From the President

President’s column

Hello RUSA members! I recently returned from Chicago where I attended the ALA fall leadership meeting along with the vice-presidents of other ALA divisions (and RUSA’s new vice president, Alesia McManus). I enjoyed getting to know the other division leaders and ALA incoming president Julie Todaro, and seeing the offices of our RUSA staff. I also found the meeting worthwhile in two other respects: I learned a great deal about ALA’s structure and governance, and in working with other division leaders, gained a better sense of how RUSA fits into ALA as a whole. I came away inspired to think about how RUSA can collaborate more closely with other divisions. RUSA has already established a rapport with LITA’s leadership; how can we translate that into more cooperative projects? What other divisions are our natural partners? We should remember that while ALA is compartmentalized into many different pieces and parts, our interests overlap. Working with other divisions, can we co-sponsor programs, discussions and other learning opportunities on topics where our interests intersect? While many ALA members feel most the most sense of connection with their subgroup– a division or round table– ALA as a whole offers vital support for its subgroups and helps set the course for libraries in ways that we can all tap into.

In my last column I discussed our plans to create a proposal for establishing Interest Groups within RUSA. I’m happy to say that our Organization & Planning Committee has developed the Interest Group proposal which has been approved by RUSA Board, and which we will now test through a pilot phase. The call has gone out for pilot interest groups to be established in the coming months. In case you missed it, here is the announcement that went out to RUSA members:

Call for Interest Groups!

As a response to the RUSA Review Survey where 88% of respondents indicated a support of the formation of Interest Groups, RUSA is pleased to announce a pilot for Interest Groups within our organization.

Interest Groups give RUSA the ability to offer a wider spectrum of professional topics beyond what the current Sections and their committees offer. They provide cross-sectional engagement of RUSA members, attracting participation from any number of RUSA Section members.

We are seeking 3-5 interest groups for this pilot test and the pilot period will run November 2015 through June 2016. Interest groups created in the Pilot project will have the option of continuing while bylaw changes are made or they may choose to disband.

In order to form an Interest Group you will need:

The name of the Interest Group

  • Name and contact information of the group leader
  • Names and email for 10 additional RUSA members who have agreed to be a part of the interest group
  • A brief description of the focus area for the interest group,
  • A brief statement describing how the Interest Group is relevant to the mission of RUSA.
  • A deliverable for the Interest Group for the pilot project.

(This could be anything that the Interest Group members will work on during the pilot phase– it can be as simple as holding a certain number of meetings, holding a virtual discussion forum, a publication, etc.)

To apply please complete the web form by December 13, 2015. For questions please contact Beth German (egerman@library.tamu.edu).

If there’s an intriguing current topic that crosses over RUSA divisions, be thinking about whether it could become the basis for an interest group.

Please feel free to contact me any time at annehouston2@gmail.com. I welcome your questions and comments!

Anne Houston
RUSA President 2015-2016

RUSA News/Announcements

RUSA INSTITUTES

Reference Interview Institute – Ticket Purchase Required
Friday, January 8, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
BCEC 101

This live and in-person all day workshop will provide you with some techniques that will enable you to better assist your users-and help you figure out what it is that they really need when they ask a question. Two expert reference librarians (one public librarian and one academic librarian) will give you tips that will make you more approachable, a better communicator and help make your users more willing to return. Register here.

Ticket Prices:

Category Early Bird –

11:59 a.m. (CST)

November 11, 2015

Advance –

11:59 a.m. (CST)

January 4, 2016

Division Member $199 $199
ALA Member $219 $219
Other Member

(Retired, Student, Trustee,

Non-Salaried, Support, and Staff)

$149 $149
Non-ALAMember $259 $259

 

History Genealogy Institute – FREE, But Registration is Required
Friday, January 8, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
BCEC 151B

This free workshop will help librarians of all types learn techniques. This can include better understanding of genealogy research methods and sources. It can also include how libraries can leverage their unique holdings to become more relevant to genealogists, who tend to be passionate in their support of libraries that have useful materials. Lunch provided and sponsored by ProQuest. Must register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QWZP6WG.

BRAND NEW! Deep Dive Session
We are all user experience librarians: Creating change from the trenches
Saturday, January 9, 1:00 p.m.- 4:15 p.m.

This Deep Dive workshop will focus on user testing and understanding your users’ experience through a mix of discussion, presentations, and interactive experiences. Our five presenters will offer design strategies and tools from throughout the lifecycle of a user experience design project, and they will also join together as a panel to provide a spirited, entertaining look at pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned. Unlike other sessions about user experience design, the proposed workshop will focus on providing attendees with concrete skills and techniques they can apply at their home institutions with relatively little expense or pre-planning. “Deep Dive” half-day education sessions for active, participatory learning in a workshop-style setting, CEUs will be available, with registration for each session capped at 25. More information here.

Location: TBD
Cost: TBD

RUSA Meetings

Executive Committee Meeting
Friday, January 8, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
BCEC 203

Meeting of the Executive Committee where discussions will consist of current and planned activities of the RUSA Division. This is an open meeting and all registered attendees are welcome. Come meet some of RUSA’s key players; President; Anne Houston, President-Elect/Vice-President; Alesia M. McManus, Past President; Joseph A. Thompson, Secretary; Kathryn J. Oberg, Councilor; Sarah Hammill and RUSA Executive Director; Susan Hornung.

Board of Directors Meeting I and II:

  • Board I – Saturday, January 9, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., BCEC 205B
  • Board II – Monday, January 11, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., BCEC 153C
    RUSA Board of Director meetings are open and any individual registered for the Midwinter Meeting may sit in on the meetings. The meeting’s topics are set aside for visitors and board members to use as an ‘open forum’ where anyone can share information, ask questions, etc. The agenda and documents are completed prior to the conference. Anyone interested in viewing the agenda for the meeting, as well as the documents that accompany the agenda items, may view or download them from ALA Connect. If you or your constituency develops a document for board consideration, please give it to the RUSA staff at least two hours before a board meeting. RUSA Board of Directors’ Meetings are open and all registered attendees are welcome!

Budget and Finance Meeting
Sunday, January 10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Westin, Faneuil

Meeting to review, recommend and plan goals, objectives, and priorities for the division as they relate to the RUSA’s budgetary matters.

Network, Socialize & Celebrate

RUSA Speed Mentoring Session
Saturday, January 9, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Park Plaza, Arlington, Berkeley

Join a group of experienced RUSA leaders to engage in a fun, interactive “speed mentoring” session. Similar in format to “speed dating”, MLS students, new librarians, and mid-career librarians are invited to participate in this session where they will have the opportunity to gain leadership advice from a number of senior librarians and RUSA leaders.

Membership Social
Saturday, January 9, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Hyatt, Grand Ballroom B

Join members of RUSA for an opportunity to eat, drink, network, win door prizes and learn more about our division and its sections. The social is open to past, current and those interested in becoming members. All attendees are welcome!  

Book & Media Awards Ceremony and Reception
Sunday, January 10, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Park Plaza, Grand Ballroom A

For the first time, the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction will be announced during this Midwinter Meeting event, reflecting the new calendar for these awards. As always, RUSA will also unveil the winners of the Reading List, Notable Books and Listen List selections, the Dartmouth Medal, the Sophie Brody Medal for Jewish literature, the Zora Neale Hurston Award for achievement in promoting African-American literature and the Louis Shores Award for book reviewing. All Midwinter attendees are invited to this event. Light refreshments provided. The event is sponsored in part by NoveList.

RUSA Committee Reports

Emerging Leader

An Update from RUSA’s Emerging Leader

It has been a privilege to serve as RUSA’s Emerging Leader over the past year. Although the Emerging Leader program only runs from January through June, my experience as an “emerged” leader is ongoing. Here are a few updates:

  • RUSA’s Emerging Leader team presented our project about library publishing services at ALA Annual. (Read our report here) With the support of the RUSA board, we are developing plans for a program about publishing services in libraries for ALA Annual 2016. Many thanks to RSS for sponsoring this program! We also hope to develop a publication for RUSQ or another appropriate venue, ensuring that the insights from our research are available and discoverable in the future.
  • I have been bitten by the leadership bug! One of the biggest takeaways of my time as an Emerging Leader is the understanding that leadership is an option for everyone, whether or not you have an official administrative role in an organization. Applying leadership principles to my own career and life has helped me become a better librarian and a more satisfied, purposeful person. My research and reading about leadership in libraries and in business led to a recent publication called “How to Lead Your Library (When You’re Not In Charge)” in College and Undergraduate Libraries, and I had the opportunity to share these insights at a regional conference as well. I look forward to researching (and implementing) more insights about leadership in the future.
  • An important part of the Emerging Leaders program is helping early-career librarians find a niche in ALA. My niche is right here in RUSA! I love this organization and what we accomplish together – fostering excellent public services in every library. This year I have the opportunity to support our mission as a part of RUSA’s Professional Development Committee. Keep your eye out for some amazing webinars and courses this year! I’m also serving on ETS committees for professional development and planning, and I’m looking forward to running for office on next year’s ETS ballot.

Once again I’d like to thank the RUSA board for their sponsorship and the entire RUSA community for your support of my year as an Emerging Leader. I look forward to serving alongside you for years to come. The 2016 class of Emerging Leaders has just been announced, and I’m excited to see that RUSA will be sponsoring Catherine Damiani! Look for updates from Catherine here in RUSA Update next year.

Beth Boatright

RUSA Conference Program Coordinating Committee
RUSA’s Conference Program Coordinating Committee (CPCC) held an open online meeting on Oct. 28, 2015. During the meeting, the committee established four goals for the 2015-2016 year:

  1. Work with RUSA staff to revise the program submission form to ensure it: (1) provides the committee with the information it needs to make its selection decisions; and (2) provides individuals filling out the form with the information they need to bolster the chance that their submission will be approved.

Update: The committee has developed a mock-up of the previously used form. By Nov. 30, each member will provide recommended changes.

  1. Work with RUSA staff and RUSA Board to make sure the submission and approval process is clear to RUSA members and to RUSA’s sections. Pursue this by communicating clearly with RUSA Board and RUSA sections, by clarifying the call for proposals and by adding information to the proposal form itself.
  2. Work with RUSA’s Professional Development Committee and RUSA’s staff to develop a database of RUSA Learning Opportunities.

Update: RUSA’s Learning Archive Task Force has been created to meet this goal.

  1. Carefully evaluate program submissions and, when necessary, work with submitters to     improve the quality of the submissions.

Jason Coleman
RUSA CPCC Chair, 2015-2016

RUSA Membership Committee
RUSA 101 and 201 are starting up again!

  • RUSA 101 is an orientation to RUSA, it’s sections, and the work done across the division.
  • RUSA 201 provides more in-depth content for RUSA members about what is done at the division level and opportunities to get involved.

Join us for RUSA 201 on Wednesday, November 18, and RUSA 101 on Wednesday, December 16. All will be helded at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central/2pm Mountain/1pm Pacific/12pm Alaska/11am Hawaii.

If you or your committee are interested in being featured, please drop me a line at agbrown@gwu.edu.

Thanks!

Ann Brown, chair
agbrown@gwu.edu

RUSA Learning Archive Task Force
In October, 2015 RUSA created a Learning Archive Task Force and charged it with creation of an archive of performance data about RUSA’s face-to-face and online learning-related programming. The task force held its first meeting on November 11, 2015 and set a tentative goal of presenting RUSA’s Board with a detailed proposal before the end of January, 2016 and completing the archive by the end of May, 2016.

Jason Coleman
RUSA Learning Archive Task Force Chair, 2015-2016

BRASS Notes

John C. Gottfried, Editor

Message from the BRASS Chair

Hello everyone,

If you are attending the ALA Midwinter in Boston, please join us at the All Committee Meeting.

Best wishes to all of our BRASS members during the upcoming holiday season!

Paul Brother
BRASS Chair 2015-2016

Business Reference Services Discussion Group
The BRASS Discussion Group facilitated a virtual discussion on September 18th. 40 BRASS members were in attendance for this lively discussion about consultation and instruction data (what you collect, how you collect it, how you use it) and collections (new vendors and databases). Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the discussion. The next virtual discussion will be on at 2pm EST on November 13th, with an open agenda.

Emily Treptow 2014-2016 Chair

Business Reference Sources Committee
The Business Reference Sources Committee is in the process of nominating sources that will be selected for an upcoming issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly.

The Business Reference Sources Committee is also in the process of selecting a program to present at the annual Publisher’s Forum which will take place at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.

Ed Hahn, 2014-2016 Chair

Education Committee
The BRASS Education Committee would like to report that we have been hard at work on a number of exciting projects. As well as continual improvement to the BRASS Business Guides, the Committee has broken into Teams focused on completing four major projects this year:

  • Preconference Planning Team

We have found three excellent speakers for the 2016 BRASS Preconference “Business Data for Librarians” at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Bobray Bordelon will be presenting an overview of ‘Data in Libraries’, Todd Hines will be exploring ‘Financial Data’, and Andy Spackman will discuss ‘Marketing Data’. There will also be a panel Q&A so all who attend will have an opportunity to dive into issues of particular interest in-depth. With expert speakers and an emphasis on interactivity, this Preconference promises to be extraordinary! (June 24th, 2016 – Save the date!)
This team benefits from the efforts of Tom Ottaviano, Peter McKay, Charles Allan and Eimmy Solis.

  • Free Webinar Team

The 2015 RUSA Free Section Webinar “Supporting Entrepreneurship: The Kauffman Foundation’s Research and Resources” was a great success! At peak, the webinar had 39 participants. Wendy Torrance, Director, Entrepreneurship, and Alex Kraus, Research Assistant in Research and Policy at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, delivered an engaging overview of the many resources the Kauffman Foundation provides for both entrepreneurs, and the librarians who serve them. They also provided a brief look at the research the Kauffman Foundation spearheads and supports. Librarians who participated in the webinar returned to their work with new ideas not only to help their patrons, but to potentially continue to grow their own understanding of entrepreneurship and related research.
This team benefits from the efforts of Phebe Dickson, Robbie De Peri and Christina Sheley.

  • Best of the Best Business Websites Award Team

Nominations were solicited, votes tallied, and the Education Committee has our winners! They will be announced at ALA Midwinter’s RUSA Book & Media Awards Reception. In the meantime, the Team is exploring alternate possibilities to print certificate awards.
This team benefits from the efforts of Monica Hagan, Cara Cadena and Bridget Farrell.

  • Paid Webinar Team

We did not sponsor a proposal for a RUSA Paid Webinar this year because we did not feel we had a strong proposal in hand in time for the submission process. Instead, the Team is investigating the webinar landscape and current continuing education options for librarians with an interest in business reference services and resources and exploring if there is any area of need the Education Committee might be able to address further.
This team benefits from the efforts of Kelly LaVoice, Hiromi Kubo and LuMarie Guth.

BRASS Education Committee is excited to continue providing for the educational needs of business reference librarians and all librarians involved in providing business reference services.

Ashley Faulkner, 2012-2015 Chair

Membership Committee
We are working on with a special sponsor to make the party at Orlando magic. Stop by Reference USA and let them know BRASS is looking forward to it.

We also want to know why members are leaving BRASS. What makes members decide to join BRASS, and what makes them stay? Please go to our Poll and let us know:
http://connect.ala.org/node/246773

Jennifer Boettcher, 2014-2016 Chair

Publications and Communications Committee
The BRASS Publications & Communications have had conversations about working with the editor of RUSA Voices to blog about BRASS member activities, accomplishments, and events. We have reached out to the editor of RUSA Voices, and he is quite amenable to the idea of us working together.

Chad Boeninger, 2014-2016 Chair

AWARD COMMITTEES

Emerald Research Award Committee
The Emerald Research Award Committee is currently seeking nominations for the $5000 award described below. Please let colleagues know about the award. Feel free to distribute the announcement to your local listservs.

Are you a librarian in need of funding for a business research project?

The Emerald Research Grant Award, sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited offers one award of $5,000 and a citation to an individual or team seeking support to conduct research in business librarianship. The awards will be presented at the RUSA Awards Ceremony at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. Recipients will be required to attend the RUSA Awards Ceremony.

Candidates must submit a detailed proposal outlining their proposed research project; methodology, scope and timetable; how this project fits into the existing literature; and projected outcomes, including a statement outlining how this research will benefit the library profession. Proposals will be reviewed for thoroughness, potential to positively impact the library profession, and potential to provide a useful addition to the existing library literature. Proposals will be accepted from both individual researchers and those working collaboratively. At least one member of a collaborative team must be a member of ALA. The recipient(s) may be asked to present their findings at a public BRASS event within two years of receiving the award (at the discretion of the BRASS Executive Committee). The recipient will also be required to acknowledge the Emerald Research Grant when publishing or presenting their research.

The deadline for proposals is December 4, 2015.

Please send your proposals to leticia_camacho@byu.edu

For complete information about the criteria for this grant award, please visit: http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/emeraldgrant

Leticia Camacho, 2015-2016 Chair

BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Excellence in Business Librarianship award
The BRASS Excellence in Business Librarianship committee continues to solicit nominations through December 4th, 2015.

After learning earlier this year that Gale Cengage Learning would unfortunately no longer be supporting this and other awards the RUSA Board and staff, the BRASS Executive Board, and our committee have been working together to find alternative funding for the award. Funding will be available through RUSA for the coming year, regardless, although we hope to be able to announce a new sponsor soon.

Funding issues aside, the BRASS Excellence in Business Librarianship award itself remains as prestigious as ever. The award recognizes a business librarian who has made a significant contribution to our field. Take a look around you (or in the mirror!) and if this sounds like you or someone you know, then please take a look at this page for more information on how to submit a nomination:
http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/businesslib

Celia Ross, 2014-2015 Chair

Global Financial Data Academic Business Librarian Award
Global Financial Data is now sponsoring the new academic business librarianship award. The committee looks forward to hearing about all the great things new business librarians are doing. Please consider applying yourself or recommending a colleague:
http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/gfd_academic_business_librarianship_travel_award

Thank you GFD for this opportunity!

Julia Martin, 2015-2016 Chair

Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award Committee
BRASS Members. Please nominate a public librarian for the Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award. This is for a deserving public librarian who serves the business community with great reference service. This can be through programming, website development, or other business help. I am sure you know some great public librarians who serve the business community and who need financial help to get to ALA.

Let’s spread the word to all our chapters, systems and libraries.

Patricia Hull, 2015-2016 Chair

CODES

Barry Trott, Editor

Chair’s Note
CODES conducted a “Town Hall” meeting for members on 11/18/15. The discussions will continue at the ALA Midwinter conference in Boston.

We encourage all CODES and RUSA members to make plans to attend RUSA’s Book and Media Awards Reception on Sunday evening during ALA Midwinter. Award winners will be announced for numerous awards that CODES committees are currently working on, including Notable Books, Sophie Brody, Reading List, Dartmouth, Best Reference Books, and others.

Anyone interested in getting involved in CODES should fill out the committee volunteer form to indicate their interest in serving. Many CODES committees are now virtual, so opportunities may exist for participating that were not available in the past. Anyone with questions about appointments to CODES committees should check with Dan Mack, CODES Vice Chair/Chair-Elect if you have any questions (dmack@umd.edu). More information is available on the CODES web site: http://ww.ala.org/rusa/sections/codes/section.

Ed Kownslar, CODES Chair, 2015-16

History

Laura Hibbler, Editor

A sub-committee of the History Section’s Instruction and Research Services Committee has created an updated version of the Using Primary Sources on the Web page:
http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources

The previous version will be archived at:
http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources_2008
until December 18, 2015.

Send comments regarding the content on the new page to rusaprimarysourcespage@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for news about events at Midwinter, including:

  • Genealogy Institute on Friday from 8:00am-4pm
  • Genealogy & Local History Discussion Group from 4:30pm-5:30pm on Saturday
  • History Librarians Discussion Group from 1:00-2:30pm on Sunday
  • Plus a History Section dinner and a field trip!

Emerging Technologies Section (ETS)

Chanitra Bishop, Editor

Upcoming programs & spirited discussion forums from the Emerging Technologies section!
The Emerging Technologies Section (ETS) is happy to be part of the inaugural “Deep Dive” sessions planned for the midwinter conference in Boston. The session “We are all user experience librarians: Creating change from the trenches” is co-sponsored by ETS’ UX Design committee, ETS’ Professional Development committee, and RSS’ Education and Professional Development for Reference Committee. The workshop will be a mix of discussion, individual presentations, panel presentations, and interactive experiences. The workshop will focus on user testing and understanding your users and will be beneficial for participants with no or limited experience in user testing and with limited budgets.

[EVENT CODE: DIVE4 – Saturday, January 9th 1:00 – 4:15pm. For information about how to register for this ticketed event see http://2016.alamidwinter.org/ticketedevents”]

ETS committees are hosting some spirited discussions:

Optimizing the web for reference: Best practices for usability, accessibility, and responsiveness
User-friendliness of library services is an important consideration in the development of a library’s web presence. As the format and delivery of reference continue to change to accommodate user expectations and behavior, the library’s home page has become an extension of the institution’s in-person public services. In addition, an increase in distance education courses and online programs has contributed to the fact that a large number of users experience the library almost exclusively online. This poses questions regarding the usability, accessibility, and responsiveness of web reference services.

In this discussion group, we will feature panelists from institutions which have innovated their approach to web reference (email, chat, FAQs, etc.) and/or conducted usability studies on how their users get answers through their library’s web portal. The audience will benefit by: 1. an overview of current trends regarding reference services on the web, such as user-responsive chat, and new developments in accessibility; 2. a review of the literature regarding best practices for conducting web usability of library service pages; 3. Case studies and tips from panelists. This discussion is hosted by the Management of Electronic Reference Services (MERS) Committee of the Emerging Technologies Section (ETS) of RUSA. [Saturday, January 9th 1:00 – 2:30pm, BCEC (Convention Center) 258B]

Pay No Attention to the Librarian Behind the Curtain: Virtual Reference and Privacy in Libraries
Join the ETS Hot Topics Discussion group for an exploration of virtual reference and the role of privacy. While chat services give patrons another layer of anonymity, libraries are still exploring new ways to ensure their patrons’ privacy. Anonymous Internet browsing through TOR is at the forefront of the Library Freedom Project, but what does that mean for your library? Join us to discuss how digital tools promote and protect patron privacy with guest speaker Alison Macrina from the Library Freedom Project. [Sunday, January 10th 1:00 – 2:30pm, SEAPORT Plaza Ballroom C]

Transitions from traditional OPACs to discovery systems: how has this had impact on use and instruction – This session will provide the opportunity to discuss both advantages and drawbacks to working with a discovery system as opposed to a traditional OPAC and the impact discovery systems have had on instruction and research. [Sunday, January 10th 3:00 – 4:00pm, BCEC (Convention Center) 205B]

STARS

Kerry Keegan, Editor

Message from the Chair

Dear STARS,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful fall — can you believe that the Midwinter Meeting is already less than two months away? If you are coming to Boston this January and are currently serving on a STARS committee, don’t forget to attend the All Committee Meeting on Saturday (January 9th) morning from 8:30-10 am in Room 158 of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. This is an open meeting, so if you are interested in serving on a committee for the 2016-2018 term, feel free to join us and see what it’s all about!

We have two exciting discussions planned as well:

Discussion Forum I – At 10:30 am on Saturday (January 9th) the ILL Discussion Group will revisit the Task Force on Qualifications for Interlibrary Loan Operations Management, which was convened in 2005 and presented its guidelines at the 2008 Midwinter Meeting. Should an ILL librarian be a professional position? How important is the MLS to the business and practice of resource sharing? Is it time for us to come up with a new set of qualifications and guidelines? Let’s discuss what the Task Force had to say back then and whether or not the same holds true for today.

Discussion Forum II – At 4:30 on Saturday (January 9th) the Hot Topics Discussion Group will kick off a new format where we will feature discussions at both our Midwinter and Annual conferences around a new theme, which will be selected every fall. This discussion theme for 2015-2016 will shared collections- we hope you can join us and “share” your own library’s experiences and best practices in collaborating strategically with other libraries.

Both Discussion Forums will take place in Room 205A of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Safe travels to all of you who will be attending the Midwinter Meeting, and all the best during the upcoming holiday season. As always, thank you for the contribution of your time, effort, and enthusiasm in making STARS the wonderful community that it is!

Best,

Tom Bruno
Chair 2015-2016

Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee
The Codes, Guidelines, and Technical Standards Committee has submitted drafts of changes for the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, its Explanatory Supplement, and the ALA ILL Request Form to the resource sharing community for review and comment via anonymous survey or email response. The public comment period ends on November 15, 2015 and the committee will then review feedback in December to see if additional changes to the documents are warranted.

Brian Miller, Chair

Outreach and Promotion Committee
The Outreach and Promotion Committee (formerly known as Membership) is currently working with our next STARGazer and plan on promoting this before Midwinter! We’re also continuing to work on the STARS Digital Timeline and will be putting a callout for people to share pictures and documents from past conferences since the birth of STARS. We’ve completed our annual review of the “Five Things” document this year and will be sharing it with STARS Members, asking for feedback and input on the future of this document and type of information sharing.

Micquel Little, Chair

STARS Nominations Committee
The STARS Nominations Committee has wrapped up our work for the year. The STARS slate for ALA elections includes excellent candidates for Vice Chair, Secretary, and Member at Large. They are:

For Vice Chair:
Charla Gilbert
Krista Higham
Micquel Little

For Secretary:
Ken Carriveau
Naomi Chow
Carol Kochan

For Member at Large:
Peter Bae
Leila Smith

Nora Dethloff, Chair

STARS Legislation and Licensing Committee
The Legislation and Licensing Committee has revised the charge for the committee. The revised charge will be presented to the STARS Executive Board at the Midwinter meeting. Once the revised charge is accepted, the committee will be developing a strategic plan.

Ryan Buller, Chair

Atlas Systems Mentoring Award Committee
The RUSA STARS Atlas Systems Mentoring Award Committee has promoted this scholarship and 2 applications have been received, with several other inquiries made. We expect to do another round of publicity before the December 4th deadline. Please share this award with potential nominees. More information is available at http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/mentoring.

Amy Paulus, Chair

STARS Update on the RUSA Professional Development Committee
The RUSA Professional Development Committee has reviewed the online course and webinar proposals for the next year. The committee is still waiting on some revisions before we will have an exact count of accepted proposals. Once I have the exact count, that information will be communicated to the STARS Board.

Ryan Buller, STARS Representative

STARS Update on the RUSA Conference Program Coordinating Committee
The RUSA Conference Program Coordinating Committee has just begun their work. We have been asked to look over the documents from the previous year and report any problems no later than November 30, 2015. In particular, the committee is to review last year’s proposal submission form and provide suggested changes. The goal of this review is to revise the form, ensure clarity, and confirm that responses will give the committee enough information to make an informed decision.

Martha Yancey, STARS Representative