initiative, know how to identify resources for community support, and be able to identify strategies for demonstrating the important of reference to stakeholders.”
The panelists are:
Manya Shorr (Sacramento Public Library, LJ Mover & Shaker 2010)
Amy Mather (Omaha Public Library, LJ Mover & Shaker 2010)
Nancy Dowd (New Jersey State Library, M Word Blog)
Kathy Dempsey (Libraries are Essential Consultants, M Word Blog)
Selene Colburn (University of Vermont)
Jamie Hollier (Delta County Public Libraries, CO)
Ed Garcia, Chair
edprism@gmail.com
Organization and Planning
This committee met virtually on December 3. The RSS Handbook will be updated before Annual 2011 with changes to the RSS bylaws incorporated. The RSS chair mentoring was instituted in 2008, but it has never been assessed to evaluate its effectiveness. Gale Etschmaier has volunteered to undertake this initiative. Her plan is to interview past chairs, mentors, and mentees. During the recent section review it became apparent that there was a real need to preserve information about the section and make it easy to locate when needed.
Barb Mann, Chair
BMann@umuc.edu
Research and Statistics
The Research and Statistics Committee met virtually on January 21 to choose the three presentations for the 17th Annual Reference Research Forum. The committee received a number of interesting proposals this year and the committee had an exciting discussion. Announcements will be made soon about the presenters and their topics.
Qiana Johnson, Chair
q-johnson@pobox.com
RSS Service Achievement Award Committee
The RSS Service Achievement Award Committee met in January. We reviewed the nominations and selected the award recipient. The award will be presented at the RUSA Awards event during the ALA Annual conference in New Orleans this June. We also discussed revising the committee charge to include the RSS Honor Roll. The RSS Chair will take the revised committee charge to the Executive Board for approval at the annual conference.
Lori Thornton, Chair
lori.thornton@sos.wa.gov
User Education and Information Literacy
Members of the User Education and Information Literacy Committee have been working on an article about the reference interview. The article will not be published in RUSQ, but the editor has provided comments from the referees. The committee will consider these, and decide on next steps.
Jill Moriearty, Chair
jill.moriearty@Utah.edu
Virtual Reference Committee
The RSS/MARS Virtual Reference Services Committee held its official midwinter meeting online on December 9, 2010. Ellen Hampton Filgo was able to use Baylor University’s Elluminate software to facilitate this first-ever virtual meeting of the committee. Overall, attendees felt this was a positive experiment, especially since it allowed participation of some committee members who would be unable to attend ALA Midwinter in San Diego.
The Virtual Reference Tutorial Subcommittee, chaired by Valli Hoski, gave an update on their work. They have been meeting regularly, focusing on evaluation and assessment, and are working towards content updates and possibly changing the delivery method.
A discussion of the Annual 2011 program (Behind the Text: Pulling Back the Curtain on Virtual Reference) was substantive and helped to determine the third panelist as well as the “misconceptions” of virtual reference that will be debunked for the presentation.
A brief discussion on ALA Annual 2012 was also held. This was continued at an informal gathering of the committee during the MARS All-Committee Meeting at ALA Midwinter.
At ALA Midwinter, it was announced that Alicia Korenman would be leaving the committee and her position as Co-chair due to a change in her career. The committee would like to thank her for her service and enthusiasm. Taking her place as MARS Co-chair on the committee will be Ellen Hampton Filgo, whose extensive experience in virtual reference will be a great asset in her new leadership role on the committee.
Daniel Boozer, Co-Chair
donald.boozer@cpl.org
Alicia Korenman (MARS), Co-Chair
wordnerd.gmail.com
Web Advisory
Plans to move the ALA site from the current content management system to the open source Drupal continue to progress. This migration, a great migration in more ways than one, will be staged and occur over several months. It can’t come soon enough as far as the RSS Web Advisory Committee is concerned. Any substantive changes to the look and feel of the RSS web site have to wait for this migration. Stay tuned for more information about the migration.
Virginia Cole, Chair and Webmaster
vac11@cornell.edu
STARS
Katharine Calhoun, Editor
calhoun@gatech.edu
Message from the Chair
Hello everyone! With all the snow and ice that many of us have been experiencing lately, San Diego seems like a lovely dream even though we were there just a few short weeks ago! For those of you who were able to attend the midwinter conference, I hope you found it as fruitful as I did.
The STARS Executive Committee meeting was held on Monday, January 10. One of the topics of discussion was the very successful workshop held on the previous Friday. We once again offered our “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about ILL but Were Afraid to Ask” workshop which was very well attended. Plans are already underway to offer this workshop prior to the midwinter meeting next year in Dallas. The Committee also discussed plans of the STARS Education and Training Committee to create an online interlibrary loan course for RUSA. Details are being finalized for the proposal, and if accepted, we may begin offering this course soon. Other topics of discussion were surveys being developed, outreach to new members, and planning for the programs at annual.
STARS is sponsoring two programs for ALA Annual Conference 2011 in New Orleans entitled Working Smart: Managing the Increase in Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing and What Does Cooperation in Libraries Mean? Tools and Pitfalls in Creating Successful Resource Sharing & Collections Agreements. These promise to be great programs.
As always, the STARS Executive Board would love to hear from you. So, if you have any questions or concerns or suggestions for programming or improvements, please let me know!
Sherri Michaels, Chair
shmichae@indiana.edu
Announcements
STARS Education and Training Committee
The STARS Education and Training Committee again sponsored the very popular Everything You Always Wanted to Know about ILL but Were Afraid to ask ALA Midwinter preconference workshop. The workshop was held on Friday, January 7, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, at the San Diego Public Library. Kymberly Goodson of UCSD did a wonderful job in organizing this year’s workshop. Presenters were: Megan Gaffney (borrowing), Karen Janke (lending), Cindy Kristof (copyright) and Collette Mak (standards and resources).
Sponsors of this year’s workshop were Lyrasis, OCLC, Relais International, the San Diego Public Library, and the Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference.
We had fifty-four registrants. Of those, thirty-five filled out questionnaires. Most of the attendees came from California and most were from academic libraries. The respondents were evenly divided between librarians and support staff. All respondents who answered the question “would you recommend this workshop to a colleague” said “yes.”
Margaret Bean, Chair
mbean@uoregon.edu
Hot Topics Discussion Group
The Hot Topics Discussion Group did not disappoint at ALA Midwinter 2011. Thirty-five members showed up to join in an engaging discussion of a variety of Hot Topics. All who attended came away having learned from or shared useful information with their peers. Following is a summary of the discussion.
Those receiving poor quality article scans were urged to contact the lending libraries to let them know as they might be unaware of the problem. Patron-driven acquisitions ideas, policies, and cultures were shared. Some institutions have merged ILL and acquisitions functions, others have collection development policies as to when to borrow or when to purchase based on lending requests. A couple libraries agreed to share their collection development policies on the ILL-L and STARS-L listservs. Regarding textbook borrowing and lending policies, some do not lend or borrow textbooks, some purchase and place textbooks on reserve, some encourage faculty to place personal copies on reserves, and others do borrow and lend. E-journal and E-book licensing issues were discussed; some lament losing first sale rights with those licenses.
Springer e-books allow one chapter of a book to be lent, ebrary, two chapters; no other vendors’ options were reported. On the Ariel vs. Odyssey issue, folks simply reported what they did, which even included emailing PDFs when all else failed. International lending issues turn out to be complex because of U.S. shipping and customs issues. Some continue to lend internationally. Problems with ILL between the U.S. and Canadian libraries are particularly problematic due to customs requirements. The problem of the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) discontinuing its reporting option of sending spreadsheets to CCC for data entry was discussed briefly, but few seemed to have this as a workflow issue in their libraries. Many suggest using the functions in OCLC for this, although some have to do the data entry themselves outside of OCLC.
Julia Gustafson, Chair
Jgustafson@wooster.edu
Interlibrary Loan Discussion Group
The ILL Discussion Group met on Saturday, January 8, from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm. Kristina Eden of the University of Michigan Library gave a presentation on the HathiTrust Digital Library (http://www.hathitrust.org), a digital preservation repository with a current membership of over 50 libraries. Cyril Oberlander of the SUNY Geneseo Library delivered a presentation on the IDS Project and the Getting It System Toolkit.
Megan Gaffney, Chair
gaffneym@UDel.Edu