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Library Service to an Aging Population

At the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, the Library Services to an Aging Population hosted a free-flowing discussion about programs and services to Baby Boomers. Topics ranging from ebooks, computer classes, financial literacy, urban farming, veterans’ issues, history, and employment programs were examined in the context of the needs and wants of the Baby Boom generation. The discussion at Midwinter was also profiled in Cognotes.

The committee is also sponsoring a program at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim: “How Libraries Are Meeting the Evolving Needs of Baby Boomers and Older Adults.” Panelists will include: Susan Hildreth (IMLS); Jane Salisbury (Multnomah County Public Library); Tony Sarmiento (Senior Services America); and Suzanne Flint (California State Library).

Jeff Kempe, Chair 2011-2012

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Library Services to the Spanish Speaking

The Library Services to the Spanish Speaking Committee held its 2012 Midwinter virtual meeting on January 19. Upcoming activities include a discussion forum at the 2012 Annual Conference titled “¿Que pasa? What’s Happening in U.S. Library Services for Spanish Speakers?” and a revision of the Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Library Users. Last December the committee published the results of a nation-wide survey on library services for Spanish speaking patrons in the Fall/Winter issue of the REFORMA National Newsletter.

Gabriel J. Duque, Chair 2011-2012

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Management of Reference Committee

The Management of Reference Committee held a Discussion Forum on Management of Reference on Saturday, January 21, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. Two topics were discussed: 1) the draft revision of the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers, and 2) the upcoming revision of Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians. About 20 people attended the discussion.

William Weare, Chair 2010-2012

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Marketing and Public Relations for Reference

The RSS Marketing and PR Committee was honored with co-sponsoring a discussion on Young Adults and Reference Service at ALA Midwinter in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, January 22, 2012 from 4:00-5:30 p.m.. Dr. Marie Radford helped lead the discussion. Thanks to Joe Thompson for initiating this exciting opportunity.

Also during Midwinter, the committee met virtually on January 18 to revisit our group’s focus on marketing and public relations and what we can provide, as well as to reconnect as a committee. We will soon conduct a survey of our committee’s members to:

1. Define marketing and public relations for your library.

2. Ask “What kinds of marketing materials does your library use?” (print and online, web, social media)

3. Ask “What is your favorite library website, resource or product that you would recommend (for marketing our libraries)?”

The committee is working on two ALA Annual events. We will continue co-sponsoring with YALSA as was done at Midwinter. We will also provide a workshop called “Let’s Work Together: Integrating Social Media, Online Marketing, and Outreach” with panelists/presenters David Lee King, Marshall Breeding, and Jennifer Robinson. It is scheduled to be on Monday, June 25, 8:30-10:00 A.M.

The Marketing and PR Committee will meet virtually during ALA Annual (date/time TBD).

Cathay Crosby, Chair 2011-2012

 

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Organization and Planning (O&P) Committee

O&P members organized one face-to-face event in Dallas during ALA Midwinter 2012. Approximately twenty people turned out for RSS’s second annual Midwinter Pancake Breakfast, which served as a fun opportunity for new and veteran members to gather informally. Also while in Dallas, Sarah Hammill and Joe Thompson represented RSS at the RUSA Budget and Finance meeting. Thompson attended the RUSA Board meetings as a visitor.

RSS O&P continues to meet in coordination with RSS Executive Committee. Since we didn’t meet in-person in Dallas, we held our official “Midwinter 2012” meeting online on January 26 via a web conference. Of significance, RSS has approved the creation of four new committees that we expect to provide vital support for frontline reference librarians, especially in public and academic libraries. Note that the specific name and charge for each committee is still being formalized:

●     Young Adult Reference Services Committee (in partnership with YALSA)

●     Frontline Reference Training and Communication Committee

●     Health and Medical Reference Committee

●     Job and Career Reference Committee

If you are interested in becoming a member of any of these committees please contact Sarah Hammill, RSS incoming chair, at hammills@fiu.edu. Hammill will be appointing members to these and all standing RSS committees over the months of February to April with terms to officially begin as of July 1, 2012. The O&P members will meet again via web conference on Monday, February 27 to finalize decisions made during the January meeting.

Making plans for Annual? O&P will hold its once-a-year in-person meeting on Saturday, June 23 during the 8:00-10:00 A.M. RSS Open House/All Committee Meeting at ALA Annual 2012 in Anaheim.

Joe Thompson, Chair 2011-2012

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Recognition Committee

Join the RSS Honor Roll!

When you hear Honor Roll do you have flash backs to high school? Maybe you have happy memories of the honor roll or maybe you think could of, would of, should of…

Regardless of your experience in high school, you may be eligible for the RSS Honor Roll. The RSS has an Honor Roll that gives recognition to active RSS members who have served the section in three different capacities since its inception. If you have been a member of three or more committees or discussion groups since RSS was established in 2004 and have not previously been added to the honor roll, please send your name and a list of the three ways you have served RSS to Susan Ware at saw4@psu.edu.

Not only will you become a member of this esteemed group, you will also be recognized at ALA Annual in Anaheim!

If you want to find out which honored colleagues you will be joining, go to the RSSHonorRollpage for the list of RSS Honor Roll Members.

Susan Ware
Lori Thornton, Chair 2010-2012

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Research and Statistics Committee

After receiving a number of proposals, the Research and Statistics Committee met to choose the presentations for the 18th Annual Reference Research Forum. The committee had a lively discussion regarding the choice and now looks forward to an exciting Forum. Selected presentations will be notified in the next week.

Qiana Johnson, Chair 2010-2012

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Virtual Reference Services (MARS/RSS)

The RSS/MARS Virtual Reference Services Committee held its virtual Midwinter meeting on Friday, December 16, 2011. Minutes and a recording of the meeting are available in ALA Connect.

The Committee is hosting a program at ALA Annual 2012 entitled “Are virtual reference services worth the effort? What ROI Analysis and User Evaluations Tell Us.” Panelists are confirmed and a high profile person has given tentative confirmation to serve as moderator. Stay tuned to ALA Connect for more details.

The committee will be discussing ideas for the 2013 ALA Annual via email and other means. The focus currently under consideration is to do something with gadgets or technology since the last several Annual programs have focused on other “soft” aspects of virtual reference service.

In keeping with its goals, the Committee has created the “RUSA MARS/RSS VR Committee Survey Ad Hoc Group”. Jason Coleman, an active member of the Virtual Reference Tutorial Subcommittee as well as Undergraduate & Community Services Librarian at Kansas State University, has volunteered to lead the new group. They are charged with conducting an online survey to assess the distribution and logistics of virtual reference services in libraries. Jason has asked individuals interested in working on the project to contact him at coleman@k-state.edu as soon as possible.

The Committee members are also exploring ways to update existing virtual reference content in online venues like Wikipedia, LISWiki, LibSuccess, etc. Options under consideration include sponsoring a Wikipedia “Edit-a-thon” at Annual Conference, creating a Twitter hashtag, inaugurating a Google Group, etc.

Don Boozer, Chair 2011-2012

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Virtual Reference (VR) Tutorial Subcommittee

The planned activities of the VR Tutorial Subcommittee include revision of the VR tutorial modules using Drupal and performing user testing. As of December 2011, module revisions are in process. These include the Policies and Training modules. The team meets monthly and shares reports periodically with the Virtual Reference committee, and with RSS and MARS.

The Subcommittee would like your input!

We need you, your library and colleagues input …

●     Share current tips, best practices, best/worst cases on VR use in your library;

●     We need top tips from libraries who were/are new to VR as well as the experienced libraries;

●     We welcome your best practices – from planning, policies to training and marketing;

●     We would love to hear about your worst cases as well as best successes – all are valuable ‘lessons learned’;

●     Share a colleague to be a module reviewer or tester, please;

●     The VR team is already asking that the splash page is removed from the Tutorial site.

Please contact the subcommittee co-chairs with your suggestions, tips and testing input at Valli Hoski (VHoski@libraryref.org) or Jennifer Lau-Bond (jllaubond@gmail.com).

Valli Hoski, Chair 2010-2011

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Web Advisory Board Committee

The Web Advisory Board Committee had the 2012 mid-winter virtual meeting on January 30. The migration to Drupal has happened last year. Members have started to take trainings on using Drupal as the new web content management tool. For our RSS website, we will continue working closely with all the other committees in order to keep the content as current as possible and make it more accessible.

Shu Qian, RSS Webmaster

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Interested in getting involved with RSS?

If yes, then keep your eye on the RSS-L listserv!

(See http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/rss/rssprotools/rssedl to subscribe to the list.)

I will be sending an email to the list as I start to make committee appointments. Many of our committees do their work entirely online so if you can’t attend ALA, you can still get involved!

To learn more about our committees, go to the RSS website and scroll down to “Our Committees.” We have four new committees so there is something for everyone interested in front-line reference services!

Sarah J. Hammill, RSS Chair Elect

 

 

RSS Review is the newsletter of the Reference Services Section of Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association. Please send suggestions for future issues to Amy Rustic (aer123@psu.edu), editor.

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Message from the Chair

RSS Review

Amy Rustic, Editor

RSS logo

Greetings RSS Members!

I can hardly believe it’s almost time for ALA Annual 2012 in Anaheim. We have many great events planned, including programs, discussions, and the RSS Open House. Read below for more information and stay tuned to our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/rss.rusa) or RSS-L (to join: http://bit.ly/rss-l) to see a complete schedule of events with room numbers.

Speaking of Annual, we are excited to announce that EBSCO will be sponsoring the RSS Open House this year, which means we’ll have a great selection of morning goodies to munch on while we mingle and meet. We invite everyone to stop by the Open House on Saturday, June 23, from 8:00-9:00 AM at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 203B, to say hello, meet new people, and catch up with old friends. It’s a great way to kick off your Annual Conference.

In other news, I am very excited to announce that the 2012 RSS Service Achievement Award is being awarded to Lisa Horowitz, Assessment Librarian at MIT Libraries. Horowitz served as RSS Chair during 2007-2008, but her contributions extend beyond her term as section chair. See below for a detailed list of all that she has contributed to RSS throughout the years and be sure to attend the RUSA Awards Reception on Sunday, June 24, from 5:00-6:30 PM at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Sequia South Ballroom D. On a personal note, I consider Lisa a mentor and an inspiration, not to mention one of the primary reasons I continued to stay active in RSS. I know I’m not the only who can say that. Thank you, Lisa, for being such a great leader, mentor, and colleague.

As this is my final write-up as RSS Chair, I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the hard work you did this year. We accomplished so much—new guidelines, new committees, programs, discussions, videos, website cleanup—it’s amazing how much we’ve been able to do! I especially want to thank Joe Thompson, RSS Past-Chair and Chair of the Organization & Planning Committee, for all of his support and leadership. I am a better person for having worked with him these past several years. And I know that we will all be in great hands under the exceptional leadership of Sarah Hammill, who will be taking over as RSS Chair in July. Her good humor, collegiality, and vision will ensure that RSS members continue to provide valuable resources and opportunities for all of us concerned with frontline reference.

Liane Taylor

ltaylor@txstate.edu

RSS Chair, 2011-2012

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RSS Service Achievement Award

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Lisa R. Horowitz, Assessment Librarian, Administrative Services & User Experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, is the 2012 winner of the Reference and User Services Association’s Reference Services Section (RSS) Service Achievement Award.

Horowitz was selected for her sustained contributions to RSS since its founding. She provided excellent section leadership and played a major role in developing the mission and vision of the section. As Chair-Elect (2006-07) and later as Chair (2007-08) of the section, her leadership was evident in conducting meetings, guiding the sections committees and discussion groups as well as fostering a strong relationship with both the MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference Section of RUSA, as well as the division at large.

In addition to her strong leadership record, Horowitz has participated in some of the significant work of the section: she was part of the group that worked on the new Definition of Reference —one of the core statements in the profession of reference librarianship—from 2002 up through the definitions approval in 2008. She also played a key role in the Management of Reference Committee when the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers were revised, and helped solidify a fundamental component of reference service today. She has also made substantial contributions to the five-year section review, which has helped RSS continue to grow and evolve.

Horowitz will receive her citation at the RUSA Awards Reception, scheduled for 5:00-6:30 PM Sunday, June 24 Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel Sequia South Ballroom D, as a part of RUSA’s events at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif. The exact location of this event will be announced in late spring. For more information, visit RUSA’s website or the Annual Conference website.

Liane Taylor, RSS Chair; RSS Recognition Committee

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Catalog Use Committee

The Catalog Use Committee will be hosting a Round Table Discussion at Annual. The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 23 from 4:00-5:30 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center Room 205B. The group has identified five discussion topics which will be facilitated by members of the group and other specialists in the area.

The meeting will be split into two parts: small group discussion and group sharing. The small group discussion will delve deeply into each topic and directly engage all participants at the table. The group sharing will be a time when each table reports out to all participants on the key points of their discussion.

Round Table Discussion Topics:

  1. Finding eResources: An idea sparked by an article in the September issue of the Journal of Academic Librarianship titled "Usability Testing for E-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose E-Resources Using Library Websites." (p.386 Fry, Amy).
  2. Catalog Accessibility: Access issues confronted by marginalized user groups such as the elderly, the disabled, and children.
  3. Open Source Systems: Are they the future or a distraction?
  4. New Technology and the Mobile Landscape: How to make sense of new technology, platforms, and devices.
  5. New Cataloging Standards and Resource Discovery: How will the new Sears subject headings and the RDA (Resource Description and Access) standards impact librarians and library users?

Peter Collins, Chair 2011-2012

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Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee

The RUSA/RSS Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee is soliciting topic proposals for discussion at ALA’s 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, June 22-26. The purpose of the discussion forum is to provide a venue for reference practitioners to discuss reference related topics of current importance and to exchange ideas.

The Call for Proposals is posted on the Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee home page: http://connect.ala.org/node/98429

All are welcome to submit.

Emilie Smart, Chair 2011-2012

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Education and Professional Development for Reference

The Education and Professional Development for Reference Committee (EPDRC) is working with the MARS Professional Development Committee to create an in-person workshop for ALA Midwinter 2013 for library staff, along with investigating topics for online training to be made available through ALA. EPDRC gathered websites and online resources related to reference training through social bookmarking, available at: http://www.diigo.com/user/rssepdr.
Additions to the list are welcomed by e-mailing one of the committee members. In addition, the group is investigating options for collaboration on a webinar around the Statistical Abstracts and what’s next.
 
Kristen Mastel, Chair 2011-2012

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Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee

Join the Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee at Annual for a discussion of assessment on Saturday, June 24, from 4:00-5:30 PM, in the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 203B . Our discussion topic is “The How, What, and Why of Reference Evaluation and Assessment.” Its description is as follows: As the number of reference statistics decline, librarians look to measure the value of reference interactions more qualitatively. The Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation Program (WOREP), the READ Scale (Reference Effort Assessment Data), and LibQual are among the tools that have been used. This discussion forum will address the how, why, and what of evaluation and assessment of reference. Participants will discuss how evaluation and assessment are being done and funded; why—what’s behind both librarians’ and administrators’ reasons for collecting this information; and the what—what is being collected, the workload, and the decisions being made with this data.

Ellen Keith, Chair 2011-2012

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Library Service to an Aging Population

The RSS Library Services to an Aging Population Committee is sponsoring a program at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, “How Libraries Are Meeting the Evolving Needs of Baby Boomers and Older Adults.” The program will take place on Sunday, June 24, 2012, from 4:00-5:30 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center 201A. Panelists include: Susan Hildreth (IMLS), Jane Salisbury (Multnomah County Public Library), Tony Sarmiento (Senior Services America), and Suzanne Flint (California State Library). Baby Boomers and Older Americans today comprise the most diverse community of aging adults in history. Come explore how libraries can best respond to the needs of Boomers and older adults through programs, collections, and services, including responses to the current economic downturn.

Are you interested in learning more about the work of the committee? Join us on Saturday, June 23 during the 8:00-10:00 AM RSS Open House/All Committee Meeting in the Anaheim Convention Center 201A.

Jeff Kempe, Chair 2011-2012

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Library Services to the Spanish Speaking

The Library Services to the Spanish Speaking Committee will hold an in-person meeting during the RSS All Committee meeting at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference on Saturday June 23 from 8:00-10:00 AM. We will also hold an informal discussion forum titled “¿Que pasa? What’s happening in U.S. library services for Spanish speakers?” Presenters and attendees will participate in a discussion of challenges and successes in serving Spanish speakers. The discussion forum will be held on Sunday June 24 from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency Orange County Salon VI.

Committee members are currently working on a poster presentation to be presented at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color 2012 in September and a possible chapter publication, both on a recent survey conducted by the committee.

Gabriel J. Duque, Chair 2011-2012

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Management of Reference Committee

The Management of Reference Committee held an open discussion during its regular meeting time at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. We addressed two issues:

(1) We asked for feedback regarding the draft revision of the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers. Comments during the discussion were favorable. Most recently, a notice was posted to the RUSA-listserv as well as the RSS-listserv soliciting comment on the draft revision.

(2) We also asked for feedback regarding the use of Professional Competencies for Reference and User Services Librarians, which is due to be revised. There was support for creating two documents in lieu of revising this one. 

The Committee will meet both on Saturday, June 23, 2012 from 8:00-10:00 AM (Anaheim Convention center, Room 203B Table 7) and Sunday June 24, 2012 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (Hilton Anaheim, Mezzanine Room 03) to continue discussions of the Guidelines and the Competencies. 

William Weare, Chair 2010-2012

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Marketing and Public Relations for Reference

The RSS Marketing and PR Committee is providing a workshop called “Let’s Work Together: Integrating Social Media, Online Marketing, and Outreach” with panelists/presenters David Lee King, Marshall Breeding, and Jennifer Robinson. It is scheduled to be on Monday, June 25, 8:30-10:00 AM at the Anaheim Convention Center 210D. We expect between 150-200 participants. Our committee will also meet virtually during ALA Annual (date/time TBD).

In the works: We are gathering information about marketing campaigns on the local, state, regional and national levels as we consider ways to shape our committee in order to be more utilized.

For ALA Annual 2013 in Chicago, we are pleased to collaborate with two other committee to co-sponsor with the RSS Virtual Reference Committee Chair Don Boozer and MARS co-chair Ellen Filgo on a proposed workshop: " Slam the Boards: A Model for Marketing through Action." This would be presented by Bill Pardue and may include an expansion of the concept of "guerilla marketing techniques for VR" (as Don put so well).

Cathay Crosby, Chair 2011-2012

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Organization and Planning Committee

The RSS Organization and Planning (O&P) Committee met via web conference with RSS Executive Committee on February 27, 2012. O&P is working with RSS Executive Committee to finalize the purpose statements for our section’s four new committees:

  1. Communication & Teaching at the Point of Need
  2. Health and Medical Reference Committee
  3. Job and Career Reference Committee
  4. Young Adult Reference Services Committee (in partnership with YALSA)

 
Members are being appointed to all of these committees by our RSS incoming chair Sarah Hammill. Please send her a note at hammills@fiu.edu if you’d like to join! Membership terms on RSS committees officially begin as of July 1st 2012.

A group of RSS volunteers have also completed an update of the RSS home page content at http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/rss. We are now working with our RSS Webmaster Shu Qian to figure out a way to have animated graphic images appear at the top of the RSS page.

Making plans for Annual? O&P will hold its once-a-year in-person meeting on Saturday, June 23 during the 8:00-10:00 am RSS Open House/All Committee Meeting at Anaheim Convention Center 210D during the ALA Annual 2012 in Anaheim. Visitors are always welcome.

In the last few issues of RSS Review we’ve highlighted our new committees. Each has been created to address current issues facing the reference profession. As we take the section in new directions we also want to make sure that we recognize the achievements of those committees that have been retired over this past year:

  1. RSS/MARS Preconference Planning Committee
  2. RSS Services to Adults Committee
  3. RSS User Education and Information Literacy Committee

 

Of special note, we want to express our gratitude to the members of the Cooperative Reference Service Committee, both past and present. This committee is currently chaired by past RUSA President Nancy Huling. The members of the committee have recognized that their charge is now being addressed by others in RSS, so they have recommended that their own committee be retired. This is very bittersweet for me personally, as this committee was my gateway into RSS and my first committee membership in the section. During the RSS Open House & All Committee Meeting (Anaheim Convention Center 210D) from 8:00-10:00 AM on June 23 at ALA Annual, we will bid farewell to the Cooperative Reference Services Committee. Meanwhile, Sarah Hammill is finding new homes in RSS for the remaining members and the responsibility for maintaining the Guidelines for Cooperative Reference Services is being reassigned.

Many thanks to everyone who has served RSS as a member of these committees!

Joe Thompson, Chair 2011-2012

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Research and Statistics Committee

The Research and Statistics Committee is looking forward to hosting the 18th Annual Reference Research Forum. This year’s presenters will be Lili Luo presenting “Best Practices of Text Reference Service: A Synergistic View”; Susan Gardner Archambault and Kenneth Simon presenting “Apples and Oranges: Lessons from a Usability Study of Two Library FAQ Web Sites”; and Alison Graber, Alison Hicks, Caroline Sinkinson, and Stephanie Alexander presenting “Research Assistance Interactions: Exploration of Users’ Motivation and Perceptions.” The Forum will be held Sunday, June 1:30-3:30 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 204A. The committee will release the 2011 Reference Research Review, a bibliography highlighting selected works in the reference literature published during 2011.

Qiana Johnson, Chair 2010-2012

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Virtual Reference (VR) Services (MARS/RSS)

“Are Virtual Reference Services Worth the Effort? What ROI Analysis and User Evaluations Tell Us” will be hosted by the Virtual Reference Service Committee on Saturday, June 23, 1:30-3:30 PM in the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 201D. The moderator for this event will be Dr. Joseph Janes and speakers will from New York University, University of North Carolina, Mississippi State University, and Maryland’s virtual reference service AskUsNow! The official description reads: Are virtual reference services worth the effort? The answer to that question is a definitive “yes,” but how do we know? A panel of experts discusses 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. Panelists represent a cross-section of different libraries and each will share their unique perspectives.

The VR Tutorial Subcommittee continues to move ahead with its project and is waiting for the RUSA implementation of the new website.

Jason Coleman (Undergraduate & Community Services Librarian, Kansas State Libraries) sent out another recruitment email asking for participants in the VR Survey Ad Hoc Group. Coleman will be coordinating the ad hoc group to develop, distribute, and analyse the survey results with hopes of presenting their findings at an ALA venue or in a paper. In Coleman’s words, “Information gleaned from such a survey could greatly inform the work of our committee and other committees related to VR.” If this sounds like an interesting opportunity, feel free to contact him at coleman@k-state.edu .

The VR Services Committee is discussing the idea of hosting an informal Wikipedia “edit-a-thon” for ALA 2012. Stay tuned for more information on ALA Connect!

The VR Services Committee is co-sponsoring a program for ALA Annual 2013 with the Marketing Committee: “Slam the Boards: A Model for Marketing through Action,” with the primary speaker being Bill Pardue (Reference Librarian and Virtual Services Librarian for Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Illinois, and founder of Slam the Boards).

Don Boozer, Chair 2011-2012

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Interested in getting involved with RSS?

Hi Everyone!

As you know, it is RSS committee appointment time; many of you have volunteered for committees, filled out the forms and are just waiting for the work to start! Thank you! RSS is a fluid and robust organization because of your commitment to keeping it relevant to Frontline Reference needs.

If you emailed me and haven’t heard from me, please let me know. I may have missed the email or it got lost in my email shuffle. Or if you forgot to respond to my call for volunteers, it is not too late! Many of our committees are full but I am still looking for volunteers for a host of RSS activities.

On a different note, RSS wants to showcase the publications of its members. If you are a member of RSS and have had an article or book published, let us know! Go to http://tinyurl.com/RSSmemberpubs and fill in the form with a complete citation preferably in APA format. We would like this to be a resource list for fellow RSS members. Share what you have done with your colleagues.

Finally, the New Chair Orientation will take place online after ALA Annual. Stay tuned to RSS-L for more information.

If you have any questions, please email me at hammills@fiu.edu .

I look forward to meeting many of you in June!
Sarah J. Hammill
RSS Chair Elect

RSS Review is the newsletter of the Reference Services Section of Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association. Please send suggestions for future issues to Amy Rustic (aer123@psu.edu), editor.

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RSS Review

RSS logo

 

 

 

Amy Rustic, Editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!

  1. 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
  2. Saturday, 1:30 -3:30 pm: Discussion Forum: Library Programs and Services to Baby Boomers
  3. Sunday, 10:30 am-12:00 pm: RSS Discussion Forum: TBA
  4. Sunday, 4:00-5:30 pm: Discussion Forum: Answering the YA Reference Question – Making Connections that Matter with Marie Radford
  5. 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

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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:

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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:

  1. We will be asking for feedback regarding the draft revision of the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers.
  2. 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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Message from the Chair

RSS Review
Amy E. Rustic, Editor

Hello RSS Members!

I am very excited to be starting work as the 2011-2012 RSS Chair. RSS has been my home in ALA since 2003, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve.

This year we’ll be making even more changes to help RSS meet the needs of frontline reference staff. Joe Thompson, our fearless past-chair, led an inspiring board meeting earlier this month where many of you shared great ideas how we can move RSS forward. Next, the Organization and Planning Committee, led by Thompson, will work with the RSS Executive Committee to implement the ideas from the meeting and from the recently completed Section Review. Our goal is to continue to develop RSS into a responsive, effective, and fluid section that will meet the needs of frontline reference staff now and prepare us all for the future.

In addition, I’m asking all committee chairs to set goals for the year and update them as the year progresses. I’ve built in more structure and accountability (AKA, deadlines!) to help all of us develop new projects and complete them. I was a bit worried about giving people deadlines and checkpoints, but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I guess we all do work better when we have deadlines! Even the Executive Committee had to create goals and has to meet deadlines—we’re not exempt from the work.

We have so many exceptional, hardworking, and talented members of our section, and I’m lucky to know a lot of you. I hope to meet many more of you throughout the year. Speaking of exceptional members, I want to be sure to mention three new members of our RSS Honor Roll, who have served the section in three different capacities since its inception: Qiana Johnson, Marjorie Schreiber Lear, and Emilie Smart. Congratulations! Thanks to each of you for your dedication and hard work.

Here’s to a wonderful year! If at any time you have any ideas for our how section can improve, or issues from the frontlines that we should be addressing, please let me know.

Best to you, 


Liane Taylor
ltaylor@txstate.edu
RSS Chair, 2011-2012

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Catalog Use Committee

The committee hosted a discussion forum at ALA Annual in New Orleans (“Diving into the Deep End: Teaching the New Discovery Tools”) on the experience of guiding library users in the adoption of web-scale discovery. Three panelists spoke about the experience in their libraries. There were thirty-seven attendees, and the topic provoked lots of lively discussion. Based on the success of this forum, we will consider hosting another, perhaps at Midwinter in Dallas.

The committee identified these goals for the next year at its meeting in New Orleans:

  1. Keep the committee on the front line of presenting interesting ideas to ALA, by building on our previous successes hosting discussion forums.
  2. Stimulate the involvement of all committee members in the activities of the committee.

Peter Collins, Chair 2011-2012
Pcoll.pobox@upenn.edu

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Cooperative Reference Service Committee

Arlene Weismantel distributed her proposed script for a short training video titled, “Going Local With Institution’s Cooperative Reference.” Committee members are to provide feedback about the script to Weismantel before July 15, 2011. The committee discussed whether to continue with the project of creating short (5 to 10 min.) educational videos and podcasts focusing on specific aspects of cooperative reference services. Podcasts and videos would be available on the ALA website. It was suggested that the committee examine its charge and investigate whether to continue as a committee or possible merge with another one. Nancy Huling will be addressing this issue when she takes over as chair of the committee.

Alica White, Chair 2010-2011
acw3@psu.edu

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Discussion Forums Coordinating Committee

We held two lively discussions at ALA Annual in New Orleans!

The first, “Data Reference: Tell Us How You Really Feel,” convened by Alexa Pearce and Samantha Guss both of New York University, was attended by twenty-four people. The participants were a well-rounded mix of data librarians and generalists. The discussion was a good balance with data librarians sharing tips and generalists asking questions and expressing their concerns. Evaluations included comments such as, “I got to hear the perspective of generalists which will help me with my training of our general reference staff,” and “I learned more about approaches to data reference, resources for professional development, book, and workshops.”

The second discussion, “Come Together, Right Now, the Merging of Public Services and Changing Services,” was convened by Ava Iuliano and Lori Driver both of Florida International University. This discussion was attended by forty-two people and provided perspectives on what works, what doesn’t work, what to consider when merging service points, what you can learn from others mistakes, and much, much more! This comment from the evaluations says it all, “This was very interesting. I’m taking lots of specific ideas back and also have some bigger issues and ideas to ponder.” People walked away with food for thought and ideas on how to handle opportunities that might come up in their libraries.

Sarah J. Hammill, Chair 2010-2011
Hammills@fiu.edu

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Education and Professional Development for Reference

The Education and Professional Development for Reference Committee (EPDRC) is working with MARS staff development committees to create an in-person workshop for ALA Midwinter 2013 for library staff, along with investigating topics for online training to be made available through ALA. These projects will be based on feedback garnered from survey data collected by EPDRC on the topic of professional development for reference practitioners and managers.

Kristen Mastel, Chair 2011-2012
meye0539@umn.edu

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Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee

At Annual 2011, the Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee held the program, Using Today’s Numbers to Plan Tomorrow’s Services: Effective User Services Assessment, on Sunday, June 26 in the Morial Convention Center. The program featured James Fish, Baltimore County Public Library; Jennifer Rutner, Columbia University Libraries; and Zsuzsa Koltay, Cornell University Library. The room was scheduled for seventy-five attendees but we counted at least 120 (people sat on the floor, stood in the back, we got extra chairs). Due to the volume of requests, the two sets of slides available (from Rutner and Koltay) were posted on ALA Connect at http://connect.ala.org/node/150582 and announcements sent to RSS-L, RUSA-L, and ARL-ASSESS. Thanks to Joe Thompson and Liane Taylor for their help and support!

Ellen Keith, Chair 2011-2012
ekeith@jhu.edu