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Spring 2004MOUSS TalesLoriene Roy, MOUSS Secretary, loriene@ischool.utexas.edu
RUSA/MOUSS committees and Executive Board held productive meetings at ALA Midwinter/San Diego. Two major decisions made at these meetings included the RUSA Board affirmative vote on the petition to create STARS (the Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section), thus expanding the
former MOUSS Interlibrary Loan Committee into a section separate from MOUSS. Information about STARS, including its objectives and an implementation schedule, now are linked from the RUSA home page. This timeline projects a September 2004 date for the official founding of STARS with
the establishment of committees and discussion groups and the appointment of a nominating committee to take place soon after.
The second major piece of action taken at ALA Midwinter/San Diego was discussion of a name change for MOUSS. MOUSS is likely to be reborn as the RUSA Reference Services Section.
The RUSA Standards and Guidelines Committee met in the Marriott parking garage (AKA Marriott Exhibit Hall) during ALA Midwinter/San Diego. Members discussed the last editing changes to the "Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers" with a final formal vote planned for 2004 ALA Annual/Orlando. The Management of Reference Committee has been responsible for directing these revisions. The revisions to the Guidelines for Cooperative Reference Service Policy" are due in 2005 with the revised "Guideline for Library Services to Older Adults" due in 2006.
The Evaluation of Reference and User Services Committee, which also met in the Marriot parking garage, is planning to publish its bibliography of the history and definition of reference. They are working to analyze results of a survey that will help them develop a new definition of reference.
The Research and Statistics Committee met to select the speakers at the next Reference Research Review forum to take place at ALA Annual/Orlando. The event is scheduled for Sunday, 27 June, from 2-4 p.m.
The Catalog Use Committee plans to host an open discussion on "Teaching the Catalog" at ALA Annual/Orlando also on Sunday, 27 June afternoon.
The RUSA Web site has posted information about ALA Annual/Orlando on its Web site. You'll find the RUSA Schedule, including the time slots for three MOUSS programs and the RUSA President's Program and Awards Reception and Ceremony. The MOUSS sponsored programs are "A New Definition of Reference: Developing Guidelines" (MOUSS Evaluation of Reference and User Services; Sunday, 27 June, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.), the Tenth Annual Reference Research Forum (mentioned, above, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.), and the MOUSS ILL Committee sponsored program, "License to Fill" (Sunday, 17 June, 1:30 - 3:30
p.m. RUSA is also sponsoring one preconference program, "Behind the Genealogy Reference Desk: Back to the Basics," for Friday, 25 June, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ALA has introduced online voting for the 2004 elections. RUSA members are able to vote for RUSA division officers also through the ALA election Web site. Those who have requested paper ballots will receive those after 15 March 2004. April 25, 2004 is the last day to cast your vote. Election results will be announced after 3:00 p.m. on 5 May. Remember to vote! Section to Change NameThe 2004 ballot for the Management and Operation of User Services Section (MOUSS) gives members an opportunity to vote on a new name for the section. The RUSA Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of MOUSS propose that the name of the MOUSS section be changed to Reference Services Section (RSS) to more fully represent the needs and activities of the membership.
During the year 2000, a RUSA survey indicated that portions of the RUSA membership and some non-members felt they had no home in RUSA as a Division. Many respondents indicated that they did not consider MOUSS (Management and Operation of User Services) a viable choice for membership since they were not involved in management. Although a name change means the temporary loss of name recognition for MOUSS, the name change will broaden the appeal of this section to more fully include frontline and general reference librarians and library support staff. This change will also help redefine the organizational structure of the section making reference and services to all users the unifying element. New Access Services SectionAt Midwinter, the RUSA Board of Directors approved a petition to form a new section: Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (STARS). The new section will officially begin on September 1, 2004. STARS will bring together librarians and library staff involved with interlibrary loan, document delivery, remote circulation, access services, cooperative reference, cooperative collection development, remote storage, and other shared library services as well as publishers, producers, and suppliers of products and services which support resource sharing activities. Previously, the Interlibrary Committee, Discussion Group, and other related committees have been administered by the RUSA Management and Operation of User Services Section. See the STARS Web site for more information.
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